A short time to enjoy beautiful scenery and a romantic atmosphere with Lucia.Jauntlet.comhttps://jauntlet.com/The vacation went by too quickly, and it was time to go home just as we were really beginning to get in the Greek mood. We caught the plane back to Athens and stayed at the airport where we had our last dinner, then left the next morning.https://jauntlet.com//7430https://jauntlet.com//7430Sat, 14 Jul 2007 20:00:00 +0300There was an ancient Minoan civilization on Santroini that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago. Some say this is the basis of the Atlantis Myth. A town called Akrotiri from this time was preserved by the volcanic ash and is being excavated. It is supposed to be an amazing site, but it turned out to also be closed. Instead, we went to the more recent (only two thousand years old) ancient capital of the Island. It was high up on a plateau near the sea and was mostly ruined foundations which still gave a sense of what the city must have been like. Below the town is a black sand beach, which was fairly developed and crowded. Most of the time on Santorini, though, we stayed in Oia and enjoyed the amazing views of the sea and cliffs covered in little white houses and churches. We wandered around the narrow streets and hiked down the cliff to the sea. Oia is made for beautiful sunsets and attracts many photographers, including us.https://jauntlet.com//7429https://jauntlet.com//7429Wed, 11 Jul 2007 20:00:00 +0300We arrived at Sifnos just before sunset and got in a quick swim at the beach at the port town Kamares. It was amazingly shallow, which made the water extra warm. The next day, we took a trip to see the old town of Kastro, which also has a beautiful little church on a rock outcrop by the sea. Then once again, back to the port and on another boat to Santorini.https://jauntlet.com//7428https://jauntlet.com//7428Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:00:00 +0300On Milos, we stayed in a cabin at a campsite in the countryside. It was located next to a very wide and sandy beach called Achivadolimni, which only ever had a few people on it. This made it was possible to have your own undisturbed space, and we took advantage of it, relaxing there as well as by the camp pool. Unfortunately, the first day we stayed in the sun a few hours too long and Lucia got burned. Not wanting to ruin the vacation, we went in to main town Adamas and got some creams from the pharmacy. While there, we enjoyed a lovely sunset dinner at a taverna next to the sea. The next day, with Lucia completely covered up to not get even more burned, we rented a car and went exploring. One of the main sights on Milos are the ancient catacombs and we we're looking forward to seeing them. When we got there, we discovered they were also closed. We still were able to hike around the old town of Plaka and see where the Venus de Milo was found. We saw a replica of it and some real statues in the small island museum. After that, we drove to a quaint fishing village of Pollonia, where we had a picnic on the beach. On the way home, we stopped at the surreal white seaside cliffs at Sarakinko. The last day on Milos, we drove to the small village of Paleochori and spent the afternoon relaxing in the shade of a beach bar. The creams were helping Lucia and she got to enjoy brief moments of sun. For lunch, we ate at a taverna which cooked some of its food in a pit in the sand, just heated by the sun. Then it was back to the docks and on to the boat for Sifnos.https://jauntlet.com//7427https://jauntlet.com//7427Sat, 07 Jul 2007 20:00:00 +0300Lucia arrived the night before Tom and had a restful night at the luxurious airport hotel. Tom arrived after 4 hours of sleep on the cramped plane and met her in the morning. We caught the bus from the airport to the port. The boat to Milos wasn't leaving until the afternoon, so we dropped off out bags then caught the train to the Acropolis. When we arrived, we discovered it was closed due to a strike. Luckily, the Agora (market area) was still open and we got to see a bit of ancient Greece including the temple of Hephaistos, the best preserved in all of Greece. After getting our fill of antiquity, we headed back to the port and caught the streamlined modern boat to Milos.https://jauntlet.com//7426https://jauntlet.com//7426Fri, 06 Jul 2007 20:00:00 +0300