We had another early wake up, but luckily only a short walk from the Sofitel to the terminal. We allotted more time than was necessary for our Olympic Air flight over to Milos. We were only temporarily slowed down by a man in security who asked us where we were going. “Milos,” I said. “Santorini?!,” insisted the man. “Um, no. Milos.” Such disrespect. Santorini? What are we, amateurs?
It was a short hop over to Milos, which is maybe a 30 minute flight if that. Our stubby little ATR-42 touched down (firmly) at tiny Milos Airport where we were off the plane and in our rental car within about ten minutes. Another twenty minutes later we were parking in front of the Perla Rooms apartments. It was 10am. Fortunately we were able to check in right away and have quite the room. We are just next to the water with a very large balcony and window next to our bed looking out. As with all things on the Greek islands, it is very white.
Since we were tired, we decided to rest for a little bit before venturing out. We grabbed lunch by walking into the nearby town. Lunch is quite a novelty these days. We are usually eating granola bars or something else equally unsatisfying. Once mildly recovered from three early morning wake ups, and with a proper meal, we got in the car and drove about twelve minutes to Sarakiniko Beach. It is not technically a beach since there isn’t really sand, but it’s the most famous coastal area in Milos due to its unusual rock formations and otherworldly landscape.
Compared to its far more popular cousins of Mykonos or Santorini, Milos is not heavily touristed. Our plane was quite small and we ended up seeing the same people that were on our plane throughout the day. Even on this “popular” beach, there were no more than twenty people. I imagine all the other beaches are completely empty.
After exploring the area, we worked our way back up the hill from the beach to our car. We went to a supermarket, where we saw some people from our plane, and picked up some drinks and breakfast items before returning to the Perla.
We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon out on our balcony before the sun began to go down. We walked back into town for dinner. Our first choice was still closed, so we ended up walking two blocks over to eat outdoors just next to the water.
We tried fried feta with honey as a shared appetizer, which grew on us over time. I had a pretty excellent Greek Hefeweizen (whose label I ripped off for scrapbooking purposes) along with some chicken and pasta. We were given mystery post-meal drinks that had a hint of lime in them before retiring for the evening.
The sun finished its descent below the horizon. Evidently there is a spot somewhere else on the island that is the “it” spot for watching sunsets, but our balcony seemed as good a place as any. It was nice to spend a day relaxing after being on the go for so long. We got three meals today! Wow! And most importantly, tomorrow we don’t have to set an alarm. However, as I’m writing this at 11pm, there is a rooster crowing. We aren’t sure what time zone it is on, but have no time for its antics.
passports & pepto bismol 