Travel broadens the mind and also gives you perspective on life. Stepping out of your life periodically helps you see the world through fresh eyes and is certainly good for the soul!
I am not a writer but I believe that everybody can write, especially if there is something you are passionate about. My 'writing' may not be particularly poetic but I enjoy the reflective process and I believe that any creative pursuit should be encouraged. My blogs are more like a photograph albums with words.
My most recent passion is Egypt. My husband Peter is Egyptian and I have been truly privileged to have seen Egypt in ways that most tourists may not get the opportunity to. I will never tire of visiting Egypt. Every trip reveals something new and amazing. The blog 1001 Nights has also been the catalyst for the book we are writing about the village of Garagos - the place where Peter's ancestors have lived for generations.
My first passion is for Greece. I have been visiting Greece and the Islands for over 20 years and never tire of discovering new places - sometimes revisiting the very special places. I've decided to try and document my trips to the Greek islands in the blog - a Greek Oddity. This is a mammoth task that will involve routing out hundreds if not thousands of photographs from the loft followed by sifting and scanning - oh to have had a digital camera then! I guess I've visited around 50 islands now and I'm really excited about revisiting them through the blog. I do this mainly for posterity and also hope that one day it may be of interest to my children and grandchildren.
We had only booked three nights at Giannis. The room was already been allocated to someone else for tomorrow - we can move to a side room without a kitchen but I think this is the excuse we are looking for to move on from Adamas. We had planned to go on to Serifos or Sifnos but I think both Peter and I could do with a couple of days where we don't have to get on a bus and we can just stroll to the beach and swim, or walk to a taverna to eat. Pollonia we're on our way!
As I mentioned before, the big benefit of being based in Adamas is that you can reach the key parts of the island easily by bus. This is particularly useful today as we are going to visit the lunar like landscape of Sarakiniko!
The bus only goes to Sarakiniko twice a day - 11.00am and 13.00pm. It's still too early for the 11.00am bus so we decide to explore the streets around and above Adamas.
The bus journey gives us some more fantastic views of the island.
As soon as you arrive at Sarakiniko you are struck by the unusual landscape. The contrast between the white chalk rocks and the deep azure blue of the sea is stunning. The small bay below is very picturesque but already quite busy. Over to the right you find the typical picture postcard views of Sarakiniko with the unusual chalk formations. If you want to take a photograph of the view with only you or your companion in it, or equally without anyone in it, great patience is required!
A little further around the coast there is another well photographed landmark - a shipwreck which is said to have come aground during a terrible storm.
This Youtube video by Jasonsensations1 shows amazing views of the shipwreck from underwater.
Thyme sprouts from the chalk rocks in huge clumps, littered with tiny brightly coloured butterflies. The scene of the small beach below us reminds me of a postcard from the 1960's. The beach is untouched and natural but the colours are incredibly polarised - it almost looks photoshopped and as though the colours have been over saturated.
After we clamber down to the beach I find some shade at the side of a cliff. The bus back to Adamas is also only twice a day - 13.10 and 17.10. There isn't a taverna here and we haven't had breakfast so decide to get the 13.10 so we can have some lunch. There isn't enough time for me to have a swim and dry off but Peter decides to go for a quick dip and then to explore the natural caves in the cliffs. I take in the surroundings and do a bit of people watching. A cat comes to join me in the shade.
Back in Adamas I'm dying to throw my body into the sea. Milos has fantastic beaches all around its coastline so you can guarantee that you'll never be far from one. The beach just to the west of Adamas isn't one of the most beautiful but it is completely satisfactory and close to a couple of beach front tavernas.
We stop at a taverna called Arodo overlooking the harbour. We order Greek salad, horta and garlic sauce to start along with a jug of white wine. Unfortunately the white wine is a little 'rough' and not very nice. Just as we get halfway through the jug the owner brings us another one "on the house" telling us that it is very good wine. This is very kind of him (or maybe not!).
I definitely can't drink any more of it besides, I can see a ferry docking at the port and I want to go and see if there are any rooms in Pollonia. I leave Peter for 15 minutes whilst I go to speak to the people outside the tourist office with rooms to rent. Unfortunately none of them have rooms for Pollonia. A lady with rooms for Plaka tells me to go into the tourist office and ask the lady for the phone number for Maria from Pollonia. I do this and get the phone number but I think we will just need to go over there tomorrow and see what's on offer.
By the time I get back to Arodo Peter has finished the second jug of wine! I didn't expect him to drink it but a typical Egyptian - he hates waste! After paying the bill we take a short walk to the stretch of beach beyond the row of tavernas. We find a spot just by the shoreline under a pair of tamarisk trees. Their tangled white roots reach out to the sea, seemingly in a desperate attempt for survival. Here Peter falls unconscious and I lay in the shade with my book listening to the waves trickling in and out. We stay there until the sun begins to set.
