Santorini or bust

Venus de Milos waz here


Just when you are beginning to think the life of a kayak guide looks like nothing but plain sailing/kayaking let me tell you of what else happens behind the scenes before and after we meet you at the airport or dock all suntanned and smiling ...so after our successful first Milos trip - I had a week to get myself to Gocek, Turkey to co-lead a week on the high seas of the Turquoise Coast - ah Santorini here I come! I have been trying to make it to this quintessential Greek island of Santorini since I first starting guiding on Crete(2005) and it has continued to elude me - due to tight departure schedules, an early departure from several guides due to family illness or the last trip of the season requiring the boats to be cleaned and put away spotless for next year's crew. Each time I have had my hopes to reach Santorini dashed and have had to promise Santorini to wait for me. This time I think: perfect! En route to Turkey ...Santorini with it's caldera awaits for me...
Well just try getting off Milos in a hurry heading in that direction... I discover that there is no ferry until 2 days after the clients have left - which we fill in with boat cleaning, PFD(lifejacket) and spray skirt washing so that DeT's and my small terrace strung with it's makeshift ol'towbelt around the banana palms drying lines is a maze of dripping gear...we also scout out some possiblities of evening hikes, attempt to visit the catacombs(closed for renovation) hike up to a stunning church on a seaside cliff where the trees are shaped by the sculpturous winds our view back to the town above us is breath taking with olive groves and an ancient amphitheatre
DeT and I stumble upon the place where Venus de Milo statue of Louvre fame was found - in a humble orchard grove...where nothing but a plaque marks it's locale...
Rick, DeT and I checked out some other possiblities for accommodations back in Appalonia and of course I was willing to dive into the research ie Jacuzzi testing(cold water of course)at a small boutique spa we were intently investigating(see above photos!)
So then as my online reseach continued the only way to get to Rhodes (the last bastion Greek isle before a ferry to Marmaris and Turkey)as all flights off Milos were booked until October (this is in June) was the 26 hour ferry via Santorini and Crete and several other islands...yes you read it right 26 HOUR FERRY...I watched as my dream of photographic exploration of Santorini quickly evaporated and in fact really my week of having a little R&R and another Shirly Valentine moment in my life slip away....
I did get to see Santorini from the sea though! and we did teasingly enter the caldera and dock for a while so that I could gaze out longingly at romantic "Santorini" - it was 1:30am, dark and windy...
"Yassous Santorini...I promise one day I will step foot on your shores..."
As the boat slipped it's moorings and headed out into the inky black darkness of the sea....

June 21st Summer Solstice! It really is going to be a long day!!

Kleftiko
Sir Michael

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The forecast is calling for Beaufort 6 kind of conditions - definitely not ideal for beginner paddlers but with the Grosshandler family departing early for further adventures on a cruise ship and Dirk being forced into an earlier departure from
frequent flyer flexibility(ha ha),with the circumnavigation completed yesterday I was going to be the only guide on the water today as yesterday's kayakers decided to hike today and only David was willing to do it all again!!
So DeT, Sir Michael,Dan, David and I thought we'd hug the southern coastline hopefully in the lee of the island away from the barrage of Force 6 winds barreling down from the North...and make our way to the famous white cliffs and arches of Kleftiko for lunch
We drove back to Psathi, our original "put-in" and before launching from the beach I instructed David in a brief "how to tow in an emergency" lesson and gave him his very own towbelt as with these northerly winds a sudden capsize could easily see us being swept off shore quickly whilst performing a rescue if not held in place by the towing force of another rescuer towing us against the wind back into shore!! I must admit to a little self interest of course - not wanting to lose any of my ducklings...
We had a lovely leisurely paddle hugging the shoreline, when we reached the mining quarry near Gerontas the winds were spinning the dust around and the winds picked up and changed directions ...1.5 hours and we had arrived at Kleftiko -
Only reachable by boat, an old shelter for pirates the bayknown as Kleftiko is hidden by rocky white islands with time created archways and caves. We explored our way through cave after long cave, the water crystal clear and today we had it all to ourselves - too windy for the tour boats!
We had a terrific leisurely picnic lunch on a small island, swam through caves with arches and windows that the aquatic Flintstones would have been proud to call home.
Before heading back we paddled towards the point and entered a huge cave - out of nowhere a huge gust of wind called a" microburst"in these 'ere parts came flying by sending David outside the cave floundering for a brace stroke and some grip on the water.
Time to start our journey back...
This was quite an experience - I, the mother Duck leading my little band of ducklings following close behind - bracing ourselves for every "microburst" coming flying our way - these were winds up to 40-50kms /hr that would last for a minute or two sometimes less, fortunately we could see them coming, a ripple moving quickly across the water and prepare ourselves to brace for it. I instructed everyone on how to prepare and edge into the wind if it came from the side but chose to try to keep ourselves heads buried in to the wind - much less chance of being flipped. the winds were whipping up quite a display of flying dust and rocks and debris sometimes shooting straight down the cliffs surging into the sea...we had to cross the frontier of one to enter a cave that would lead us through a series of caves to bypass an even windier bay...it felt so adventurous! there were times when all we could do was dig in and paddle for your life hoping you would at least keep ground and not lose any...we would shelter in cave along the way to drink water, collect the team and check how we were faring...
"the most exciting day of kayaking yet!" stated David.
It took almost three hours to paddle back , Dan had sacrificed his straw hat to Poseidon as it was blown away - now it probably is a floating junk boat bird's nest for a grateful bird enroute to Libya...at one point the microburst suddenly came from behind and I was almost swept into a rock but we prevailed and arrived at Psathi10 minutes ahead of schedule and we truly celebrated our high sea adventures!! What a terrific way to end such a fantastic week!
The hikers had been almost blown off the hillside on route to the highest point on Mt Elias (751m) that they had abandoned hiking for treacherous conditions but were delighted to find I had brought all the kayakers home safely.
Our last night we dined at a fabulous restaurant in Adamas- more toasts, more wine, more raki...and 75 yr old Sir Michael recited these few words of his own:

ON ISLANDS SUCH AS THESE
ANCESTRAL STORIES SOFTLY SEEP
LIKE HEAT VOLCANIC FROM THE ROCKS
SWIRLING SWIFT THE BLUEGREEN DEEP
OF ALL THE CYCLADES
AND ANCIENT WISDOMS QUIETLY MOCK
OUR MODERN HYBRIS MINDLESS LOCK
THAT DEAFENS DELPHIC EASE
ON ISLANDS SUCH AS THESE

________
ON ISLANDS SUCH AS THESE
HALF HEARD AMONGST THE MURMURING STONES
OUR HERITAGE OF WISDOMS PAST
REMEMBERED THE NOW SILENT TONES
OF GOLDEN PERICLES
AND TELL US NOW WE MUST HOLD FAST
TO THAT WHICH IS THE FIRST AND LAST
AND EVER LASTING KNOWLEDGE VAST
THE TRUTH'S ETERNAL PLEAS
ON ISLANDS SUCH AS THESE

...Such are the gentle inspirational muses of Milos and so ended a truly wonderful week, I will be back I am sure and once again Greece has etched another Greek key on my heart for these islands and their way of life are enchanting and enticing. Anyone who has seen the movie MammaMia! can attest to that.
what a real pleasure to share this little special part of the world with the fine folks i got to paddle with this week. Thankyou for being such good sports and in the spirit of adventure thankyou for being open to everything for that is what it is to travel - to step outside our daily lives and to step out of pattern and comfort zone and discover more about ourselves and to allow the boat to turn up wind and put the paddle in the water and to go with the flow. It was an honor to share the week with you all!!
With love for and from the sea in my heart, kali nikta,
happy paddling,
Wendy

June 20th West Coast of Kimolos- Here we come!!

Dawn of the new day in the small very picturesque fishing village of Klima saw an early launch with local fisherman watching from the "syrmata" (multicolored dwellings on the beach)
I always wish I could travel with my Nikon D80camera to take those stunning morning light on water and greek village kind of shots but with my luck with cameras and water I have opted for my small nikon digital camera...(which by the time of this writing shortcircuited itself in Turkey and erased my entire memory card of fantastic photos of Milos and Turkey!I am still reeling from the loss)

We started the morning with an open water crossing - the forecast was for prevailing northerly winds building throughout the day - hence the early start!
I was today sharing an old Prijon double Odyssey with 13 yr old Noah - and with youth on our side(ok Noah's!) we soon set a good pace and lead the fleet across the opening of the Adamas bay...it was good as a guide to feel the wind as only a gentle breeze - now we turned north heading to Cape Vani where i had been warned by some locals could be quite challenging as we would meet the wind head on and the waters can be turbulent...but not today... we saw the remains of an old venetian port but came around the geologically impressive rock formations that make up Cape Vani and soon with a following sea we had arrived on the rugged west coast of Milos and our first stop at Angathia
The uninhabited, rugged, untouched wild west coast with it's spectacular sandy beaches is undeveloped with no tavernas or any real beach development...is also home to the endangered endemic Milos viper(Macrovipera Schweizeri)(very similar name to Rick Sweitzer from NWP you will agree!) In 2000 a large area of the West Coast was set aside, in Chalakas, for the protection of this viper. Fortunately we did not encounter any of these dudes since they are not water snakes and for the most part you will find us kayakers on or in the water!

Here I regretfully said adios to Noah as I was now headed for the driving seat of the van - with Rick tagging in on the water...DeT and Dan also joined me for I'm willing to bet the more exciting adventure on the untamed and unpaved roads of western Milos...

Driving on this west coast with trailer...was quite an experience as the roads became less and less graded and formed...with little or no room for mistakes or wrong turns...some serious switchbacks and horn blowing corners and we found our way to Agia Ioannis - a monastery atop a windswept hill with a huge parking lot for us to leave the trailer and head down to meet the others at the nearby Agia Ioannis bay... they had flown down the coast with mounting following seas and beat us to the windswept lunch!
Sir Michael and Noah decided to hang up their kayak paddles for the day here and accompanied us on the wildest roads of the island - which had me praying to St Ioannis for protection and enough power to get ourselves up some of these hills without stalling - though we bunnyhopped alittle over the rocks and only made 1 hill with all 5 of us huffing and puffing with sheer determination not to roll backwards off the cliff should we falter! Was I glad to hit the Southern Coast and to see the road ease eventually into a smooth sealed surface!! It was hot 91 degrees the outside temp of the van reported... as we drove past the quarry near Gerontas it looked like the wind was still picking up - I wondered how our paddlers were faring down there... I was also taking note of possible take out spots if the need should arise ever...
We arrived at Provatas and secured our rooms for the night and set about to wait for the 4:28arrival of Rick and the gang - completing their circumnavigation of Milos today!! We went down to the beach to wait and looked down the coast into the afternoon sun wondering where the heck they were?
A radio call to Captain Rick confirmed my worst fears! they had arrived at Psathi on time and were wondering where we were!! We were waiting at Provatas - A LITTLE MISCOMMUNICATION had not been communicated! Not such a smooth transition and we so wanted to be there to welcome the family home!! All was forgiven once back in Provatas cold beers in hand and warm meal in belly...Zoe was in seventh heaven dining on what she claims was the best spaghetti she had ever tasted!! We toasted to Milos, to friendships made...to friendly seas and tales of fantastic caves and amphitheaters of Kleftiko that they had seen on the voyage at sea today. That night I massaged a lucky few under a canopy of stars and winds swirlling madly around us...ah tomorrow should be exciting!!

On the road again....June 19th 2008

Back on Milos...and back to driving the van and trailer for me today so Dirk gets a little exercise! I am lucky to be able to share the first part of the paddle as we back track to Pappafraggi - some very cool and explorable caves where pirate ships of course had 3 boat garages for hiding and offloading all their loot!! Some of these inlets/caves actually have no roof anymore and are more of a sheltered bay for snorkellers and swimmers...

Zoe Dirk and Noah cliff jumped to their hearts' content from various locations including a synchronized jump complete with screams as well as jumping from a stone arch above the water... from there we paddled across to Glaronissia island to circimnavigate it and get a closer look at it's incredible geological rock formations - like a pile of french fries - long slabs of potato rocks.... from there I left the group and paddled back to the van and trailer waiting lonely by the beach....

I had planned to meet the others at Firopotamos, a small fishing village in a sheltered bay. The roads were easy to drive compared to Kimolos! No backing for me!!Lots of switchbacks as I wove down through a valley hoping I wouldn't shoot past the road to the beach...et voila! there it was and talk about perfect timing - I pulled in at the same time as the gang arrived by sea...and we spent lunch grooving out to euro house music belting out from the little snack bar caravan sipping on freddocinos,...devouring a sandwich or two...from a lounge chair in the shade or swinging giddily in a hammock.

After lunch, after helping launch the boats...Dan and I(he had decided to abandon ship for the afternoon to stretch out and untangle his legs of his 6'7'frame)wove our way back into town running a few errands...trying to be there to welcome the "soon to be" arrival of the others at Klima(the locale of our first dinner at Panorama restaurant)We did not quite make it as these fast growing in experience paddlers whipped around the northern point of the island and made short work on their run in towards Adamas to come to rest in the colorful boat house cove of Klima.

Tonight was a free night in town for everyone with options to eat on their own without us guides!! We wandered around the Plakias for a little shopping( I BOUGHT SOME POSTCARDS!) and dined on the waterfront back down in Adamas soaking in the atmosphere of this little Greek isle village life for tomorrow we were off to the remote and rugged and mostly uninhabited Western side of the island.

Working 9-5...make that 6pm .June 18th

Cliff jumping rock
lunch spot
heading back to Milos photos by WM

An early start saw us headed out by kayak to circumnavigate the island of Kimolos....with it's 38 km of coastline and it's undeveloped north and northwest sides with prevailing headwinds to paddle into always a possibility it potentially could be a long day on the water. Of course it was one of those scorchers - not a cloud in the sky... and temperatures in the 90sF... but as I always say if it's hot what better way to spend the day messing about in boats!
We found a terrific cliff jumping spot with a nature made diving board that Noah and Zoe made short work of... but then soon others like lemmings..Rick, Dan .... Kim followed with an inaugural inspiring leap from the lofty height!

Poliegos, an uninhabited island 1 mile away from Kimolos was temptingly close and looked worthy of exploration - it is about 1/2 the size but is considered one of the best geologically preserved islands in the Aegean and I hear it has many beautiful beaches, a lighthouse and caves to explore...ah that may have to be another time....
We have a big day of paddling ahead of us...

Kimolos consists mostly of acid volcanic rock of ryolithic type (for you geology buffs)and the biggest surface is covered in tuffs and tuffite a pretty light easy to shape volcanic rock (the same rock found in Cappadocia's magical rock formations in Turkey) "Poria" or "pori" as this rock is called is still mined and used in construction but once was a big money earner for the people of Kimolos as too the chalk traders. Industrial minerals such as bentonite,perlite, kaolin(chinaclay) ferro-manganese oxides, sulphur and zeolytes(environmentally friendly detergents)are still mined and we paddled along the sometimes raw coastline with hungry cranes slowly devouring the hillside...past geothermal hotsprings (way too hot for that today) as my compass at my bow signalled our turn northward and the breeze picked up just a little..
We stopped to cool off and swim in a sheltered cove full of day
(s)trippers in their power boats where we were apparently overdressed in our swimsuits...and then skipping across large bays and seeking shade exploring seacaves...we pushed on to our lunch spot -a secluded sandy bay with warm geothermal springs.

We had a wonderful picnic of fresh bread(sliced by me on a found on the beach poria rock cutting board), slabs(sorry read SLABS) of great cheese and divine tomatoes (lovingly sliced by me on the same cutting boulder) and everyone declared it was the best lunch ever! As there is no development or inhabitants at all on this part of the island our dolmatia(inn) keeper in Aliki had helped us improvise this very satisfying meal...it sure beats a well travelled clif bar any day! And of course food ALWAYS tastes best when eaten hungry, outdoors and after some serious hours of activity ie kayaking!!!

Now we pushed on...along the northwest coastline looking for the sunken and destroyed by an earthquake town of Ellinika - it helps that the water is so amazingly clear (even though I never saw a zebra mussel Kristin)but we were never sure if we had found the sunken city locale... but we were by now singing a few show boat tunes and Mamma Mia! inspirational refrains(fatigue and heat exhaustion were starting to show!)...
After stopping to explore an island, admire cliffs of seacaves and long strips of sandy beaches, a single sighting of the endangered mediterranean seal called monachus-monachus was an appetizer for our crossing back to Milos.
Partway through the crossing, amidst the interisland shipping lanes we were welcomed by a pod of dolphins!! - my first sighting of dolphins in the mediterranean though by the dolphin frescos found in Knossis on Crete dolphins were much more common in these waters back in Minoan times...
I am always so blessed to be in the presence of these incredibly intelligent and joyfully playful beings!! They seemed quite interested in us and came over to check us "little boat people" out... and then they continued on their commute home to wherever the dolphins of the Aegean live... What a thrilling experience and enough of a boost in team morale to pick up the pace and paddle in strong to our long awaited shower and bed and return again to Milos.

We dined that night in the town of Appalonia, a little chic "euro -cafe" kind of place with tables along the water's edge of this sweet fishing village...
Here's to another fabulous day on and off the water!!
And yes...as soon as the head hits the pillow again...ZZZZzzzzzz....
Sweet swaying dreams,
kali nikta,
Breezegirl

thank goodness it is a full moon! June 17th continued...

Dirk, my fellow guide and I, accompanied by our "imbeddded" journalist Dan headed back into town still in search of something snacklike for our sunset hike and really got to wander (albeit quickly for the town pace!)amongst the ante- mykolos streets of the Horio, we met an elderly woman who lived inside the medieval castle walls sitting on her porch tatting(embroidering) her eyes were sparkling and alive and she gladly put down her wellworn thimble, needle and cloth to show us where to come and eat dinner (restaurant opens at 9pm!) and walked with us to the castle gate to say goodbye. The streets were a maze of painted white washed steps and paths (so easy to get lost in) and amazing churches, the oldest being the Birth of Jesus Christ, built in 1592 and the village dominating cathedral with it's domed roof(1874) We wished we had more time to explore this but we were on a mission and were extremely elated to find a bakery open at 6pm and bought some deliciously honey sweetened baklava pastries(of which we 3 had to independently taste test of course!)
We sped back to Aliki to collect "the family" and all 15 of us piled lap sitting intimately into the van for a fun trip to the geological epicenter of Kimolos in search of Skiadi( the big mushroom rock) Rick got to ride these wild roads as the trunk/boot boys Dirk and Dan got jostled around amongst the beverages. Funny how a small open bottle of tequila smell can permeate such a space!! they probably needed it or at least deserved it!
We arrived at the Church of Prophet Ilias(where I had been told to leave the car by the locals) and we hiked further up along the road past grazing donkeys...in search of the yet unexplored by NWP hike to Skiadi. The hike was beautiful, the light gorgeous...the vista of islands off shore stunning...no sign of Skiardi but what a magickal place!! We finally saw our mushroom rock but by now had been hiking 40minutes plus and the glorious golden hour of sunset was fading fast so we climbed on top of the roof of an empty farm house to sip champagne and to toast to Seth his
50th, share baklavas and watch the sun slip into the sea as the full moon rose spectacularly over the highest peak on the island behind us.

What a packed day !and we would still make it to our restaurant after it opened at 9pm for a later than usual meal for us (but traditionally Greek dining hour) I wasn't hungry, nourished by the beauty of Kilmolos (and a little baklava)...but then I hadn't paddled all day and I knew that there wouldn't be too much after dinner lingering tonight for these tired folks... as soon as their heads hit the pillow....ZZZZZZzzzzzz I'm sure...