Visiting the Cyclades: Overview and Milos

 

                                        Ocean View from Pollonia on Milos

Seven trips to the Greek Islands have included six visits to the Cyclades.  My wife has only been to the Northern Aegean island of Chios, a side trip during a vacation in Turkey, three years ago.  I wanted to share my knowledge and love of the islands with her.  Let me also share it with you.

The first question is when to go.  With some exceptions, such as Syros, Rhodes, and Crete, most Greek Islands shut down for winter.  Hotels and restaurants are scarce, and transportation is limited.  Summer months, particularly July and August, are hot, crowded and expensive.  Hotels are double and triple the price charged in Spring or Fall.  If you must travel during those months, choose less touristed islands such as Amorgos, Anafi and Donousa.  Reserve early.

The two shoulder seasons, from Greek Easter until the end of May, and from mid-September through mid-October are best.  If swimming in warm crystal blue water floats your boat, choose fall.  September average water temperatures are in the mid-70s and still in the low 70s in October.

Living in Southern California, sand and surf are not a rare treat. I can get my tan at home.   But staying on the ocean, enjoying the view and the sound of the waves is special.  

In Spring the ocean temperature is in the low 60s.  May has different advantages.  Food is fresher and more bountiful, including Spring lamb.  The world is fresh.  The hotels and restaurants are just reopening,  repainted, and ready to welcome customers again.  Hikers and photographers can enjoy wild flowers.  This contrasts with the end of the fall, when even the generous Greek hearts tire of tourists.  

                                                       View from Kastro on Sifnos

Having chosen your season, you must choose your islands.  That is a question of priorities and logistics.  If partying and hooking up are priorities, Mykonos and Ios might suit.  But they would be a poor fit if you want to experience authentic village life.  A nearly universal priority is beautiful beaches.  

  Chrisopigi Beach on Sifnos

But what kind of beach?  Lively, with a wide range of restaurants and accommodations, or quiet and secluded.  Is golden sand the goal, or will a pebble beach do?

Other priorities may include, history, archeology, architecture, geological formations, and food specialties.

Logistics largely comes down to transportation.  There are three options, ferries, high speed ferries and flights.  Ferries are ridiculously cheap and, at least in shoulder season, spacious and comfortable.  

High speed ferries are often 5 or more times as expensive as standard ferries.  When traveling to or from Athens, flights, if booked in advance, can often be cheaper, and more convenient than high speed ferries.  Regular ferries can be a long haul from Athens.  

A brief word about packing for ferries.  It is much like packing for a flight, but with an exclamation point.  When flying, you usually have your valuables and medications in your carryon and clothes and other items in your checked bag.  You try to have your carryon light enough so that you can lift it into the overhead compartment.

With a ferry, you leave your larger piece of luggage down below as you board.  It is unattended and not secured.  You then proceed up a flight of stairs to the seating deck.  Obviously you want your valuables with you.  Just as obviously, you  do not want to carry a heavy bag up and down the stairs.  A normal wheeled carryon weighs 8 to 12 pounds empty.  I recommend using a nylon or similar duffle with a sleeve that allows it to attach to your wheeled bag.

If you are traveling either to or from Athens, I recommend starting or finishing your island hopping at an island with an airport.  In shoulder season few islands, other than the very heavily touristed, have daily ferry connections.  Ferry connections will play a role in what order you visit islands, which islands you visit, and how long you stay on each island.  The easiest connections are usually within one island group, in this case the cyclades.  

Look at a map of the islands to see which islands are near each other heading in a single direction.  Check with an online ferry schedule, such as ferryhopper.com to see the frequency of connections.

On to our trip.  We had some business to attend to in Istanbul.  I also had some system wide American Airlines upgrades I needed to use before they expired.  American does not fly to Istanbul, but I figured to upgrade the LAX to London leg, and then upgrade the flight back from Athens.

My original plan was to travel from the coast of Turkey to Samos and from Samos to Ikaria, which ranks high up on the authenticity scale. Ikaria has good ferry connections to the cyclades.  We would then visit a few of the cyclades before flying to Athens.   The lingering impact of Covid intervened.  Even as the virus waned, the Kusadasi to Samos ferries remained on hold.

So instead we flew from  Istanbul to Milos by way of Athens.  We no longer crave wild parties.  But with that exception, we sought all of the above.  We chose the following islands: Milos, Kimolos, Sifnos, Syros and Naxos.   Kimolos, with only a few hundred residents, and very few tourists, was our venture into authenticity, although pockets of village life can be found on the other islands as well.  As I will cover later, Syros offered a different peek into Greek life.

With the exception of Kimolos, all our other destinations had a lure for foodies.  Sifnos and Naxos are known for their beaches.  Milos is know for its geological formations, and unusual beaches.  Syros has unexpected architecture for the Cyclades, neoclassical.   Naxos has Venetian and classical ruins as well as access to the archeological treasure trove that is Delos.

Milos and Naxos have airports, which made for perfect bookends for going to and from Athens.  Island selection and the length of stays was determined with an eye toward ferry schedules.  

MILOS

Although not as dramatic as Santorini, Milos is a stark volcanic island.  Mining is still a major source of wealth for the island.  There are three areas to stay.  In the center are the main villages, including the capital, Plaka.  Adamas is the port, with frequent ferry connections and the hub for public transportation.  As I have in the past, I chose Pollonia a fishing village/ resort on the northeastern tip of the island.  

Pollonia is a zone of tranquility surrounded by the ocean, with a small, but charming, town beach and waterfront gourmet restaurants.  The 7 mile taxi trip from the airport to our hotel was a staggering 30 euros.  Transportation, including rental cars, is expensive on Milos.  In this, as in so many other ways, each island is different.

We stayed at Ostria Vento.  Above is the view from our terrace.  Walk down towards the ocean, and this is the view in Spring.

The lawn furniture belongs to Nefeli Sunset Studios, another excellent hotel choice, offering some ocean front studios at about a 50% surcharge over the rates at Ostria Vento.  Both properties get a 5 star rating on Tripadvisor, my main resource in choosing hotels.

As the saying goes, you cannot choose your relatives, but you can choose your hotel owners.  I wanted Roslyn to experience the special warmth that is uniquely Greek.  Elpida is the mother, or grandmother (depending on your age), of your dreams.  She cannot do enough.  Although breakfast is not included in the rate, every morning she has coffee and a different home made cake.  One day she asked if we like chickpeas.  Having answered in the affirmative, the next day we found a lunch of chickpea soup and a salad in our room.  When we left not only did her father drive us to town to catch the ferry to Kimolos, but she made us promise to let her know we arrived safely.

The rates are very reasonable.  We arrived on April 27 and left on May 2.  The room was 42 dollars a night in April, and 62 for our one night in May.  Rates peak at 120 in August.

Every evening was the same scenic walk into town for dinner.

One of our favorite restaurants is Yialos.  Perfect food right on the water. There. as at virtually all Greek restaurants, order the house wine which generally is ordered in a  half liter size.  For between 4 and 6 euros you get a palatable vin ordinare.

They do an excellent taramasalata (fish roe) and the shrimp is as good as it looks.  I would note however, that both in Turkey and Greece, the large prawns had a softer texture than we prefer.  At Yialos be sure to order french fries.  They are fabulous.

Enalion was another waterfront standout.  

Two local Milos specialties are tiropita (cheese pie) and octopus stifado (stew).  Both were excellent at Enalion, although I admit feeling a bit guilty eating octopus.

Another restaurant, off the water, Jordan's Meating, had not yet opened for the season.  But on a prior visit I thoroughly enjoyed their lamb chops.

A prime activity on Milos is to cruise around the Island, seeing unusual rock formations, fishing villages, and enjoying secluded beaches, often only accessible by water.  But like mariners of old, we were subject to the whims of weather.  Strong winds cancelled our outing.  In shoulder season cruises cost from 70 to 120 pounds per person.  Most cruises include lunch and drinks.

So our island exploratio was limited to our one day car rental.  After much online searching we booked through Avance for 55 euros.  Most rental agencies charged from 75 to 120 euros a day.  Be aware that to rent a car in Greece you must have an International Driver's License.   You can pick one up at Automobile Club in a few minutes.  The cost is 25 dollars.  

Our first stop was Sarakiniko Beach.  This is often called moon beach because of its resemblance to the lunar landscape.  I am going to apologize in advance.  First my lunar experience is limited, so I cannot confirm the resemblance.  More importantly, although I consume a lot of goat, I do not move like one.  Online, you will find pictures from those who ventured further down than I.

As the roads got narrower, Roslyn took over the driving.  But even in my limited role as navigator, I was an abject failure.  We were on the road to Mandraika, with is like the road to Mandalay, but much narrower.  Somehow I missed a turnoff.  I guess all dirt roads are not alike.

Mandraika is a  fishing village with turquoise water and a well reviewed restaurant, Medusa.  Since I will not be your navigator, you will no doubt find it as well as Klini, a colorful fishing village.

Toward the end of our day we did stumble on to another fishing village.  Each boat is sheltered behind the garage like doors.  The family sleeps above.

You might note the lack of turquoise waters and of a gourmet restaurant.  Roslyn did.

Instead we ate at To Glaronisia in Tripiti.  Tripiti is one of the three villages, which along with Plaka and Triavosolos, house the bulk of the population of Milos.  

Roslyn's chicken gyros, not pictured, was the best she had on our trip.  As always in Greece the fries were quite good and the salad fresh.  Greek servings are generous.  These were even more generous than usual.  We followed our rule of three.  Usually we ordered two appetizers, which are distinguished from entrees by name only, not by portion size, and one entree to share.  If I fell prey to my carnivore cravings and chose goat, lamb, or sausage we ordered one appetizer to share and two entrees.  Occasionally, we ordered three appetizers.

We headed towards what is generically titled, the Ancient Theater.

In the same area is the site where Venus de Milo, more properly called Aphrodite de Milos, was discovered.

We finished our village tour at Plaka.

A little lameness on my part prevented us from climbing up to the Kastro section.  Kastro means castle and refers to the Venetian built portion of the town.  We consoled ourselves with hot chocolate.

We visited some caves on the way back to Pollonia.  

 One last day in Pollonia and then it was off to Kimolos.

Feeling a Draft

 Russian Spring conscription begins April 1.  That is when the war becomes personal.  Mothers, babushkas and potential draftees, will face the reality of the Ukrainian meat grinder that chews up the under trained conscripts.   

Possible death, or death of a loved one. focuses the mind.  Will pro war sentiment flounder, or is Russia a land of April fools?

Rocking the Oscars

 Will Smith is the Magic Johnson of actors.  Like Magic he parlayed a strong skill set, a thousand watt smile and an image of infinite affability, into fame and fortune.  He slapped the affable image away at the Oscars.

Given his height and weight advantage, Will punched down.  Chis with his G.I Jane joke did not.  Jada is not a civilian.  She is an actress with a social media show that discusses the most intimate details of her marriage.  As half of a power couple she was sitting in the front row.  

The G.I. Jane joke met all the criteria for an improvised Academy Awards joke.  It was funny, it was movie related, and given Jada's army green dress, spot on.  Rock was the consummate professional, continuing on with his award presentation.

Will was sexist and wallowed in self pity, and misplaced self righteousness.  His wife is an adult capable of fighting her own battles.  To step in as her male savior is to deny her equality.  When your wife openly talks about her affair on her show, and you are one of, if not, the highest paid actors in Hollywood, you elicit little empathy for your social media tribulations.  Fame and fortune have a price.  

Finally, Smith overshadowed the Oscar for the socially and musically significant best documentary, Summer of Soul.  A deep, hard working black man had his magic moment shortened and slighted by an emotionally shallow, member of the privileged class.

Flying with Zelensky

What a difference a government makes.  Starting in Viet Nam and ending in Afghanistan, we supported governments with no popular support.  No matter the amount of military training and equipment, like humpty dumpty, those governments fell, and could not be put back together.  When we prop up an unpopular leader we fall.

Ukranians love and respect Zelensky.  Short of risking a nuclear confrontation, we benefit from every weapon we supply to Ukraine.  With little effort on our part, a rogue state is drained of men, material and prestige.  Each tank that is stopped, each plane that is downed, is one less weapon aimed at our European allies.

A no fly zone risks armed confrontation with Russian planes.  That is a no go.  But supplying aircraft protects Ukraine and furthers our objectives.  We preserve a democracy  on Putin's flank and decimate his air force.

We can do more.  We should stage a large NATO exercise as close to Moscow as possible.  A paranoid regime will counter by deploying forces between NATO and Moscow.  This will preclude sending additional troops to Ukraine, and may even precipitate a partial withdrawal.  

Ukraine was already a friend.  But the enemy of our enemy, is an even better friend.

A Tale of Two Armies

 The Russian army consists of two groups.  Contract soldiers sign on for 3 years, and according to the Washington Post, are paid roughly a thousand dollars a month. The other group is conscripts.  All Russian men 18-27 are subject to being drafted for military service.  Conscripts are paid roughly 25 dollars a month for their one year of service.  They receive 4 months of basic training.

By law conscripts are not allowed to serve on the front lines.   But a funny thing happened on the way to the war--conscripts have become the canon fodder brigade on the front line.  Apparently they have been told they were on a training exercise and possibly tricked into sighing up as contract soldiers.

The conscripts are lacking in expertise and even lighter in esprit de corps.  A volunteer army like ours, has the time to develop unit cohesion with each soldier having the back of their comrades.  Russian conscripts don't know how to fight or why they are fighting.  Most importantly, they lack loyalty to their unit.  

Numbers and technical  superiority will weight the conflict strongly in Russia's favor.  But the conscript contingent, has no doubt played a large role in the army's under performance.

ABC and ADL side with Nazis

 Whoopi Goldberg was suspended from the View for two weeks by ABC, responding to pressure from groups such as the ADL.  Her sin was saying that the Holocaust was not about race, but rather about man's inhumanity to man.  No one can take that as hate speech or malicious.

The criticism is that it is factually incorrect.  Is it?  The current definition of race is based on pigmentation.  We Jews have never  defined ourselves as a separate race.  We share a religion and have a community based on shared traditions.  Nor were Jews the only victims of the Holocaust.  Unitarians, gypsies and gays were also targeted.

Only the Nazi definition claims a racial distinction, with Aryans as the master race and Jews inferior.  Why should Whoopi be punished for not agreeing with Nazis?

LAXit Blues

Appropriately, the lyric, "...you don"t know what you've got til it's gone..." is from Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi.  At LAX, you once could exit the airport board a taxi, shuttle, UBER or LYFT and be on your way home.

Until construction is completed, sometime in 2023, you now board a shuttle to an offsite location called LAXit.   From there you connect to your transportation home.  This would be but a minor inconvenience, except that the airport missed the obvious.  Passengers have luggage.  

If you are returning from a long weekend with a smile and a carryon, you are probably OK.  But on these full buses, there is little room to store full sized luggage.  LAX must reconfigure the shuttles.