Poliegos and Milos Islands, Greece
The Panorama departed from Cape Sounion in the early hours of the morning. The journey southward was very smooth except for the light rocking of the ship that lulled everyone back to sleep. Just before breakfast we arrived at the island of Poliegos and the ship anchored in a remote cove. It is an uninhabited island and the meaning of its name is the “island of many goats.” The goats were not around but a lovely beach and lots of beautiful Aegean water were awaiting us.
Just after breakfast the kids gathered to split into their teams for our “Panoramics” competition for the week. Immediately thereafter everyone departed for the beach. Being near the water, on the water or in the water was the theme of the morning. Kayaks were out in the bay, snorkelers were exploring the shore and many of the guests just stayed on the beach and soaked it all in. Late in the morning a kayak relay race was organized as our first event in the Panoramics. We were all back onboard for lunch and the ship got underway for our next destination, the island of Milos.
We cruised along the north shore of Milos as our Greek guides, Stella and Ellie, gave us an introduction to the Greek language and challenged us to begin reading Greek on the local signs as the voyage went along. The Panorama arrived in port just as a local ferry was departing and we disembarked to explore the island just as the next ferry was arriving. The sleepy harbor town of Adamas comes alive during the ferry calls—in that they are the lifeblood of the Cycladic islands.
Milos Island is positioned about halfway between the Greece mainland and the island of Crete. When seen from the sky or viewed on a map, the islands’ volcanic origin is obvious. The caldera gives great protection to the port in that Adamas is located near the center. There are a variety of volcanic deposits on Milos that are mined including perlite, pozzolana, bentonite and kaolin—all of these are exported from here. There are also considerable deposits of obsidian which is a volcanic glass that occurs naturally and was once used to construct cutting tools used as early as the Neolithic era. This fact alone made it an important island for Aegean civilization.
We began our exploration of Milos with a visit to Sarakiniko which is placed along the northern shore of the island. It is a distinctive deposit of white volcanic rock that has been sculpted by the wind and sea. After this we made a stop at the archaeological site of Tripiti where the famed sculpture of the Venus de Milo was discovered. It was encountered by a local farmer in 1820 by chance and is now located at the Louvre in Paris. Before returning to the Panorama we made a short stop at the charming town of Plaka to wander the alleys and view some of the distinctive mosaics. We returned to the ship with time for some to take a swim at the local beach before dinner. After dinner there was time to wander along the water at Adamas and witness the town coming alive as the warm temperatures of the day cooled and the local residents emerged to enjoy the evening.
