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!!