From Milos to Astypalia: (May 2022)
Once good weather had returned, we sailed towards the island of Milos where we encountered
friends on the boat Cacao. This boat is doing more or less the same trip as us, so we meet them
regularly during the season. Once again, strong northerly winds were announced, forcing us to
stay in Milos for a few days. We enjoyed our stay on Milos very much as we could see again the
beach of Sarakiniko with the impressive white rocks. A little bit further on, we visited the
little fishing houses. They have bright colors and big garage-like doors that allow the fishing
boats to be put inside. Today, not many fishermen live there anymore, but have organized the
houses as air-BNB places which tourists can rent for the summer.
If you manage to rent a house there, you will have a room next to the sea. We also went to the
village of Plaka located on the hill. From there you have a beautiful view of the surrounding
seas. When the conditions improved, we headed toward Ios island. From the harbor you can
climb the stairway up to the old Chora, but most people climb further up to the three
churches, especially around sunset time. On the east side of the island, there is also the tomb
of Homer, the Greek poet who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey. History tells us today that he
laid the foundations of ancient Greek literature. Unfortunately, his tomb has not been
maintained at all, and we were extremely disappointed. You would expect that the island would
maintain the tomb of such an important figure. So if you plan to visit Homer’s tomb, be the trip
to the tomb is nice and along the way you will enjoy lots of lovely landscapes.
Our next stop was the island of Amorgos. This island is not visited by tourists very much, even
if a big part of the movie The Big Bleu was filmed there. The movie was very successful in
France but not in the other countries so this may explain why the island is not attracting big
crowds. The monastery of Panaghia Chozoviotissa is a place to visit. It is built on the south side
of the island on a high cliff and the largest part of the monastery is only 5 meters wide. It was
built in the 11 century and today only 2 monks live in it. During its most glorious days, more than
30 monks lived there.
Most of the entrance fee is used to maintain the monastery and every winter, a new coat of
white paint is applied. From an administrative point of view, the monastery is attached to
Santorini island located about 60 km away. From the parking lot you need to climb 200 stairs to
reach the entrance. Inside only a few rooms can be visited. It is a truly unique place, and if you
look out from it you can see Agia beach were a big part of the movie The Big Bleu was filmed.
The water is pristine and it was certainly the right place to make the movie. The rest of the
movie was made in Catania (Sicily).The next island we visited was Astipalia. This island is
shapedlike a butterfly and is a very popular place for tourism because of all the beaches. The
easiest way to reach is this place is to take the ferry. There is a small airport, but no
international flights reach the island. In May it was still the dead season, so nearly all the
shops were closed. There is a hospital, but most of the specialist doctors only go there for one
week a month or during the summer. If you need a dentist, you need to make sure he is present
on the island when you need him, otherwise you have to take the ferry to Santorini or another
major island for treatment. On top of the island, there is an old fortress that is in very bad
condition. Some restoration work is being done with EU funds, but at a very slow pace. Terus
was not moored in the main harbor as it was full, but at a jetty located east of the main harbor.
If you want to visit the city you can take the school bus at 7am and return at 1pm; otherwise,
you have to get a taxi. We stayed in Astipalia for 5 days due to the strong winds.
Not far away were we were docked the French Governement had erected a monument in honor
of Hippolyte Bisson. When he realised his vessel was about to be taken over by pirates on the 6
of Novembre 1827he went into the hold and blew himself up together with the boat so it would
not fall into the hands of pirates.
friends on the boat Cacao. This boat is doing more or less the same trip as us, so we meet them
regularly during the season. Once again, strong northerly winds were announced, forcing us to
stay in Milos for a few days. We enjoyed our stay on Milos very much as we could see again the
beach of Sarakiniko with the impressive white rocks. A little bit further on, we visited the
little fishing houses. They have bright colors and big garage-like doors that allow the fishing
boats to be put inside. Today, not many fishermen live there anymore, but have organized the
houses as air-BNB places which tourists can rent for the summer.
If you manage to rent a house there, you will have a room next to the sea. We also went to the
village of Plaka located on the hill. From there you have a beautiful view of the surrounding
seas. When the conditions improved, we headed toward Ios island. From the harbor you can
climb the stairway up to the old Chora, but most people climb further up to the three
churches, especially around sunset time. On the east side of the island, there is also the tomb
of Homer, the Greek poet who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey. History tells us today that he
laid the foundations of ancient Greek literature. Unfortunately, his tomb has not been
maintained at all, and we were extremely disappointed. You would expect that the island would
maintain the tomb of such an important figure. So if you plan to visit Homer’s tomb, be the trip
to the tomb is nice and along the way you will enjoy lots of lovely landscapes.
Our next stop was the island of Amorgos. This island is not visited by tourists very much, even
if a big part of the movie The Big Bleu was filmed there. The movie was very successful in
France but not in the other countries so this may explain why the island is not attracting big
crowds. The monastery of Panaghia Chozoviotissa is a place to visit. It is built on the south side
of the island on a high cliff and the largest part of the monastery is only 5 meters wide. It was
built in the 11 century and today only 2 monks live in it. During its most glorious days, more than
30 monks lived there.
Most of the entrance fee is used to maintain the monastery and every winter, a new coat of
white paint is applied. From an administrative point of view, the monastery is attached to
Santorini island located about 60 km away. From the parking lot you need to climb 200 stairs to
reach the entrance. Inside only a few rooms can be visited. It is a truly unique place, and if you
look out from it you can see Agia beach were a big part of the movie The Big Bleu was filmed.
The water is pristine and it was certainly the right place to make the movie. The rest of the
movie was made in Catania (Sicily).The next island we visited was Astipalia. This island is
shapedlike a butterfly and is a very popular place for tourism because of all the beaches. The
easiest way to reach is this place is to take the ferry. There is a small airport, but no
international flights reach the island. In May it was still the dead season, so nearly all the
shops were closed. There is a hospital, but most of the specialist doctors only go there for one
week a month or during the summer. If you need a dentist, you need to make sure he is present
on the island when you need him, otherwise you have to take the ferry to Santorini or another
major island for treatment. On top of the island, there is an old fortress that is in very bad
condition. Some restoration work is being done with EU funds, but at a very slow pace. Terus
was not moored in the main harbor as it was full, but at a jetty located east of the main harbor.
If you want to visit the city you can take the school bus at 7am and return at 1pm; otherwise,
you have to get a taxi. We stayed in Astipalia for 5 days due to the strong winds.
Not far away were we were docked the French Governement had erected a monument in honor
of Hippolyte Bisson. When he realised his vessel was about to be taken over by pirates on the 6
of Novembre 1827he went into the hold and blew himself up together with the boat so it would
not fall into the hands of pirates.
Our Journey: 2022
