Sifnos, Cycladic Islands, Greece
Sometime during the night the strong southwest winds that had forced us to seek shelter in the main harbor of the island of Póros, died down allowing us to make for the Cycladic island of Sifnos. Just after breakfast we slipped into the quiet little bay of Vathos on west side of the island. Before our eyes the rugged, striated rock cliffs rose straight up out of the crystal azure water. The anchor had barely hit the water when several guests dove in for their first swim in the Aegean. The paddlers soon had kayaks over the side, while others stretched their legs ashore exploring a small quintessentially island village comprised of a cluster of blue-doored white houses covered with purple bougainvillea.
During lunch Captain Nikolopoulos repositioned the ship to the main port of Kamares from where we set off to explore the island’s rugged north coast and interior villages. First stop was the medieval town of Kastro (Castle) perched atop a rocky promontory. We accessed walls of the village through one of Kastro’s many Italianate the loggias. Encouraged to loose ourselves amongst the narrow pedestrian byways, most of us were grateful we had opted for that extra large digital memory card at the start of the trip. It was difficult to know which direction to turn and point our cameras as this pristine white village with its little blue domed churches and multi-colored doors fairly assaulted our senses. After a coffee frappe in the square we carried on to the twin hill-top villages of Apollania and Artemonas where we took an early evening stroll down jasmine-scented lanes before retuning to dinner aboard the Panorama.
Sometime during the night the strong southwest winds that had forced us to seek shelter in the main harbor of the island of Póros, died down allowing us to make for the Cycladic island of Sifnos. Just after breakfast we slipped into the quiet little bay of Vathos on west side of the island. Before our eyes the rugged, striated rock cliffs rose straight up out of the crystal azure water. The anchor had barely hit the water when several guests dove in for their first swim in the Aegean. The paddlers soon had kayaks over the side, while others stretched their legs ashore exploring a small quintessentially island village comprised of a cluster of blue-doored white houses covered with purple bougainvillea.
During lunch Captain Nikolopoulos repositioned the ship to the main port of Kamares from where we set off to explore the island’s rugged north coast and interior villages. First stop was the medieval town of Kastro (Castle) perched atop a rocky promontory. We accessed walls of the village through one of Kastro’s many Italianate the loggias. Encouraged to loose ourselves amongst the narrow pedestrian byways, most of us were grateful we had opted for that extra large digital memory card at the start of the trip. It was difficult to know which direction to turn and point our cameras as this pristine white village with its little blue domed churches and multi-colored doors fairly assaulted our senses. After a coffee frappe in the square we carried on to the twin hill-top villages of Apollania and Artemonas where we took an early evening stroll down jasmine-scented lanes before retuning to dinner aboard the Panorama.
