We arrived on the island of Milos a few days ago, after waiting for a good weather window to make the crossing from mainland Greece over to the Cyclades. We were expecting a long 15-hour passage on a nice beam reach - which is a comfortable point of sail. Unfortunately, the wind shifted soon after we departed and what we got was a 15-hour ride, bashing into large waves the whole way over. Kivanc wanted to turn around halfway into the passage and start again the next morning. But after waking up at 4:30 am to start this passage and having invested 7 hours into this miserable sail, I insisted we keep going and just get it over with. We were exhausted by the time we made it to Adamas the main town and port on Milos island. I was thrilled to learn our new sailing friends we made a few weeks earlier in the Ionian Islands, were anchored in the bay. They texted us as soon as they saw us drop anchor and we made plans to connect the following day. They were stuck in Milos for a couple of weeks due to the wild winds this area gets during the summer months. They tried to leave earlier in the day but came back due to the large waves. Yep, we just had 15 hours of them - not fun! The weather turned nice the next morning so our friends had to jump at the chance and leave right away. Unfortunately, our reunion would have to wait. The weather controls everything in sailing life and of course we understood this. Like us, they are making their way over to Turkey, and traveling through the Cyclades during this time of year is very tricky for sailors. This is due to the fierce Meltemi winds blowing hard and strong across the Aegean from the north during the hot summer months. The next morning we woke up and moved the boat over to the city wall. Once docked we noticed several boats flying Turkish flags and Kivanc became busy talking to everyone around us. More sailing friends and connections were made. Two different boats next to us offered us fresh tuna they had just caught. We gladly accepted and made the most delish dinner - pic below. One day we will catch our fish!
Over the next few days, we got busy exploring this beautiful island. The picturesque town of Plaka is the capital of Milos. It's built up on a hill and enjoys beautiful views of the Aegean Sea. With its narrow cobblestone streets, white-washed houses, great restaurants, and Venetian castle - Plaka became one of our favorite spots. Hiking up to the top of the castle in the evening is a popular activity to enjoy the fantastic sunset views over the sea. This is also the location where the Louvre's prized Venus de Milo was discovered.
Milos has some of the best and most unusual beaches in Greece. Sarakiniko Beach with its lunar landscape and Firiplaka Beach with its huge rose-colored volcanic rocks were just stunning to visit. However, both beaches were full of people and I couldn't stay at either beach for long. I've never liked crowds and now have gotten used to boat life, where we visit private anchorages and small beaches only accessible by boat with very few people around.
Klima has to be one of the most charming and unique spots in Milos. Klima is a fishing village famous for its boat houses known as "syrmata". These are old traditional two-level houses that were used by local fishermen during the previous century. The ground floor was used as boat storage and the first floor as a residence. Most of these boat houses have been fully restored and are now being used as vacation rentals.
It's a good thing we like Milos because just like our sailing buddies mentioned earlier, it's looking like we will be spending additional time here. It appears another Meltemi is brewing in the Cyclades with some pretty big winds forecasted and Milos has one of the better-protected harbors. Hopefully, we will get a break in the wind and we can visit a few more of the charming Cyclades islands and enjoy this fabulous area. However, we may decide to just use a break in-between the Meltemi's to get out of this area altogether and come back next year in late spring or early fall. I would not recommend sailing these islands in July/August. Even with our combined years of sailing experience and knowing how to do things safely in heavy winds and high seas - it's just not fun. So we will continue to watch the weather obsessively and see where the wind will take us next.