This morning Sea Cloud sailed into Kamares bay on the west side of the island of Sifnos. We took the Zodiacs ashore and boarded our buses and drove to the east side of the island where the ancient acropolis and medieval center known as Kastro, is located. On the way we marveled at the number of whitewashed churches on the hilltops. Our guides took us on an orientation walk around the town of Kastro, which is a characteristic town where the houses have their backs facing outwardly creating a fortification wall. The vistas of the Aegean around us impressed us but the interior of the village was a big surprise. The houses were on two or three levels and had embedded in their walls ancient columns and capitals of the doric and ionic style.
After the end of the walk some of us descended to the level of the sea and visited the Church of the Seven Martyrs where Doug, like St. Peter, held the key and let us in. Our reward after an hour of walking around and taking beautiful pictures was lemonopita (lemon pie) at the local coffee shop and freddo cappuccino. Driving back to Kamares we noted the terrace walls and dovecotes, so characteristic of the Cycladic islands.
In Kamares some of us went swimming and others went to watch a potter at work. Sifnos has been known as one of the best pottery centres of Greece in the last century. A lot of us purchased marvelous pottery inspired by traditional designs. Lunch was al fresco and luscious as usual on the lido deck and immediately after lunch the sails were hoisted and we sailed south to Santorini. After dinner the full moon had risen above the caldera of Santorini and our crew entertained us with sea shanties, while all of us sang along and had a great time. Another great day in the Greek Isles had left unbelievable memories.
