isle of Kuofonissia to Paros to Serifos, GR - Livadakia, Greece
Livadakia, Greece
Good Morning, from the sleepy little hallow, in a small corner of the Cyclades, Kuofonissia. What a perfect still, flat, peaceful day to begin our journey. Jacques is of the feeling that we should be starting each day, with an early morning departure, so we arrive at our destination during daylight hours, and just before sunset. This way we can enjoy our anchorage or harbor from land as well as sea. For this reason we left our peaceful tranquility at 7:00a.m..... Me, I was remained in bed for another hour before starting my day... It is so neat that just because Milena wants to begin early -- I do not. My bed is going to go, with me in/out of it... asleep/awake. Yes.... I am truly blessed, and this definitely is the life of pure leisure/fun/adventure. Our first stop of the day was the island of Paros. and shopping for food supplies. We were only there about 45 minutes, before returning to Milena. Me hopping silently, "Please Milena, let your engine start, so we can leave Paros!" Note on past memory: Funny, I do not like Paros. The last time I was in Paros, was 10 years ago. We had to be towed back to Paros, from neighboring Stifnos, when Milena's engine broke! It was at Stifnos the night before, that we lost the dinghy, and recovered it off the rocks. All scrapped up, and badly bruised, with a broken motor. No... this was not a good stoppage area for us. After we got towed back to Paros -- We were held captive there for 6 days...waiting for a new engine to be shipped to us from France. During this "strandedness", Rick was a very unhappy camper. Trying to think of fun things to do on an island for six days became quite difficult, particularly when all Rick wanted to do at one point, was leave Milena, and go back home. My creativeness was in high gear to change his mind, and when it was all said and done -- we did have a lot of fun....but swore there would never be a reason to return to Paros, because we had seen/done it all. PAROS Paros is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about 8 km (5 mi) wide. It lies approximately 100 mi (161 km) south-east of Piraeus (Athens). The Municipality of Paros includes numerous uninhabited offshore islets totaling 196.308 km² of land. Its nearest neighbor is the municipality of Antiparos, which lies to its southwest. Historically, Paros was known for its fine white marble, which gave rise to the term "Parian" to describe marble or china of similar qualities. Today, abandoned marble quarries and mines can be found on the island, but Paros is primarily known as a popular tourist spot. Once out in the open sea again, it felt wonderful to have not only to have left Paros, but now enjoy a totally flat, mirror-like sea, that felt like sliding over glass with wet feet. In places the water was almost turquoise.... OMG... what do I see.... FLIPPER! Wow! A large school of dolphins were criss-crossing our bow!! Dolphin sightings have always symbolized good luck for sailors... so Milllie is now being embraced as she follows the dancing dolphins. Me? I was trying to get a photo of these playful creatures. What a wonderful afternoon to be escorted to the island of Serifos, by a couple of schools of Dolphins SERIFOS Serifos is a Greek island municipality in the Aegean Sea, located in the western Cyclades. In Greek mythology, Serifos is where Danaë and her infant son Perseus washed ashore after her father Acrisius, in response to an oracle that his own grandson would kill him, set them adrift at sea in a wooden chest. When Perseus returned to Serifos with the head of the Gorgon Medusa, he turned Polydektes, the king of Serifos, and his retainers into stone as punishment for the king's attempt to marry his mother by force. In antiquity the island was proverbial for the alleged muteness of its frogs. During the Roman imperial period, Serifos was a place of exile. After 1204 it became a minor dependency of the Venetian dukes of the Archipelago. In the late 19th century Serifos experienced a modest economic boom from exploitation of the island's extensive iron ore deposits. The mines closed in the 1960s, and Serifos now depends on tourism and small-scale agriculture. There are blocks of island marble built into the walls of the medieval castle crowning Chora, the hilltop main town of Serifos, show that the ancient capital was there as well. Chance finds, primarily marble funerary sculpture, are displayed in the Archaeological Collection in Chora The most impressive ancient monument is the White Tower, a Hellenistic marble watchtower (ca. 300 BC) with walls preserved to 2 m. and an interior staircase, standing on a hilltop just east of the road from Chora. It was 5:00p.m., by the time we concluded with all the mooring activities, and the passerale was out, allowing connection with the town. I wanted to make yet another dinner for Milena, so Marina and I jumped ship, and went on the scrounge for a couple of last minute supplies. There were two little stores, just off the dock, so we grabbed what I needed, and then we off in search of "a coffee". Jacques found us a few minutes latter, and quickly slurped down a Mythos, before we all returned to Milena. The harbor was very h o t, and the air was h e a v y, and wet. Not very pleasant.... Returning to Milena, I thought there would be a breeze or coolness, since we were positioned at the very end. No... I was wrong. It was muggy and hot everywhere, and there was no air. I ave been to Serifos several times, and been stuck here as well, due to the "always bad weather in the Cyclades". The Chora at the top is fun, but also takes well over 25 minutes in a hair raising taxi ride, to get to the parking lot at the top....where then you have to continue to walk. It is so hot at the waters edge, that taxiing up to the Chora did not sound the least bit appealing. ..... particularly knowing it is at least 15 degrees hotter there, on the narrow little streets, which are always air-less. Yes, and evening on Milena, is the perfect solution. cooking dinner was a bit of a challenge, due to the heat, but within a couple of hour we were all sitting topside enjoying the dinner I had prepared, with a nice bottle of red wine to wash it all down with. Grand Marniers and Greek coffees ended the evening perfectly. Bon Nuit......