Portugal, Sicily, Greece and the Balkans

[Scash]

Visited Sarakiniko beach today and all I can say is WOW! My photos just won’t do it justice. It was overcast so you didn’t get the brilliant whites of the rocks or blue of the sea but still magnificent. You can see why they call Moon Beach.

I apologise for the photos but as I said it was cloudy but also hazy from sand being blown in from the Sahara (a bit more on this later). Google Moon Beach and look at photos. It is spectacular

 

[ellen10]

Did you go swimming or snorkelling?

 

[Scash]

Did you go swimming or snorkelling?

Yes I had a swim. Water was a bit cool but still nice.

 

[Seat0B]

I apologise for the photos

No need to- the ones with the white/grey sky and sand contrasted to the turquoise water are spectacular.

 

[Scash]

On our return from Sarakiniko Beach the weather turned cyclonic so we sheltered in doors for a few hours. I have a couple of videos but don’t seem to be able to upload. After the weather settled we ventured to Plaka for a look round. Such a pretty place.



We got back to Adamas where we were staying as the big Seajet ferry came in so decided to sit and watch. As mentioned in an earlier post, and as can be seen from the photos, the sky was brown from sand blown in from the Sahara.




As we were watching it started raining lightly however the rain was full of sand. We didn’t realise this at first but after a little while we noticed brown marks on our jackets!

 

[VPS]

You probably need to upload your videos to youtube and then share

 

[Scash]

You probably need to upload your videos to youtube and then share

Thanks @VPS

 

[Scash]

You probably need to upload your videos to youtube and then share

Videos of the bad weather in Milos. Hopefully I’ve done it correctly and the links work.

 

[OZDUCK]

Videos of the bad weather in Milos. Hopefully I’ve done it correctly and the links work.

Worked fine for me,

 

[Scash]

The following day we had a half day sail boat tour booked and awoke to a clear but windy morning. The trip started smoothly but as we went through the headland to the open sea the wind and swell really picked. We were heading in to the swell which I estimate was up to 2 metres at times, with wind strength estimated by the crew up to 8 Beaufort.

It was a little scary at as we went up the face of the waves and crashed down the back, sending spray all over us. At one point we heeled over so far that the port side gunnels were at water level and huge gushes of water washed over the deck and soaked everyone sitting on that side. I’ll also mention that there was no safety instructions and nor were told where the life jackets were, assuming that they actually had any!

We finally turned and were going with the swell which made it better, but then they dinghy came loose so we had to turn around to get it. At one point we were side on to the swell and I was a little worried .

We finally got to the south end of the island which was protected from the wind and conditions changed almost instantly. It was too rough to initially to get any photos so these aren’t a true reflection but we went from this



To this!



We stopped at a number of spots and I have a million photos but will try and control myself and only select some of the better ones. Despite the bad conditions getting there it was so worth it to see these places.

 

[VPS]

The following day we had a half day sail boat tour booked and awoke to a clear but windy morning. The trip started smoothly but as we went through the headland to the open sea the wind and swell really picked. We were heading in to the swell which I estimate was up to 2 metres at times, with wind strength estimated by the crew up to 8 Beaufort.

It was a little scary at as we went up the face of the waves and crashed down the back, sending spray all over us. At one point we heeled over so far that the port side gunnels were at water level and huge gushes of water washed over the deck and soaked everyone sitting on that side. I’ll also mention that there was no safety instructions and nor were told where the life jackets were, assuming that they actually had any!

We finally turned and were going with the swell which made it better, but then they dinghy came loose so we had to turn around to get it. At one point we were side on to the swell and I was a little worried .

We finally got to the south end of the island which was protected from the wind and conditions changed almost instantly. It was too rough to initially to get any photos so these aren’t a true reflection but we went from this

View attachment 446599View attachment 446600

To this!

View attachment 446601

We stopped at a number of spots and I have a million photos but will try and control myself and only select some of the better ones. Despite the bad conditions getting there it was so worth it to see these places.

View attachment 446602View attachment 446603View attachment 446604View attachment 446605View attachment 446607View attachment 446608View attachment 446609View attachment 446610View attachment 446611View attachment 446612View attachment 446613View attachment 446614View attachment 446615

That water is so clear and beautiful

 

[Scash]

So next stop Santorini. We caught a Seajet ferry from Milos which took about 1 1/2 hours. I had read horror stories about this company but it all went smoothly. Our ferry was huge and holds 1,000 pax and 200 cars. The unloading and boarding process only takes about 5 minutes and about the only efficient thing I’ve seen in Greece so far .

Our lodgings for the next 4 nights. I don’t think I’ve ever slept in round bed before!





We did a small group tour and visited all the usual spots (Oia, Black Beach, Megalochori) then went back to Oia in the evening for the sunset. People normally go to the castle for sunset view but our guide from our earlier tour had told us that if it’s too busy there keep going to the windmill as it’s almost as good. The castle was packed so we went to the windmill and it was relatively quiet.

 

[Scash]

Despite our previous experience we booked another sail tour, although this time we stayed within calm waters. The boat is an old style triple mast wooden sailboat approximately 30 metres long. We are staying in Fira and departing from the old port so we walked down the 650 stairs! Each step is approx 1.5 metres wide so about a 1 klm walk on steep rough stone path interspersed with donkeys and donkey poo . It took maybe 20 minutes or so to get to the bottom.



We got the bottom and saw this sign so what else could we do



Our boat.



First stop was the volcanic island of Nea Kamini. We didn’t get off as it was too hot and had previously seen volcanic craters etc.



Next was the hot springs of Palaia Kameni Island for people to swim. As you can see from the photos the water is sulfuric and also contains iron and manganese and can stain clothing.

 

[Scash]

We then moved on to have dinner and watch the sunset and anchored under Oia. It was a cloudy evening and so the sunset was a bit of a non event.



On our return we got the cable car up from the old port as there was no way I was walking back up the stairs! It was getting dark by now and this is what Fira looked like when we got to the top .

 

[Scash]

When we travel we try keep to a food budget and mix things up between eating out or self catering (by self catering I mean crackers, cheese, tomato and wine ). It was our last night in Santorini and the weather was perfect so we decided to splurge and went to Koultoura Restaurant. We chose this place for the view but the food and staff were awesome as well. The portion sizes were big and this would have easily fed three normal eaters, but it was that good that the two of us ate most of it! This place is a 10/10 for me.

. Volcano Saganaki Cheese (the dish at the back) - yellow fried cheese, carob cracker crust and tomato jam.
. Spinach and Rocket Salad - spinach, rocket, raisins, sweet & sour pear, manouri cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic, ginger and sesame oil dressing
. Black Pork Chop - it was supposed to come with sweet potato purée but we got grilled veggies instead. The chop was huge and I’m guessing around 600 grams or so.

 

[ellen10]

Beautiful sunset views! Food looks great too!