We woke to a beautiful blue sky, we had breakfast overlooking the water. A very nice way to start the day.
We had a half day tour of Milos organised and were picked up by Andreas our guide at 10am. Straight onto the road and up the hill a bit from our hotel to Filakopi, and the remains of a prehistoric neolithic settlement. The settlement was in existence here for the period 3300 to 1100BC and is one of the most important Bronze Age settlements in the Aegeon.
Alongside the ruins was the Papafragas Caves. Long narrow inlets, or fiords, where the sea has eroded caves into the cliff face. At the back end of the inlet the cave opens up and there is a small beach only accessible by swimming through from the seaside. A beautiful location.
Then we moved onto Sarakiniko This is a popular place for swimming and Instagraming. ( I think I just made up a word!) The waters are clear and the long narrow cove very picturesque, as are the surrounding rock formations. The caves are carved into the wall of the long narrow inlet and their origins are open to many stories, from pirates seeking refuge to WWII, German troops storing munitions in them and using them for bomb shelters. The German use has been verified, the others are great stories, true or not.Time for morning tea. We stopped at a the Adamantas Bakery. They had a vast array of baked goods spreads (one of the spreads was said to be an aphrodisiac, and was given to newly weds for their wedding night) and local wine. We got a couple of cheese pies, they were so light and tasty.
Next we went to the location where the statue The Venus de Milo (or the Statue of Aphrodite of Milos) was found in 1820, a replica statue stands close to the site at which it was found. Andreas told us the story of how the Statue finished up in the Louvre in Paris. An interesting tale of opportunity, and political intrigue.
Around from the statue and down the hill is an ancient Amphitheatre that was discovered on 1870. It now holds about 700 people for summer night musical performances, it is thought to originally have been capable of holding maybe up to 7000. The Theatre was altered by the Romans at some time and they erected pediments on the left of the theatre that reflect the shape of the mountains across the bay behind them. Much of the marble of the original theatre was reused by locals in their buildings.
We the went to the nearby catacombs. They had been called The Greek Caves by the locals who were decended from Cretan settlers. The catacombs had suffered extensive damage over the years until they were rediscovered in 1844 by Ludwig Ross and further investigated and preserved by French archaeologists in 1878. In the entrance there is the remain of a large chamber, that once housed someone very important, it was later used as a type of alter. There are three chambers open, but you can only go into two of them. All the remains have been removed to another location (reburied), so all that is here now is rows of empty burial chambers.
We then went to Plaka, the capital of Milos. Milos has a population of around 5000 permanent residents. We parked at a location known locally as “the T”. Here we were shown the hill overlooking the town, the Castro, where locals once lived in fortified homes to protect themselves from outsiders. We walked around a small area of Plaka, gaining an insight into its history and some of the more notable people who lived there.
Next we drove down to the coast to a small village called Mandrakia. It has boat sheds carved into the cliffs and just a few homes right on the shore or cliffs overlooking it. Another beautiful village. Walking around we found a spot where a fisherman had their catch of octopus hung on lines in the sun, presumably drying. Fascinating!!
We had lunch at a restaurant called Medusa, with views overlooking the water. We shared a Greek Salad with local cheese (think cottage cheese style feta, with loads of flavour) and some chargrilled octopus. I had a local pilaster to wash it down. It was delicious, and good to say we are finally working out portion sizes and ordering just enough for us.
After lunch we were driven back to our hotel, we had such a good tour. Andreas was a knowledgeable guide who had a story to tell about everything we saw. It makes such a difference having someone with you who can explain what you are seeing and the history / stories behind it.
After cooling down a little I walked into our local village Pollonia to scope out a restaurant Andreas had “recommended”. It looks good for local food and the location is great, a casual 10 min walk away. The village of Pollonia, is a small fishing village with a few shops providing basic supplies and about half a dozen restaurants.
We had dinner down in Pollonia at a restaurant called Enalion, and sat in a section on the foreshore. We shared a fish roe dip (Taramasalata), tomato fritters and fried squid with a Groat salad. It was so good. We walked back to our hotel as the sun was setting, the finish to a great day.
