Milos

 We flew from Rome to Athens and then caught a small flight over to the island of Milos.  Milos is a volcanic island of the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea.  Greece has between 100-200 inhabited islands, so choosing which islands to visit was a challenge.  Ultimately I decided on Milos because it is considered a little less touristy than many of the other islands.  It also has numerous beautiful beaches.  I wanted the bulk of our Greek island time to essentially be a beach vacation, therefore I wanted to pick an island with plenty of good beaches.  Our first full day on Milos did not disappoint.  In fact, almost everyone said that it was their favorite day of our entire 21 day trip.  We had a private sailboat tour of the island.  It costs extra to get a private tour but we felt it was worth it. We sailed with Polco sailing company.  It was an excellent experience.  They took us to multiple swimming stops including Kleftiko which is a rocky beach area full of sea caves.  Pirates used to hide out in the sea caves waiting to attack unsuspecting ships as they passed by.  We were even able to get off the sailboat and into a dingy boat to explore the sea caves.  In addition to the beautiful swimming stops, they also fed us excellent food and snacks.  It was an unforgettable day!

On our second full day in Milos, we visited Sarakiniko (moon) beach.  It is one of the most photographed beaches on the island due to the unique volcanic rock that covers the area.  It truly does look like you landed on the moon!  Coleman went cliff jumping (while I prayed!).  We explored some caves that were dug into the soft rock.  Unfortunately Abbie got stung by a sea anemone when her leg brushed up against a rock in the water.  It stung for a while!

After visiting "moon beach" we went to visit the catacombs of Milos.  I did not realize until after we decided to vacation on Milos that there were in fact Christian catacombs there.  It was truly so fascinating.  These catacombs were not discovered until the 1800s, but they have been dated back to approximately 100 AD.  There are rumors that the apostle Paul shared the gospel on this island, but the Bible does not mention it.  Either way, there was a strong Christian presence by 100 AD and the Christians were burying their dead and having worship services in the catacombs.

After the catacombs, we visited an ancient theater and then ate dinner in the town of Plaka.  There is a beautiful castle at the top of the mountain in Plaka.  It's a Venetian style castle and a wonderful place to view the sunset. We didn't stay until sunset because the kids were tired, but I am sure it would have been gorgeous.  We were so blessed to view beautiful sunsets from the patio area of our aibnb.  Every summer day in Greece is a beautiful sunset day because there is always a cloudless sky.

For our final full day on the island, we visited a different beach called Firaplaka.  We also went to the small fishing village of Pollonia for dinner.  Firaplaka was a unique beach with layered colors in the rocks due to various minerals (sulfur, iron, and manganese).

I had to post this final picture!  Have you heard about the meltemi (a.k.a. etesian winds)?  These winds blow off and on all summer long in Greece.  The meltemi is a dry wind from the north, and it's especially felt in the cyclades islands.  For the most part, they are a welcome relief from the heat.  However if they are blowing hard and you are on a sandy beach, look out!  They also can make for some funny photos!