Our final morning finds us approaching the west side of the island of Sifnos, which had originally been our intended destination on the first day of this voyage a long week ago. Of course, one of the strengths of expedition travel is taking advantage of the opportunities to adjust the itinerary around favorable winds and quiet days at popular islands like Santorini, so we were happy to hear that we would be returning to visit the off-the-beaten track island of Sifnos after all.
The limestone and schistose cliffs become increasingly spectacular as we approach the northwestern harbor of Kamares, which means “arch” in Greek. The familiar whitewashed blue-domed churches stood sentinel on either side of the bay, and high on the ridge above . . . yes, another remote chapel that some ancient sailor had no doubt built in promised thanks for an answer to his prayers at sea.
Sifnos is an island with something for everyone, which makes it perfect for our final morning. While the original villages of the Cycladic Islands are all hidden up in the hills and mountains where they were out of sight of marauding medieval pirates, Kamares has a charming harbor town that has developed to accommodate mainland Greek visitors who come to the island for its well known cuisine and distinctive pottery. Kamares also has a very nice sandy beach, which offers a refreshing and reflective Aegean swim on our final morning.
Most of us chose to drive inland the village of Kastro, the Venetian-era castle town perched on an isolated promontory on the east side of the island. We passed by intricately constructed dovecotes that still house pigeons raised for meat as in the Venetian times. Windmills graced the ridges and bright blue boxes housed the honey bees that produce the renowned thyme honey of the island.
But the highlight of the kastro is the architecture itself, with a jumble of cubic houses stacked on and around each other, with ancient Roman marble picked up from debris piles a thousand years later to be used by the Venetians to construct their walls and homes. We ducked through tunnels and archways, walked narrow alleys and passageways, and finally emerged on the other side of Kastro to one of the most stunning views of a week of stunning views. The Aegean stretched endlessly ahead of us and below us, with Syros, Paros, Antiparos, Naxos, Ios and Sikiros spread before us. And then below us, like a delicate jewel at the shoreline, the tiny postcard-perfect Church of the Seven Martyrs. It was enough to make one laugh with delight. Some of us scrambled for photographs from every angle, while others descended the steep trail to the church below, but we all ended up in one of the two village kafenias to relax and enjoy our final morning in the Cyclades.
This afternoon we set sail in light winds past the island of Serifos, with plenty of time to relax and reflect on the rich and varied week of exciting sailing and landfalls. Who would have thought that so many islands could share such similar histories and geography, yet with such different personalities. Always a reason to return to the Cyclades, and to the dreams of the Sea Cloud . . . .
