Arriving in Milos

Tuesday October 7 had some early morning rain that cleared by the time we had to take our ten minute walk to the ferry dock.

Near the Sifnos ferry dock

Standing in the same spot looking up the street we had just walked down.

SeaJet Champion 3-- coming into Sifnos port

We said adieu to Sifnos and boarded the 12:15 p.m. ferry.  It was a very fast 45 minute trip to Milos.  We are staying in the port town of Adamas.  Adamas has a permanent population of around 1300. 

The entire island of Milos has a permanent population of around 5300.  It is a volcanic island that  emerged from the Aegean Sea at around 2.7-1.8 million years ago.  Obsidian (a glass- like volcanic rock) from Milos was a commodity as early as 15,000 years ago.  There are over 70 beaches on Milos, a number of which are accessible while others are remote and hard to access.

It is also where the famous Venus de Milo, or Aphrodite of Milos was found.  The statue dates back to the end of the 2nd century BC.  It was discovered on April 8, 1820 by a Greek farmer near Klima, on the island of Milos, then still part of the Ottoman Empire.  The statue was bought by the Comte de Marcellus, the French ambassador in Constantinople.  It was brought to France, where Louis XVIII had it installed in the Louvre, where it remains today.  The statue is believed to depict Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, whose Roman counterpart was Venus. 

Leaving the ferry-- lots of yachts in the port of Adamas

Our Airbnb is only about an 8 minute walk from the ferry dock, and our host had sent us instructions and pictures of the route.  We got to the first landmark and then got a bit lost.  This must have happened before as our host met us en route.  Eleni is the owner of a nearby bakery, Artemis.  She took us to the apartment which is on the main floor of a house on a quiet alley.  There was a five minute rain shower just as we arrived at the apartment, but then the sky cleared and we had blue sky and a warm 22C for the rest of the afternoon.

Entrance is the left blue door, window in the living room is on the right.

The bedroom had lots of light.

Large bedroom 

Living room- with two extra single beds and a crib (not shown). 

Kitchen-- our host left us lots of baked goods (three types of cookies).  
The fridge was full of bottled water, some eggs and cold cuts!  

There is also a washing machine in a bathroom which had lots of towels.  Very good location.

We unpacked and walked two minutes to the water's edge and then saw the restaurant we were planning to have dinner at just a few metres along the waterfront.

Water's edge near our apartment

We stopped at O Petrinos and made a reservation for dinner.  They don't use the lovely outdoor part for dinner as it is getting cooler in the evenings and there is no covered area or heaters.  We will eat inside.

Folks having lunch at O Petrinos

We walked back into the main part of town.  There is a strip of stores and restaurants on or near the beach and residences and a number of hotels are located on the higher part of the town.

Looking up

We stopped at Gregory's for a take-out coffee

The waterfront is very lively with lots of boats, restaurants and shops.

Chess anyone?

We decided to book a trip with Milos Adventures for a half day sailing tour around the island which will include a lunch stop at the famous caves at Kleftiko at the south of the island, which are only accessible by boat.

We will be taking the catamaran with the grey 'Milos adventures' written on the mast.

We continued our walk, taking a peak at Mentor coffeeshop.

Mentor Coffee shop quote

We stopped by a souvenir shop that had good quality pottery as well as honey and jams. The postcards outside the shop had a few recipes.

Greek salad recipe

One of my favourites- eggplant salad

We stopped and shared a pita with chicken souvlaki at Let's Meat.  One orders inside and then the staff bring out the order to your outdoor table.

Let's Meat-- great name

We kept walking on the waterfront, past the ferry dock.

Lots of beautiful flowers

We came across a small town beach where there were some people swimming and one fisherman at the edge.   

Lagada beach-- small, secluded but close to the port.

We then walked back in the other direction past the ferry dock and decided to go up some stairs into the upper part of the town.

Lots of boats in Milos Bay

We passed a drawing of Venus de Milo (Aphrodite of Milos) with the name of a restaurant, Mostra.

A  number of the bars and restaurants appear to have just closed for the season.  We walked out on a balcony to take some photos.

I'm looking away from town and Allan is taking a photo looking towards the port.

Looking away from town-- the chairs with the blue seats are part of a bar that was not yet open.

It was time to go to a supermarket and pick up a few provisions.  We passed our host's bakery and dropped in to take a look.  Lots of Milos and regional treats.  There was a 'watermelon pie' which only had one piece left. We took a pass, as we had enough baked goods at our apartment already.

Inside of Artemis Bakery

We had a short rest at the apartment and then went for an early dinner at O Petrinos. We were among the first customers at 7:00 p.m., but by the time we left at about 8:30 p.m. the place had nicely filled up.

Lovely inside 

Very good house red-- Historia

We shared a large tabbouleh salad with pomegranates, orange pieces, tomatoes, cucumbers and lots of parsley and dill.  The dressing was very nice.  We also shared a main of lamb and roasted potatoes.

Tabbouleh salad with orange pieces

Lamb and potatoes

It was a very relaxing dinner.  Afterwards, we took a walk further along the waterfront and passed a number of busy restaurants, one of which we plan to go to on Thursday night.  We are looking forward to our four nights on the island.  Lots to explore.