Petrinela Guesthouse Milos

Today we just got back from the most incredible rock beach. The rock was solid formations of bleached white stone, rising in cliffs and leaning into the clear blue sea. The water was warm and the sun was way to hot. The bus system here requires us to shell out about ten euros a day to get around, but its worth it. From camping last night (in the sometimes unsleepable heat!), we woke up and bused into town and then to the Sarakini (the rock beach.) Our camera ran out of batteries ...

... take us to the hotel. We stayed for several nights and asked the owner if there was any place we could do some laundry. We had run out of clean clothing after two weeks of traveling with no access to a washing machine. The owner said to give him whatever we needed done and he would have it taken care of for us. The next day our laundry came back clean and folded. We asked him what we owed for having it done and he said “no charge”! That really impressed us.

The ...

... while sampling the excellent food at different taverns each night.

High atop the Chora on the highest cliff of the island is a stunning old monastery built in the 1600s. We climbed up to it on a paved trail and enjoyed the amazing views of the island and the sea 1,400 feet below!

Once you leave the main town you will find a rural and fairly empty landscape of terraced hills which are no longer farmed. The remains of old ...

... lamps, nails, screwdrivers, bolts, nuts, all that guarded by the very alert look of his mother. She must be over eighty. Sitting at the entrance on her wheelchair - at first I thought that an entrance fee must be paid to enter this museum shop. But then she points her finger to her son, who sits behind a table full of Unidentified dusty objects. An excellent place to buy some souvenir for those at home. My wife bought Sandals for her son, I a bought a lot ...

... rent a studio from Roula - the owner of Nefeli studios in Polonia (another small village) 10 minutes by car from the port. Ask for the room with the fire place (40 eu), it's worth it. Not that the other rooms are bad - the entire place is spotless. 15 meters from the sea. You have arrived to paradise. In my next posting I'll explain what the old Greek do to live far after 90, smoke at eat as if there is no tomorrow.    

... fruit and vegetable stores, which are all quite good and cheap.

We had breakfast in one of the many cafes on the square and began to plan today's itinerary. We decided to rent an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) aka a quad bike for us to explore the island and started walking around the village to find a bike rental shop. Found one at the fringe of the village – Lignos Stelios ...

... would have put on more appropriate footwear. At the end of our journey, my poor beautiful beaded slippers I bought from Bali
were totally destroyed!


From Vorina Bay to Chora (Hora):

We stayed for quite some time on this beach as we were rather tired from all the climbing. Climbing upwards to the road level was harder than going down. By the time we reached the road, it was already early ...

... on the deck in a life jacket and skirt and now wondering whether everybody could see my knickers! Seriously that was my first thought after l realized l wasn't dying! One minute l think lam dying on the side of a Greek road somewhere and the next lam worried lam flashing these complete strangers! Anyways- some crew got me to my feet and carried me off to a couch inside, still speaking to me in Greek l managed to mumble "Sarah...where's Sarah?" I hear them mutter "Sara ...

... not that I have been there, mom). Can anyone guess why I shouldn't tell Greeks that I'm going to Turkey? Istanbul used to be the capital of Greece. There have been huge battles for centuries, they manage as neighbors now. If you read the trip to Petos story about the Lebonies girl, well she is really Armainien (sp) and the Turks were the first to practice racial cleansing ...

... 4 was spent on the small island of Folengandros - a mainly limestone rock that has fishing, tourism and mining as its main activities. As with everywhere else we have been, the colours of the sky, sea and land were amazing, as were the steep cliffs that we sailed past on our way to the port of Karavostassis. We took the local bus to the main town of Chora at the top of the island. After lunch on board we set sail for Santorini.