Sifnos - maybe the #1 Island of them All?

The long path to the Church of the Seven Martyrs on Sifnos. [7952]

The 74km² island of Sifnos, pop 2500, was our last daily port-of-call from the Sea Cloud. We landed there by Zodiac at the port of Kamares on the west side. The main town is Apollonia, named after an ancient temple of Apollo here, but we spent our time at Kastro (Venetian for "castle"), an impossibly beautiful little town high up on the east side.

The Sea Cloud pulls into Kamares for a day in Sifnos. [7867]

Waterfront cafes in Kamares. [7894]

Fishing boats in Kamares harbour. [7895]

Sifnos is popular with Greek visitors who arrive by ferry, but we saw rather few of them and none from other countries. Sifnos is really "non-touristy" and would be our pick of "places to stay" of the islands we have seen so far. We found Kastro to be so beautiful, so photogenic, but also so steep, it being built on the side of a steep hill. Paths and steps withing the town were a challenge to negotiate.

Cats outnumber dogs in all towns in Greece. [7949]

"Sifnos was inhabited by human beings from at least 4000 BCE.[6] Archeological evidence indicates the island was within the mainstream of Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Cycladic civilization. The island was very wealthy in ancient times, thanks to its gold, silver, and lead, which were being mined there as early as the 3rd millennium BCE. There are 360 churches in the island of Sifnos, as per the days of the year, more than any other island in Cyclades." Wikipedia

Idyllic Sifnos port town of Kamares with highly organised beach seating and waterfront cafes. [3334]

Mainstream it was in those ancient days maybe, but Sifnos doesn't appear much in ancient Greek histories, nor is there much reporting of it from Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman eras. And we haven't seen any references to Sifnos in ancient mythology, so all those gods obviously didn't do any procreating or miracle-working on Sifnos either. But by the 1800's Sifnos had become "important" in commerce and Greek politics.

Cafes cling to the side of the hill in Kastro, but have a good view. [7905]

A beautiful bay beneath a cafe in Kastro. [7921]

After a bus trip up, Roula and Gemma, our local guides, led the way up steep steps into Kastro, but soon we just wandered aimlessly through the pedestrian labyrinth of the town and around its edge, including a hike down to the Church of the Seven Martyrs, a tiny church. Paula, expedition leader, managed to get this church opened for us. A few gifty shops suggest that there are fairly regular visitors to the town, and we found some delightful cafes to take a breather at. Kastro is one of the prettiest towns we have encountered, amongst many contenders.

Pathway steps within Kastro are pretty challenging for our old legs. No railings! [7925]

Gemma holding court in a tiny square in Kastro. [7931]

Grapes in downtown Kastro. [7933]

Covered path in the Sifnos town of Kastro. [7934]

Message board or graffiti, on a house in Kastro. [7978]

Housefront in Kastro. [7979]

Bells on a local church in Kastro on Sifnos. [7984]

Steep steps up to the blue door. [7938]

House decoration in the Sifnos hillside town of Kastro. [7946]

An ancient wall on Sifnos. [7954]

Looking back, we considered that Sifnos may be the "best to come back to" of the islands we visited on the Sea Cloud. All were beautiful in their own way, of course, but Sifnos was especially appealing for its cute little towns, some good beaches, crystal clear waters, a wide selection of cafes and (most important of all) very few visitors. We didn't stay here, so no comment on accommodation options, but all-up, it seems like a pretty idyllic location to us.

The rugged coastline below Kastro on Sifnos. [7969]

Sea Cloud expedition leader Paula happy to be going downhill to the Church of Seven Martyrs. [7960]

Inside the tiny Church of Seven Martyrs. [7972]

Rare clouds in the sky as we look back to Kastro from the Church of Seven Martyrs. [7970]

Delightful swimming spot with clear water but difficult access, at the bottom of a Sifnos cliff. [7977]

Much of Cyclades islands land is terraced for better utilisation. [7985]

It was off Sifnos that we had the best chance of photographing the Sea Cloud under full sail. [8040]

From a Zodiac on the way back to the Sea Cloud in Sifnos. [4120]

4th of July off Sifnos so we celebrated with an Independence Day cake. [8121]

An auction of a watercolour of the Sea Cloud raised USD600 for the crew. [3149]

Lightroom Photo Map of this blog's Sifnos photos shows how we crossed from the port at Kamares to the other side and the gorgeous town of Kastro.

Delos - centre of the Cyclades and the spiritual heart of Greece...

One of originally 16 Naxian Lions on Delos. [7628]

All Lindblad - National Geographic (L-NG) expeditions have a principal but generally unstated educational theme, and for this voyage on the Sea Cloud, the theme was, unsurprisingly, "Ancient Greece - History and Mythology". The leader in this regard is an Aussie historian, David Brotherson, who now lives in Cambodia. (With us, there are now a total of three Aussies on the boat.) David is an absolute highlight on this trip, his deep knowledge being coupled with an extraordinarily expressive and entertaining presentation style. David's prolific use of Australian idiom probably befuddled some of the audience occasionally, but we enjoyed it immensely. David was most excited to visit the excavations on Santorini, and was in paradise again today as we visited the island of Delos.

The Sea Cloud waits patiently as we explore the vast ruins on Delos. [7620]

Cistern and a water conduit, on Delos. [7621]

Slab of marble, for carving presumably. [7636]

Delos, close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The name "Cyclades" actually refers to the circle of islands centred on Delos. Vast excavations in the island are among the most extensive in the Mediterranean and many of the artifacts found are on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. A new museum on Delos is nearing completion but was not open yet - it's replacing older ones dating back to 1906. Delos was a holy sanctuary for a thousand years before Olympian Greek mythology made it the birthplace of the sun god Apollo and his sister Artemis.

Columns and floor mosaic in the house of Dionysus on Delos. [7648]

Water was precious on Delos. This cistern is near the theatre. [7654]

Remains of a huge theatre on Delos. [7669]

Looking from above the theatre in the lower foothills of Mt. Kynthos, the sheer expanse of this ancient city is evident. [7672]

Delos' monuments embrace a near-eternity, through Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman times. The excavation site is expansive but relatively flat in the gentle foothills of Mt. Kynthos. The first inhabitants on Delos were here 3000BC, based on huts found. Delos' city housed 30,000 people at its peak, having been first founded around 1000BC. The scale can only be appreciated by walking about. The concept of organised worship was born and flourished here, so by 700BC, Delos was the epicentre of Greek devotion to its many gods.

Detail of ruins on Delos. [7603]

Roula interpreting these broken phalluses at the Monument of Carystius. [7639]

Long distances can be walked amongst endless ruins, and there is way too much here to describe properly - we're not capable of it anyway. Delos is a museum in every sense of the word, including scale. Our onboard local guide, Roula and Gemma, escorted us around a small fraction of the site, after which we were free to wander on our own. Roula was scathing of other guides we crossed paths with (it was quite crowded) who were using written notes! Roula has it all in her head. Some significant monuments we passed were the Agora of the Competalists, an open area for gatherings and the Stoa of Antigonus Gonatas, a huge market with fully contructed shops arranged along a boulevard. Because the gods have to be appeased, there is the Temple of the Delians dedicated to Apollo and with columns running around its entire perimeter (450BC) and the Terrace of the Lions, also dedicated to Apollo by the island of Naxos (600BC). Around the same time, the Greeks set about making Delos "pure" for worship of the gods, by banning births and deaths on the island. All old bones were removed. Eventually, the Romans took over Delos around 200BC and set it up as a free port to rival the supremacy of Rhodes Trade routes were changing and from 100BC Delos' importance was in gradual decline. By 900AD, it had been abandoned altogether, and then untouched until excavations began.

Terrace of Naxian Lions. Originally, there were 16. [7627]

Detail of ruins on Delos. [7592]

Visitors being led through the village area on Delos. [7602]

Collapsed and broken columns in the city ruins on Delos. [7611]

Uninhabited (except for park personnel) Delos is rather (too) close to Mykenos because we found the little island quite crowded with visitors arriving on tour boats from the larger island. Luckily we were there early, National Geographic style, because it was much worse when we left, at about 11am. Our Zodiacs looked very humble compared to these tour vessels, but as someone said, the Sea Cloud was the best looking ship in the harbour! On the island, ticketing and entry logistics were chaotic and they could do much better. When we sailed past Mykonos on leaving, we saw that there were four huge cruise ships anchored, some 15,000 passengers in total, according to our Captain. We were grateful to be on a ship with a mere 45 passengers, but it was/is hard to avoid the masses in attractive places.

We wondered where all these private yachts were coming from, until we discovered that Mykonos is just next door. [7690]

The wind was right, so the Sea Cloud rigged all its sails, on departure from Delos. [0849]

In the secret relaxing zone on top of the Wheelhouse. Ladder access only, so not for everyone! [1907]

The photographs in this blog were all taken where "17" is on this Photo Map, which shows how Delos is a tiny island close to and between Rineia and uber-popular Mykonos.

Santorini - Cruise Ship Hell?

The iconic Greek Orthodix church in Oia's main square, Panagia Platsani. [7412]

From the Sea Cloud, looking across Santorini caldera with a mass of development on the tableland, the capital city of Fera. The zig zag track foot and donkey from Old Port is visible right of centre. [7550]

We were warned that Santorini would be busy, but nothing could prepare us for the unbelievable crowding in the hilltop town of Oia. We coulod count four large cruise ships in the harbour, and those many thousands of passengers all appeared to cram into Oia at once. Apart from the shops, most seemed to be looking for the perfect selfie with the blue domed Greek Orthodox churches which are famous as the iconic image of Santorini.

Crowded alleyways in Oia's main pedestrian street. [7437]

These buses at the Oia parking lot help explain the numbers of people croiwding the tiny town. [7405]

Greek gods feature on the sides of Santorini's tourist buses. [7445]

Firstly, what is Santorini? It was given that name by the Latin Empire in the 1400'sAD, and is a reference to Saint Irene. Its official name is Thira, its classical name is Thera. There have been other names. "It was the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history: the Minoan eruption (sometimes called the Thera eruption), which occurred about 3,600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization" Wikipedia. Santorini is the largest island, croissant shaped, of an archipeligo which was the Santorini volcano caldera. The Minoan eruption is just the latest one. Volcanology started here millions of years ago.

The Sea Cloud was early into its parking spot in the caldera, but we had to complete breakfast before disembarking. Nothing can interfere with feeding time for these hungry passengers. We think the disembarkation time was prearranged anyway, as we had to use a local private tender service, and fit in with the traffic jam on the zig-zag climb up the cliff from the port of Athinios. It's then about 16km to Oia along narrow, twisty, hilly and too-busy roads.

Sue got us up early today for a shoot as the sun rose over Santorini, this pic at 06:24. [7317]

Lighthouse at the southern entrance to the huge Santorini caldera. [7351]

Construction project, tourist accommodation using the classic domed roof architecture. [7354]

An inter-island ferry arrives at Athinios port on Santorini. [7489]

Expedition leader Paula looks worried in the tender to port, but she has everything under control. [7373]

The Santorini port authority insisted that the Sea Cloud used private tenders for the transfer to shore. This tender held our entire complement, but it was pretty cosy inside.[7377]

A tiny port for such a busy island. Numerous ferries use Athinios, but the cruise ships unload elsewhere. [7381]

It's an epic hill climb for these cyclists to get from the port up to the Santorini tableland. [7391]

We don't know how this system at Athinos copes with masses from cruise ships. But then someone told us that cruise ships tender into Old Port where there is a funicular whose capacity must match tender arrivals. From Old Port, the only alternative is a 600 step zig-zag path suitable for pedestrians or donkeys.

Crowds of visitors in Panagia Platsani Square. [7416]

Artists selling their interpretations of the famous Oia cityscape. [7423]

Blue on blue - one of Santorini's iconic church domes. [7424]

One of Oia's myriad of souvenir shops. [7427]

Oia is Santorini, and Santorini is Oia. All the iconic images of Santorini are taken of deleriously beautiful whitewashed and blue domed buildings (churches) in the northern town of Oia. Santorini is also famed for its sunsets, and images of those too are mostly taken from vantage points in Oia. But there is more to Santorini, and the Lindblad-National Geographic team were determined that we would appreciate some of the island's delights outside Oia. We were grateful to get out of Oia.

Porters carry tourists' luggage through crowded alleys, up an down many steps, to their accommodation. [7438]

Retired windmills reborn as tourist accommodation. [7449]

Santo Winery is high up and with a spectacular view of the caldera. No lunch here though, we were here for a wine tasting. This was a very slick operation with a lot of restaurant and tasting tables, an excellent sales pitch from a talented presenter, and a popular gift shop, selling much more than just wine.

View of the Santorine caldera as seen from Santo Winery. That's Oia, top right. [7465]

The tasting rations at Santo Winery. [7462]

In impeccable English, this lady big a great selling job for Santo wines, and offered free shipping for orders over EUR200 to the US and UK. [7467]

The Santo Winery giftshop. [7481]

For lunch, we bussed down to the more exposed east side of the croissant where, behind the airport, we found Marios Restaurant near Monolithos and right on the beach. We had a lunch of various Greek delicacies, and more wine. Expedition leader Paula had cautioned us about rough seas here, but they were not, and several of us had a swim. The beach was definitely not Bondi though, no sand, all pebbles of various sizes, and slippery too. The water was fine, a very comfortable temperature, blissfully cooling on such a hot day.

Part of Monolithos beach opposite Marios Restaurant. You don't come to Santorini for the beaches. The restaurant had a beach shower for washing off afterwards. [7504]

These frozen fish were not on our menu at Marios Restaurant. [1912]

Then we went to Akrotiri at the south western end of the Santorini croissant. This was something we were not expecting! Suggestions of ancient habitation at Akrotiri were first noticed in the late 1800'sAD, but it was not for a century that they were properly excavated, first inspired by a pet theory that the end of bronde-age Minoan civilisation (based in nearby Crete, from about 3100BC) was brought about by the Santorini volcano. "The excavations at Akrotiri have uncovered one of the most important prehistoric settlements of the Aegean. ... [It] developed into one of the main urban centers and ports of the Aegean. The large extent of the settlement (20ha), the elaborate drainage system, the sophisticated multi-storeyed buildings with the magnificent wall-paintings, furniture and vessels, show its great development and prosperity." [https://www.santorini.com/archaeology/akrotiri.htm]

A magnificent shelter now encloses the Minoan excavations at Akrotiri. [7515]

Wee, it was very hot when we visited the Minoan excavations at Akrotiri. [7514]

The excavations at Akrotiri are extensive, and are now protected inside a huge shed. [7521]

Walls, windows and doors of the Minoan village at Akrotiri. [7532]

Excavated pots left in position reveal a store-room at Akrotiri. They typically kept olive oil and wine. [7535]

Government money and private sponsorship is now responsible for a huge building to protect the site and allow it to be opened to the public. The construction of this "shed" had a troubled history, it seems, but what we were able to visit now was almost overwhelming in scale and grandeur. When we said to David Brotherson, our Sea Cloud historian (more on him later), "this is up your street", he said "mate, this IS my street"! The shed is roofed, but that was no protection from the relentless Santorini heat. It was stifling in there, but being far from Oia, not crowded, at least!

Santorini caldera, with Sea Cloud. and cruise ship. [7492]

Finally, as the Photo Map below shows, this was a whirlwind day tour of Santorini in the hands of the Sea Cloud Expedition team. We did not even stay for Santorini's legendary sunset. Later, on our own bat, we will return here and spend a week, probably with an emphasis on relaxation, not whirlwinds!

Preparing dessert of the Sea Cloud's Lido deck. [7570]

Expedition team member Jess, onboard. [7572]

Santorini day after sunset, about 9pm, on the Lido deck. [7577]