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Published: August 25th 2012
Life in the Cyclades seems to be pretty much normal. It's hard to tell that Greece is having economic difficulty in this cluster of holiday islands. Our travels through the Cyclades Islands has been full of tourists (not many Americans), busy restaurants, crowded ferries, and thriving shops. The people are as nice as ever even with the challenges that they face. The politicized actions of Syntagma Square are far, far removed from village life in the islands.
Our stops this time around included: Mykonos, Syros, Sifnos, Milos, and Santorini. Mykonos was hot, crowded, and expensive. It is such a beautiful island, but not the place to be in August.
The island of Syros was new to us and was a pleasant discovery. We only had one day there, but hope to return and explore it in more detail. It is the capitol of the Cyclades Islands and was protected from pirates by the French for many years. We even stayed in the French Consulate. It has now been renovated and turned into a delightful guesthouse.
I love Sifnos and always enjoy returning to this layed back island. This was a balcony and beach stop. We read on the
balcony and watched the village life below. Or, we walked and or layed on the beach and enjoyed the golden sand and cool blue sea. Our morning hikes to the other side of the bay are like a mini Crescent Beach walk on Siesta Key mixed with a Tucson trail hike to the cliff side churches.
Milos is the island where the statue "Venus de Milos" was found. We hiked to the cave where she was found and discovered they had blocked the entrance with huge boulders. The last time we visited Milos we were able to enter the cave. In the same area were the ruins of an ancient theater and some Christain catacombs.
Our final stop was Santorini. I never get tired of seeing the view from the caldera, roaming the winding lanes of Fira, or taking the cliffside ride to Oia. We were pleased to discover that the ancient ruins of Akrotiri were once again open. The renovation is complete and they did an excellent job. The ruins of the city are more accessible with walkways surrounding the site and also entering into portions of the ruins.
Soon we'll be heading home. The hurricane
will be ahead of our arrival if it stays on it's current path. It's been another great trip.
RPM
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Mel
non-member comment
in awe
wow, my ache to get there is more than ever! love your shares, thanks so much, Mel