Greece Part Two

We used Milos as one of our "reset" periods. There is so much to see in Europe (and everywhere in the world) that we often default in only spending a couple of days in each city/location. While this allows us to maximize our sightseeing and adventures, it also keeps us from truly knowing and feeling out a place/people/culture. Plus, since we are truly living abroad now and not just visiting for a week or two, we need time for basic living and clerical tasks like laundry, working out, cooking meals, exchanging photos, catching up with family, and this blog (which those of you following our Instagram will notice, is always behind!). So, we spent almost 4 full days in Milos, which was exactly what we needed, although there were some hiccups. First, we had intended to do our laundry ourselves, but none of the reasonably priced accommodations that we found had a washer (more on that later). Second, the area we stayed in did not have any type of market (more on that too). Finally, our intended methods of travel, which worked so great in Santorini, did not exactly line up (again, we will explain below).

When we arrived in Milos, we were hoping to catch a bus to our accommodation (an awesome "hotel" room with a kitchen that overlooked the sea). There are many beaches on Milos (we visited 9 of them, passed by at least 5 more, and there are at least a few dozen more on parts of the island we never even got to). Because of this, it was really hard to guess at which accommodations at which beaches were actually accessible (most people rent cars or take taxis on these islands, so our travel style is not always well spoken for in online reviews). Our place ended up being not on a bus route and the taxi there was out of our price range. Plus, we had too much stuff to take on an ATV. So, instead, we reviewed the bus schedule and routes and made a best guess for which bus would take us closest to our hotel. One of them, that ran only 3 times a day, went in the general direction and we strategized to ask the bus driver to drop us off at a the nearest spot. As the bus didn't leave for another hour, we dipped in to the nearest café to split a quick pizza. The pizza ended up taking the full hour to get to us (one of the people on our bus actually said they saw the pizza being handed off to our waiter from a different restaurant, ha!) so we had to quickly pay and take it with us. This means we piled on to the bus with a full pizza in hand, in addition to our large travel backpacks, our smaller "carry-on" backpacks, and a mismatch of loose items from our scurry onto the bus to catch it in time. Meanwhile, most of the other tourists simply had day bags in hand. But we made some friends on board, and they helped us ask the bus driver to stop next to a dusty old side road to drop us off in what was likely the most desolate spot on the center of the island. After a hot 2km walk, we were finally at out hotel. We settled in, walked down to the tavern (really the only place for food or drink for a few miles) and had some Moussaka (Kyle describes it as "fluffy eggplant lasagna"), more Saganaki, and more Greek salad.

We still had the transportation issue the next morning, so we solved that and our lack-of-workout problem by running the 5+ miles back into Adamantas (the port town we were dropped off in). We found a SPECTACULAR bakery (seriously, the best of the trip so far and there are bakeries on every corner in Europe) to enjoy breakfast, and started our search for an ATV to rent. Despite the overwhelming amount of rental places, most of the ATVs were booked, and one grumpy shop owner said our licenses weren't allowed (this was only after he asked if we were from the USA and then immediately frowned when we confirmed). As a side note, you'll need an international driver's license to rent and operate an ATV, Vespa, or car in Greece (this is true in most of Europe in theory, but certainly not always enforced). You can get one at many different locations, we got ours by showing our US licenses at a AAA office for $20. A typical license will open you up to "Class B" vehicles, which definitely includes most scooters and ATVs. Back to the story: despite Kyle showing his international permit, we were kicked to the curb and our search continued. We finally found a shop with one available, but did not have the ability to haggle down on price (the whole "supply and demand" thing, ya know?) so we ended up overpaying for a dinky little 150cc thing with a broken speedometer, that struggled with hills and had a slipping transmission that tried to throw us off from time to time. Needless to say, we were immediately smitten with it and it became our trusted steed for the next couple of days.

After picking up the red stallion, we made a grocery run and headed back to the hotel for a quick lunch and a 3 hour lazy afternoon on the beach. The beach we stayed by (Agia Kariaki beach) was perfectly secluded, had level sand a couple of hundred yards our into the water, and pristine turquoise waters. Kyle was astounded that people didn't flock to it but Nicole, who had already been to the island, knew just how many cool beaches Milos had to offer, so it was understood that there would be some of these cool secluded areas too. After relaxing, we showered and headed into town to do laundry at a laundromat. While a bit pricey, the lady running the laundromat was super helpful and even put new loads in for us while we were out exploring the town. We didn't pay for drying (budget!!) so we raced home from there to hang the clothes up to dry. It had been awhile since our last laundry day and most of both of our bags were in the wash pile, so our single clothes line did not come close to being enough. Every indoor and outdoor surface was quickly covered with drying clothes, including some creative hanging spots (bed posts, cabinet handles, door frames, etc). We cooked a big dinner (homemade bowtie pasta and Greek salad, Nicole kicks ass at improvised dinner with foreign grocery spreads) and watched a movie before bed (Kyle watched, Nicole fell asleep...it felt just like being at home!).

The next day we hit as many beaches as we could! We started with a cool little beach called Firopotomas beach, which had little fishing huts built into the shoreline. We swam around and laid out to dry before heading to Sarakiniko for some cliff jumping (one of Kyle's favorite activities...he claims it helps him overcome his fear of heights but we actually think, at heart, he's really just an adventourous 10 year old with a cape). The following beach, Alogomandra, was our lunch spot where we ate our pre-packed sandwiches and enjoyed the seclusion and rolling ocean breeze. From there, we went to Papa Fragas, a narrow strip of beach located in a wedge between two cliffs. There was a gated off "Do Not Enter" path to the bottom but, hey, there were others down there so we joined in and swam around the inlet for awhile. From there, we headed to the south side of the island to Paleochori beach, which was a pure golden sand beach perfect for a few games of pepper with our mini volleyball that we had been dragging around since Croatia. Nicole even surprised Kyle with some cookies from our STILL AMAZING bakery that she had picked up when she "stopped in to grab water only." From there, we went to Tsigrado Beach, which required ladders and ropes to reach, and honestly had the coolest views. Nearby was Firiplaka Beach, which ended up being the absolute perfect beach to lay out and enjoy the sunset. Our final beach was Provatas. Since it was dark, and this beach was known to have bars along it, we headed there for a couple of cocktails, which we had been craving after spending all day in the hot sun, salty water, and dusty roads. Unfortunately, by the time we got there the only places open were two fancy seaside restaurants. Still not deterred, we sat in our beach attire at a couch ("this is the only place you can do drinks-only" according to the waiter) and had a couple of spritz-typed drinks before booking it home in the now pitch black (and surprisingly cold!) darkness. We ate leftovers (plus a fresh Greek salad, of course) before turning in from a wonderful, but exhausting day).

Because of our kind host, we did not have to check out until late the next morning (noon) so we slept in, enjoyed a late breakfast and coffee with our great view, and slowly packed up. We mentioned earlier that the ATV did not have enough room for baggage, but we decided to give it a go anyway. We packed as much as we could in the back compartment, but still had to tie various bags onto the racks and have Nicole hold on for dear life to the others. We received many laughs from the others on the road as we slowly made our way back into Adamantas. After dropping Nicole off with all of the baggage, Kyle returned the ATV and we waited out the ferry at a coffee shop. Prior to the ferry's arrival we made one last stop for treats at our favorite bakery, and we were off back to Athens!

A couple of side notes about our experience in Greece: There are cats everywhere! They roam all of the restaraunts and stand outside every hotel. Almost all that we saw were well-behaved, well-groomed, and well-fed (locals and tourists alike love having them around). Although we are dog-lovers, and Kyle is allergic, it was hard not to sneak a few pets when one wandered under the table....the tap water is questionable in Athens and not drinkable on the islands, so be prepared to buy bottled water (something we try to avoid for cost and environmental purposes). Luckily, the government has strict restrictions on how much bars and restaurants can sell water for, so there is always cheap water available even if you can't carry a big jug home from a grocery store.

Levis shirt update: back to a tourist hot spot, back to this crazy trend! Shirt count: 121