Sizzling Sifnos

Sifnos was our last stop before returning to Piraeus and Athens… sigh.

The harbor where we anchored was very small and quaint. This was much more like the Greece I remembered and as they told us on the ship, the most Greek island of all we had visited. Thankfully also, there were no excursions or archeological sites to visit on Sifnos. I hate to say so, but by this point I was Ruined out! No, this was just a pleasant rest stop to ease our transition back to reality.

The first thing we did was buy a couple waffle cones of gelato. Gelato is one of those things we had not managed to try before this. It was very good. I had chocolate and Phyllis had Pistachio. This is the first time I can remember Pistachio actually tasting, like Pistachios. To stretch our legs and see something other than the small town, we strolled up the winding main road away from the village.

Did I say main road, I meant only road. It was a fairly narrow road and pretty much without shoulders. Anyway, after going a short ways, maybe a mile or so, Phyllis became nervous for some reason (possibly it was the trucks and cars hurtling by us so close you could feel the breeze), so we turned back to town. Following our walk we sat down in a litte taverna on the beach with some friends from the ship and sipped on Frappes while eating Teropita (cheese pie) and another interesting type of meat and cheese “pie”.

In case you are wondering, a Frappe is a cold whipped coffee with milk and sugar. Not a diet drink, and therefore pretty damn good. It is very popular all over Greece. After our snack we visited a few shops and watched a guy throw some pottery. He made it look very easy so I’ll probably make my own vases from now on..., just kidding! We took a few pictures of farms, the coastline, the beach and what we later learned was the remains of an old windmill.

My mind, which was completely run over with facts, feebly remembers that in ancient times at least, Sifnos was known for its gold and silver. During the time of Delos, for instance the gold used in temples there, etc. mostly came from Sifnos. Coincidence or not the water and sand on the beach now sparkle and glitter in the sunlight. Even the bottom of Phyllis’s feet had glitter on them after walking without shoes. Yes, even the sand is magical in Greece.

As I mentioned before, finally on our last day, Phyllis was lucky enough to catch a nude bather enjoying the sun and water out on the beach.

To see additional trip pictures check out the Photo Section.