Arriving in Sifnos

Saturday October 4 was a beautiful sunny day with a high of 21C.   We took the Metro to Piraeus port and caught the 9:30 a.m. SeaJets Champion III ferry to Sifnos.  It left on time and we arrived at 12:05 as scheduled.

Arriving at Sifnos (quick photo from the ferry)

We are staying in the small village of Kamares, which is the main port for the island.  It has a long, shallow, clean and sandy beach right in the town.  The buildings in Kamares form a U-shape around the bay, with most restaurants and shops being directly on the water.  The name Kamares originates from the many caves that existed on the south coast of the bay. 

Sifnos is one of the best-known pottery production centres in Greece, and there are a number of ceramic shops in the village.   Kamares is very small with a permanent population of about 325.  The entire island of Sifnos has a population of less than 3000 permanent residents. 

Sifnos is known for its fine cooking and has a foodie reputation due to Nicholas Tselementes (1878-1958), who was born in Sifnos and who wrote the first Greek cookbook in 1910.  Traditional Sifniot cooking is baked in the same terracotta casserole dishes that have been produced on the island for centuries.  While other places in Greece were cooking meat on sticks over an open fire, the Sifniots were making delicious stews and casseroles in the clay pots and ovens that are still used.  Rivithia (chickpea soup) is a staple of the island and is eaten especially at Sunday lunch.  For centuries, a significant portion of the island was planted with chickpeas.

Map of Kamares-- the ferry dock, where we landed is on the right side of the Bay

Our Airbnb host had told us that the apartment would not be ready for a while as some guests were there until the morning.  She suggested that we have a coffee at a small bookshop and café very close to her apartment (which is only about 10 minutes from the ferry dock).

Bookshop with outdoor seating

They serve a very nice organic coffee from Belgium.

Freddo espresso, my Greek drink of choice.  All the cafés have machines that make the wonderful froth and a cold coffee is perfect on a warm day.

Enjoying the sun

At about 2:00 p.m. our hosts met us and said they would take our luggage up the stairs to the apartment and asked if we could come back at 3:00 p.m.  We decided to wander a bit in town and grab a bite to eat.

We first bought some of the almond cookies the island is known for

We were one minute from the beach and decided to take a look before we had lunch.

The Aegean Sea and lovely sandy beach

The island is mountainous,  Historically, it was known for its mineral wealth, including gold, silver, iron, copper, lead and manganese.  There are also olive groves on the island.  It has an area of 74 square km.

View from the beach back on the village.  There are still some sun beds out and the water is warm.

We decided to have lunch at Meropi, which came highly recommended as having authentic Sifnos food.

Looking back from the outodoor seating to the restaurant building with the menu on the wall
and some indoor seating.

Where we ate- right on the water

We ordered a tomato and cucumber salad and a bowl of the famous chickpea soup (served with lemon).  The portions were very large and both dishes were excellent.

Chickpea soup in terracotta bowl-- terrific flavourful broth

There was a cat looking up at our table and we could see lots of fish swimming below.

We walked back to the Bookshop and then took a turn into the residential area.

We are in the entire top half of the house (with the yellow door and window frames)

Our host had left the key in the door. Very trusting community.  The apartment is HUGE, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a well-equipped kitchen area and a huge living room that even has a bunkbed.

Kitchen area

Huge living room area

Separate large bedroom

Smaller bathroom

Large bathroom

We unpacked and then headed back to the beach.  I wanted to go for a swim.

Beach view of village- a number of sun beds had been taken down for the season.  
We had towels and sat in the sun.

I did go in- had to go out a bit as it was very shallow.  I chatted to a woman from Egypt who had lived in Vancouver and was travelling on her own.  She was the only other person in the water-- but it was late in the afternoon and the wind had really picked up.  The water was very nice and of course, much warmer than our May Greek island trip.

Leaving the beach- just steps from the main street.

We had picked up some interesting savoury small pies at a bakery and were hoping to buy some vegetables at the Mini Mart which is the only large grocery store in town.  It was mysteriously closed and may or may not open on Sunday.  As we had a very filling late lunch, we were fine with our chicken and ham and cheese small pies.  On Sunday, we are planning to take the bus to the nearby capital town of Apollonia, so hopefully we can find a grocery store there.

View from the entrance of our apartment- beach and mountains

Our apartment also has a large terrace where we can have our breakfast

The Greek islands are all so different.  Size, geography, food specialties and amenities all vary.  Sifnos has a nice relaxing pace and the food is indeed awesome.  It is shoulder season and while there are tourists, it is very quiet compared to summers on the islands. We are in island mode already.

We stayed up for the first few innings of the Blue Jays v. Yankees playoff game.  We are seven hours ahead of Toronto time.  Of course, in the middle of the night I checked the final score and highlights. Fantastic 10-1 win.  Go Jays⚾ Go !!