Greek Islands

We landed in Athens and then boarded a tiny little plane to our first Greek Island, Milos, part of the Cycladic Islands. It was one of those tropical airports with one landing strip and a tower that looks like it could be abandoned. We gathered our luggage from the one room airport headed next store to rent a car and begin our exploring.  Our first night we stayed in the village of Klima.

Klima

It was a picturesque fishing village with colored houses and our home for the next couple of nights.  We jumped off the pier into the clear water and felt refreshed after a long day of travel. Approximately 300 feet from this area on the hill they discovered the famous statue "Venus de Milo." The homes were old and we are pretty sure ours was haunted as overnight doors were slamming and we had a hard time sleeping in what was once a boat dock. The doors had old fashioned keys in the locks and I was afraid to actually ever lock them  Scout, my daughter, was more adventurous and locked herself into the bathroom and turned the key since the door wouldn't  close. Surprisingly the door would not open as we were ready to go out and explore we heard her pulling on the door and proclaiming she was locked in. We thought Scout was not turning the key hard enough but then realized the key was jammed. Scout began to panic since the little bathroom didn't have any windows and we began preparing how we were going to get her out. I also began thinking how am I going to help her in this removed little boat village where there were very few people and even less that spoke English. The intensity started to build and so did the frustrations. After 20 minutes of coaching her and trying to figure this out, I realized we had to find some help. I walked down the beach to a local restaurant and they talked among themselves and one young boy grabbed a tool kit..things are looking up. Luckily they had the tools and freed her from the bathroom. 

 We headed to the quaint town of Plaka for dinner which was a perfect blend of restaurants and shops plus killer sunsets at Utopia Cafe

 Exploring the beaches of Milos. The most unique beach was Sarakiniko with its moon like landscape.

Tsigado Beach was a beautiful cove, but the best part was the narrow crevice that you hiked through with a rope to find a ladder to climb down.

Firiplaka Beach was stunning with volcanic cliffs and a huge rock that has a cave through it that my kids loved to go back and forth through the shallow water.

Paleochori Beach we rented a couple beach chairs and relaxed. We snorkeled to find the volcanic fissures. The beach is not sand but small pebbles and crystal clear water. 

After three nights in Milos we took a high speed ferry to NAXOS.  Naxos is a big beautiful island that is rich in agriculture and far less touristy then some of the other islands yet more happening then Milos. We spent four days exploring this island. Our home Hotel Grotta complete with an amazing view and a full continental breakfast. We watched the sunset at The Portara a 2,500 year old marble doorway that overlooks the ocean. It has a very sacred feel watching the sunset, a mystical door giving you the feeling you could be somewhere else in time.

We ate the local fare and explored the narrow winding paths through the white washed buildings discovering many hidden gems.

Naxos also has many beautiful beaches to explore.  We visited many of them but one of our favorites was  Mikri Vigla .  We purchased some blow up donuts and played paddle board all afternoon.

We chartered a boat the next day since many coves and beaches were not available by car.  Rina's Cave  was one of the popular stops for cliff jumping. We took port for the afternoon and had lunch in the town of Chora on the island of Koufonisia 

Our last Greek Island after an hour and a half ferry ride was Santorini.  They announced our arrival and about 1,000 passengers sprint to the bottom of the boat where the cars and luggage is stored and jockey for position to exit the boat. It was crazy after the ferry docked we all unloaded and then they reloaded this huge ferry in minutes, it was chaos. We rented a cave house in Oia. The rental agent arranged us transportation from the ferry dock to our new home for 2 nights. 

Santorini may be one of the most visually beautiful places I have ever seen. It was breathtaking with its views and white washed homes draped along the mountainside. It was a bit overwhelming with the very large amounts of tourists completely filling the town.

We hiked down the 300 steps and jumped in Amoudi Bay  for a relief from the hot summer sun.  We brought our snorkeling gear and swam around looking up at the cliffside.  We had dinner at Karma and watched the 50 buses full of tourists leave the area and head back to their hotels for the evening.   

Thanks to my husband for booking all the hotels and his endless hours of planning an incredible family vacation with many laughs and memories that will forever be part of our family.