We made two trips through
the Cyclades, one in August and the second in October. Due to strong northerlies in
the Cyclades, called meltemi, you only go East or West on a reach or South on a run!!
Our first stop was in Kithnos.
Then in Serifos where someone stole our AT&T telephone credit card number by overhearing it and memorizing it. We did not lose anything because the AT&T computer noticing the sudden change in calls pattern, from Greece to from Alabama, discontinued service immediately and we were the only ones to complain!!
We then went to Sifnos.
Here is one of the streets of Sifnos. The villages on the Islands of the Cyclades are famous for their beauty. Everything is painted white except some of the roofs that are usually blue. Everyone that has seen posters advertising travels to Greece has seen pictures of these villages, since they invariably show up on these posters.
We wanted to stop in Santorini
but one cannot anchor anywhere there: much too deep inside the crater. When we arrived in Ios, the Island just North of Santorini, we were lucky to find a spot deep inside the harbor. So we left E. Galois and took a ferry to visit Santorini for a day!
We are in Santorini and the picture shows the cliffs down into the crater. It is obvious from this picture why there are very few places shallow enough to anchor. The crater is open to the sea so that one can sail into the crater. Here is a ferry sailing out of the crater.
The next day we made an overnight sail to Iraklion on Crete. We found a spot inside the old Venitian Harbour.
The Iraklion Yacht Club had just built some docks and we were lucky to have a berth there. As a result E. Galois could be left safely while we visited the numerous sites on Crete.
During the week we were in Iraklion the meltemi blew real hard. Even though we were several hundred feet from the sea wall, E. Galois was covered with salt from the spray of crashing waves on the outside wall. We rented a car and visited many sites.
Here we visit the Palace of Minos at Knossos.
This is at Gortis the ruins of the oldest church on Crete.
We also visited many monasteries. On the right is the monastery of Arkadi.
More to come!
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