Sailing / Amorgos, Greece
Our morning started with a fine, moderate, northwesterly breeze; our course set in a southwesterly direction towards the easternmost of the Cyclades Islands, Amorgos – our afternoon destination. The captain sent the crew to the lines to set all of the square sails, three of the mainmast topsails and the inner jib. The winds held throughout the morning and the Sea Cloud clipped along at 5.5 knots under a blue sky. We had a leisurely breakfast, held over until 9:30, with time to watch the constellation of the sails, to read in a deck chair, or to doze in the sun.
At 10:00 Robyn Woodward gave a talk on the Pirates of the Mediterranean. Piracy changed the look of the landscape, forcing villages to move from the coastline to hidden places in the hills out of sight. We saw that in Santorini yesterday, and would see a dramatic example again later today in Amorgos. In the meantime, we enjoyed the sun and the sails. The “Blue Lagoon” aft of the ship was a favorite spot, as was the bridge, to watch the radar and check the charts. Stella and Smaro gave an introduction to the island and the Greek Orthodox religion.
The Sea Cloud was now doing seven knots and overshot Amorgos, so the ship came about and at 3:00 we anchored off the harbor of Katapola. The main town or “chora” was hidden high in the hilltops and is one of the most beautiful villages in the Cycladic Islands. It’s perhaps best known for the small monastery on the south side of the island, set dramatically into a cliff-face. Still active, its caretakers are three Orthodox monks who hold daily Vespers.
Guests chose from two options today. One group would take a guided walk through the chora. A coach took us up the switchback roads with grand views of the sea, to the photogenic village with its white cubic architecture—invisible from the shoreline. We strolled past balconies dripping fuchsia bougainvillea and red geraniums, colorful blue and green doorways, and juniper trees (you can tell which way the wind blows on this island from the lean of the trees.)
For those feeling energetic and wanting to stretch their legs with a good hike, the second option was to visit the Monastery of the Panagia Hozoviotissa, up 300 stone steps cut into a cliff rising straight from the sea. As our guide, Smaro, said “no words can describe the sight or the feeling.” But the photographers among us were determined to capture the bright white of the monastery and the turquoise blue of the sea below. Local tradition states that the community was founded on the arrival of a miraculous wooden icon of the Virgin Mary, which is kept in the church as an important relic. The icon had been desecrated in Cyprus and broken in two, yet was miraculously transported by a sea current to the foot of the cliff on Amorgos and the two pieces were rejoined there.
Once inside the monastery, we were warmly greeted and could still smell the incense from the 4:00 Vespers. Smaro explained some of the iconography hung on the stone walls, which were cut from the cliff-face. Before we headed back down the 300 steps, we were fortified with a treat of a local sweet and a type of Greek grappa. A brief bus ride took us to the chora for a quick walk through the cobbled streets, stopping to take photos and to see where a Roman relic had been incorporated over a doorway.
Dinner aboard Sea Cloud tonight was an outdoor barbecue on the lido deck, followed by a rousing performance by the Sea Cloud Shanty Gang (aka the Sea Cloud crew) singing their saltiest tunes.
“Yo Ho Ho-oooooo! The wind blows free!
Aye, for the life of the rovin’ sea!”
