Milos
Early in the morning, we heard the engines of the Panorama starting, as we set sail for Milos. From early times, this purely volcanic island had a monopoly on the trade of obsidian. During breakfast we entered the deep bay of Milos, one of the best protected harbors in Greece. The lively port of Adamas was the very first impression of the island, a typical Cycladic harbor which doesn’t prepare you for the wonderful volcanic scenery to follow.
The buses were waiting, and our exploration of the island started. We headed north, and on our first stop we had a chance to view the ruins of the prehistoric city of Phylakopi dating from 2300 B.C.! Restoration work was going on and was interesting to see. Next to it, an unusual rock formation called by locals “the Papafrangas cave”. We continued on to visit the beach of Sarakiniko, a unique white moonscape. The pure white color makes a great contrast with the blue sea. They call it such because the Saracen pirates used the naturally formed caves of this place to hide and secure their loot. We walked as close as we could to the water and took lots of pictures.
We then continued to the place where the Venus de Milo was found, and we saw the remains of an ancient theater. There was once a Hellenistic city here, but only a few scattered stones remain to tell the story of this city. We concluded with a visit to the main town of Plaka, where we strolled and enjoyed the beautiful narrow Cycladic streets and impressive views of the coastline of the island. Coming back to Adamas, some of us had the opportunity to visit the really informative and well done mining museum of the island.
After lunch, most of us got on a bus to go swimming in Paleochori, a multicolored volcanic beach! We savored the sea and the drinks, and we came back to Adamas for dinner and a last chance to explore the little port and its night life.
Early in the morning, we heard the engines of the Panorama starting, as we set sail for Milos. From early times, this purely volcanic island had a monopoly on the trade of obsidian. During breakfast we entered the deep bay of Milos, one of the best protected harbors in Greece. The lively port of Adamas was the very first impression of the island, a typical Cycladic harbor which doesn’t prepare you for the wonderful volcanic scenery to follow.
The buses were waiting, and our exploration of the island started. We headed north, and on our first stop we had a chance to view the ruins of the prehistoric city of Phylakopi dating from 2300 B.C.! Restoration work was going on and was interesting to see. Next to it, an unusual rock formation called by locals “the Papafrangas cave”. We continued on to visit the beach of Sarakiniko, a unique white moonscape. The pure white color makes a great contrast with the blue sea. They call it such because the Saracen pirates used the naturally formed caves of this place to hide and secure their loot. We walked as close as we could to the water and took lots of pictures.
We then continued to the place where the Venus de Milo was found, and we saw the remains of an ancient theater. There was once a Hellenistic city here, but only a few scattered stones remain to tell the story of this city. We concluded with a visit to the main town of Plaka, where we strolled and enjoyed the beautiful narrow Cycladic streets and impressive views of the coastline of the island. Coming back to Adamas, some of us had the opportunity to visit the really informative and well done mining museum of the island.
After lunch, most of us got on a bus to go swimming in Paleochori, a multicolored volcanic beach! We savored the sea and the drinks, and we came back to Adamas for dinner and a last chance to explore the little port and its night life.
