Today, in the final post about our trip to the Cyclades, I want to share with you something that we spotted on the Aqua Jewel ferry from Ios to Milos: children’s impressions of typical motives from the Aegean islands. Kids can be the greatest painters, obviously not in the philosophical or allegorical mode. You cannot expect…
… and how to avoid spending your entire Greek island holiday on a ferry boat or waiting for one in the port If you are on your way to the Cyclades, having arrived in Athens by plane and planning to continue by ferry, there is a good chance you will have some time to kill…
It’s back to the Middle Ages on the road from Lefkes to Prodromos – or is it only back to the 1950s? Hiking on the Greek islands is overall a very pleasant experience. The blue skies and the blue sea can be counted on to provide an attractive backdrop, and there are always plenty of…
Subsequent volcanic eruptions have turned the island’s north coast into a freak show of geological curiosities I already told you that most people in Milos believe their local administration and tourism board are not making enough of the fact that the Venus of Milo, possibly the world’s most famous “classical” statue, was found on their…
After a long and “crane’s length” co-existence on the island, the strange bedfellows of mining and tourism are beginning to embrace Most of the Cyclades islands are one-horse economies. Nearly all the people you will meet during your stay – guest house owners, restaurateurs and guides, obviously, but also local officials, doctors and lawyers –…
Classical antiquity’s most famous lady, a most controversial military campaign, catacombs and a murderous espresso machine. Hers is the body that launched a thousand ad campaigns … … that graces a thousand flea markets all over Greece … … and that has inspired many artists, the clumsy and the maladroit … … as well as…
Because hikers also need to eat… …. here we’ll tell you where to eat in Ios! Over the past week or so, we have acquired considerable knowledge and expertise not only about the hiking trails of Ios, but also – thanks to the generosity of the mayor and his local administration – about the best of…
If you want to see the sights of Ios, you will – unfortunately – have to exchange your hiking boots for a set of wheels I think we can all agree that walking is the perfect way of experiencing foreign destinations. The problem is that you do not always have the choice between good, better…
If you like Greek Orthodox churches and chapels, you would love the churches of Ios. Hiking (and driving) through Ios, you cannot miss the fact that there seem to be an awfully large number of churches and chapels around. No field or farm, no hill and certainly no mountain, no promontory and not even the…
A Series of Byzantine Tableaux Vivants Enacts Good Friday in Paros. There are many reasons to love the holiday of Easter. Here is mine: while Christmas nowadays is more or less the same everywhere – a truly globalized event, celebrated from Alaska to Zimbabwe with decorated pine trees, Silent Night and a jolly fat man…
