We had the luxury of extra time on this trip, taking a six week holiday rather than the usual four. Decided to spend a full week on a Greek island and chose Milos in the Cyclades.
Most people would only know of Milos because of the famous statue in the Louvre in Paris, the Venus de Milo. In fact the island has very interesting geology which makes for amazing beaches (the most of any Greek island) and stunning coastline.
We rented an apartment right on the waterfront in the port town of Adamas. Took a boat trip, caught the bus to Pollonia, hired a car to explore the island, and wandered between Adamas and the hilltop twin towns of Plaka and Trypiti. All in all we found Milos to be an ideal island for a chillout week.
We’re not sailors but we like it on the water, so boat trips are something we always seek out. If you’re in a place for a few days it’s generally good to check out the local offerings at the port, see the boats, the crew, who’s getting on and off.
We did a great, day-long boat trip out of Adamas along the west coast of Milos, as far as Kleftiko and back. This part of the island is largely inaccessible due to poor roads, and prevalence of the Milos viper. There were maybe twenty passengers on the boat and the crew had a dinghy to ferry us into caves and swimming spots. Great fun.
We chose to stay at the port to be close to amenities. Just 5km uphill is the gorgeous little town of Plaka, which morphs into the equally lovely Trypiti as you descend. We bussed/ walked up and back a few times, for wandering and eating at the excellent tavernas. We had a great time on Milos. In hindsight, if we’d have changed anything it would be to reverse this order i.e. stay in Plaka/ Trypiti and head down to Adamas for amenity.
For a change of scenery one day, we caught the bus to Pollonia which lies at the north east tip of Milos. It’s quite a chic little place and we spent a pleasant day moving from beach to taverna and back again.
Milos has about 45 beaches so we hired a car one day to check out some of the most iconic ones.
Drove to Paleochori on the south coast which has beautiful coloured cliffs and thermal activity. In places the sand is way too hot to stand in, and in spots the water is also warmed. This is probably great in the cooler months but no more than a curiousity in summer.
Drove further west to Provatos Bay where we ate in a nice taverna overlooking the ocean and had a swim after lunch.
Headed back to the north coast of the island to Sarakininiko, perhaps the most iconic of all Milos beaches. You swim in an inlet carved out of gleaming white rock, backed with a valley created by seasonal water flows. Mine tunnels have been excavated deep into the surrounding cliffs. All in all it’s a surreally beautiful landscape.
From here we timed our run to visit the Christian catacombs carved in soft rock just below Plaka.
Drove on to Mandrakia which is another beautiful little coastal village.
Finished the day at Fyropotamos where white buildings with blue trim draped the rocky coastline, and chilled beats oozed from the beach bar as we enjoyed an end of day swim. Nothing more to say.
We caught an 11am ferry from Milos arriving in Piraeus about 14:30. Headed to our hotel in Athens city. We were staying in the Makrygianni district, just south of the Acropolis. It has good restaurants, cafes, bars and bakeries, some happily filling more than one role to keep the cash flow positive.
When we arrived it was a lovely afternoon so we walked up to the Acropolis then down to the Ancient Agora. It felt great to be back in Athens again. Wandering around the Temple of Hephastus in the golden light of a summer evening is a delightful experience. It makes you appreciate the efforts made to preserve cultural World Heritage.
Next morning we headed to the National Archaeological Museum for a day. We hadn’t been here since our first trip to Greece in 2006. In three subsequent trips we’d been to many of the places associated with artefacts in the museum and thought it was time to revisit. It was a fabulous experience. As hoped, the fact that we’d now been to so many of the places referenced in the exhibits provided depth and resonance to what we were looking at on the floors and walls and in the glass cases.
We always visit the Temple of Olympian Zeus when in Athens. It defines the word ‘monumental’. We then walked what’s known as ‘the triangle’ in Athens city, defined by the three squares of Syntagma, Omonia and Monastiraki. We’d read that this was an epicentre for rebounding from austerity and it felt like it on the ground. There was a gritty, can-do energy about the place. Visited Hadrian’s Library before it closed at 15:00. It was very hot by then so we retreated to the hotel for a while before an evening visit to the Acropolis. It was glorious, and we ended up being kicked out of the Theatre of Dionysos at 20:00 closing time.
Next day we took it pretty easy, sourcing presents for family and friends from shops at the Acropolis Museum and Benaki Museum. On our last night of the trip we had a great dinner on a rooftop terrace looking up at the Acropolis. Only in Greece.
On our last day we visited the Acropolis Museum then checked out the Temple of the Winds. Headed out to the airport around 20:00 for a 23:00 flight home.
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