My wife Liz and I took our 2021 Summer Sailstice burgee along on a long-awaited, island-hopping vacation in Greece. We were on our 4th island in a 5-week trip in the Cyclades and beyond. We had been dying to get on a sailboat and Milos seemed to be an ideal location.
Island hopping in Greece right now is a unique and rewarding experience. Beaches, towns and ferries that might normally be packed with people are often nearly empty and everyone is really happy to see us. And after over a year of isolating at home, we are ecstatic to be out in the world. Greece’s move to open up early was controversial but I think a great move. Many tavernas and hotels are not yet open but everywhere repairing and painting in anticipation of a renewed flow of tourism.
We booked an all-day cruise and even though we had proof of vaccination and had been tested before our flight, coronavirus testing was still required for all sailing tours. Better too much testing than not enough I guess. The strange thing was that “fishing” tours on motor boats had no such requirement. By the way everyone I’ve spoken to here has had at least one shot so things are moving in the right direction.
Ok, let’s go sailing! I chose Aquatta because they seemed the friendliest and we departed Adamas at 10 am on the nicely appointed Bavaria 47 “Nemesis”. The crew consisted of Kostas, our skipper, and first mate Andreas both of whom are respected in the Greek racing community. Since there were only 5 passengers Kostas’ wife Natalie and baby Thea also joined us, and the cruise became an intimate family outing. Turns out it was our skipper’s birthday. Let the party begin!
Every stop on our circumnavigation of Milos was a mind-blower: Klima, Sikia, Kleftico, Tsigrado, Peleohori, Polyegos. All spectacular settings with impossibly blue water begging us to jump in along with varied, amazing volcanic geography. Each anchorage brought a round of truly delicious snacks — Greek couscous salad was my favorite. At one point we spotted a large sea turtle and Kostas brought us around to get a better look. As we pulled into the harbor at sunset, all agreed it was a perfect day we would always remember.
Milos is a large, many-splendored island and there can be no better way to enjoy it than than under sail. And our Sailstice burgee made a wonderful birthday gift.
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