It is our first morning on the island of Milos and we are slow to get moving. A wonderful spread of food is laid out for the hotels guests by Vasiliui where she welcomes us to eat. What a nice way to start the day. We really have no plans yet so we return to the room to do some computer work, but that doesn't last long because yet another perfect weather day is outside calling us. Christos asks what our plans are. We let him know we would like to go to several beaches and he informs us that renting a car is the best way to get around - and it is inexpensive. You can drive to anywhere on the island in 30 minutes or less. The cars also have air conditioning - good idea. He shows us on a map two must-see beaches - Fyriplaka on one side of the island and Sarakiniko on the other. We also want to book a boat trip that will take us to a part of the island that is not accessible by car, so he provides us with the names of the two best boats.
We walk to town along the water’s edge and decide to look for the boats he recommended. They are all out for the day so we look at posters in front of each slip but cannot find the two we are looking for. Towards the end of the row a guy wants to sell us his trip. He is kind of a salty dog and has mastered the power of the story. He shows many photos with his great descriptions and true excitement. He asks about our plans for the day, we tell him and he says he can get us a discount on a car (25 euros per day) at a company right across the street. Just mention my name, he says. We cross the street, go in and discuss the rental with the guy at the desk. He laughs and says the price is 35 euros for twenty four hours. It is still a good price so within minutes we have keys to a car. Too bad the guy was a bullshitter because we may have picked his boat not knowing the difference - not any more.
They told us to walk up the street and look for a parking lot with their logo on a flag. The keys have a license plate number on them so it is easy to find the car. Thinking ahead we stop at a grocery store for beer, water and snacks. We find the lot and within minutes we are on the road. The maps and signage are not great, so finding your way is challenging. We are headed down a road which looks like it ends at a mine so we turn around, go down another road and end up at a private hotel. We wrongly second guessed ourselves so we backtrack and go past the mine - there is a hidden road we didn’t see the first time. We find our way to beach #1 - Fyiplaka. We park up top and follow a path down and around the cliffs. The beach comes into view. It is very long and as an added bonus - it has a small beach bar. We rent two lounge chairs for two euros each and pick a spot in the sand. The ocean calls our name so we swim right away and discover the water is the perfect temperature - cool enough to be refreshing, warm enough not to stay away. What is amazing about this beach is the minerals deposited in the cliffs. There are wild colors ranging from chalk white, rust orange, brown, purple, green and even yellow from sulfur. This is a beach to replace one we love in Akumal, Yucatan, Mexico. The only thing missing is an underwater reef but we both agree this comes very, very close. We eat, drink and swim for hours. Dave makes two rock turtles on the beach like the ones in Santorini. Monique rolls over and takes a short nap. Could it get any better? I don't think so.
We walk the path back out and jump in the car and head back the way we came, but turn right just before entering town. Another ten minutes then turn left just past the gas station. Go through the winding "S" curve and take a right just after you come out. We park and Sarakiniko beach is in a valley on the left of us. This is a must see on Mikos. It really is hard to describe. It looks like the moon with every surface being smooth. If Gaudi would have designed a swimming hole - this is what it would look like. It is really a special place. Nothing compares to it. We swam to cool off but the reason you should come is the surroundings. We meet a couple from Athens - Hara and Kostas - and learn a lot about Greece and Croatia where we travel to next. They were vacationing on the islands and were so nice that they want us stay in their place in Athens but realize they only have one set of keys. Their other set is in the apartment. They also have a friend that owns a B&B and they will email if there is availability. Very nice people.
The sun is going down so we drive back to town, but first we stop to get gas because we want to return the car tonight. Our boat trip will likely leave early and we don’t want to have to deal with returning the car before that. Back to our hotel to shower, then drive into town. Two things to accomplish. Number one, find a boat and get signed up and number two, go to the restaurant we were told has great food.
After a lot of searching we find the office of the boat "Thalassitra" that Cristos recommended. They are going the whole way around the island. This trip is from 9:20 am all day returning at 8:00pm at night. On the chart they offer a shorter trip that lasts about six hours which is more what we had in mind. "Not tomorrow" we are told because the weather is perfect for the full trip. We need time to think about such a commitment so we walk to find the other boat. They too are only going the full distance but don't have available space until Saturday. After some discussion we decide to do it. We return to the Thalassitra office, and pay 80 euros each - all food and drink is provided so it really is a pretty good price.
We go to a restaurant recommended by a couple we met in Athens. It is called "Mikros Apoplous" and it is on the harbor on the way back to our hotel. We get a table and right across from us we see a couple we talked to in line for the ferry to come here. They tell us about their place with four roosters that wake you up if the window is open. They quickly figured out how to close it but the damage was done - they were wide awake really early. We tell them about our “wake up at the crack of dog” experience in Akumal, Mexico - they laugh and say they better close their window before falling asleep - and they will “cock-a-doodle-do it” - ha, awesome! We learn they just completed the boat trip around the island and say it was great. We tell them about renting a car and the two great beaches we went to. They are tired from the long day, they pay their bill and walk into the night. We have the stingray bruschetta that the other couple we met raved about. It was good but nothing I would tell people about. Monique had seafood linguini and Dave had shrimp risotto. The meal was very good but we both have had better. We finish and walk the rest of the way back to our place. We need to book flights from Athens to Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik to Munich so Monique does her magic. We both fall asleep easily from the day in the sun on this great Island called Milos. We now understand why everyone who is Greek said, “oh…Milos,” it is the best place.
We finally make it down the dusty road and find Fyriplaka beach. The small “parking lot” is full so it looks like you just try to find some space along the road and park - no problem. It’s big and looks really nice - let’s go!
Okay, this is what a proper beach looks like - it has sand! The beach bar and lounge chairs are just a bonus. The chairs cost 2 euros each to rent for the day - all the palaces are taken so we grab our chairs and find a place in the sand not far down.
Not only is the beach amazing, the cliffs behind us are spectacular. They are full of minerals which create a myriad of colors, shapes and textures - it’s a spectacle to see.
Dave created two turtle’s while Monique took a nap.
We like to call this “butt rock”. It’s really big and has a narrow little cave that goes through the base. You can see the scale of the beach - those specs are people.
The second beach we went to: Sarakiniko Beach. It’s like we just landed on the moon. This island really is magical. It has so many unique areas for such a small place.
We didn’t know it when we snapped this photo, but the two people standing on the top of the cliff are our new Greek friends, Hara and Kostas. They are really nice people and we hit it off right away.
It almost looks like sand dunes got frozen in place and turned white. The rock is very smooth in places and is compact, but soft - similar to plaster or chalk.
Back in town to see the sunset and have some dinner.