“Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” – Ray Bradbury

Last time we came to Greece, besides exploring Athens, the Peloponnese Peninsula and Crete, we spent some time on the island of Santorini. And while we found Santorini to be postcard picture perfect, it was also wall-to-wall people during the day when the cruise ships unloaded their masses. We thought there must be a quieter island, one with delicious food, sun drenched beaches, a total lack of cruise ships or an airport, hiking trails, white churches with blue domes, super accommodations and friendly people. A tall order….so we start to research and while we found quite a few that met our criteria, we settled on Sifnos (Seef naws). Yes, it will be Sifnos for us

Sifnos is in the same chain of islands with Mykonos, Santorini and Ios, the Cyclades, and a 2 hour fast ferry ride from Piraeus. On the smaller side, about 28 square miles, 9.3 miles long, a little over 4.6 miles wide, but filled with history, great towns, and amazing food. The great chef, Nikos Tselementes, was born on Sifnos and he pretty much singlehandedly brought Greek cooking to the world.

Our plane from Paris landed in Athens and then we taxied to Piraeus, the port city and home to most of the ferries that connect the islands with the mainland. Spent the night and early the next morning we made our way down to the docks. I wish I could say it was all organized with signs directing you to the correct ferry, or even just a sign with the name of the ferry, but this is Greece and one shouldn’t expect such a fanciful wish. Instead we find cars all lined up here and there, long lines everywhere, dock workers yelling directions, a regular shit-show, but you just smile and become one of the crowd. By asking around and showing the name of our ferry on our tickets, we finally made it to the correct queue and soon we boarded our ship and were on our way to Sifnos

In a little over two hours our fast little ferry docks in Kamares, the port city on Sifnos. We love watching the unloading process. You might think they let the passengers off first, and then unload the vehicles, but no, it is a free-for-all as everyone disembarks at the same time. We can’t help but giggle as we watch everything and everyone spill out onto the dock….the process seems to work!!!!

We grab another car rental and then it is off to find our hotel, a beautiful boutique resort called Verina Astra (https://verinahotelsifnos.com/accommodation/verina-astra/) I promised Heidi that we would stay at a really nice spot and there is none better on the island than Verina Astra.

There is a little church,  Panagia tis Poulatis Church, just down the hill from us and we must explore.

So after we unpack and move into our heavenly room, down the hill on an ancient trail we tromp. Trails criss-cross this little island and some have been here for thousands of years. This one appears to have had a master stonemason create it. The church is just stunning…stark white with a sky-blue dome, and just a few more steps below is the Aegean Sea. A swim in definitely in the cards.

A ferry boat ride to the island, a rental car adventure finding the hotel, a hike to a church and a swim in the sea….that’s enough for today…time to just veg out in the room, order some wine and room service and enjoy the view and each other’s company. Doesn’t get much better than this!!!!

We have decided that this week will be a “vacation away from our vacation”. Heidi cold is still hanging on and my toe is still telling me to stop walking. So we scrap most of our big adventures and instead will enjoy taking it easy, some exploring, but mostly just taking it easy.

KASTRO

We do decide to go visit Kastro, the ancient capital city of the island. It sits on a hill and is built like a labyrinth, purposefully so as to confuse any invaders. And at the far side is a trail that leads down to the Church of Seven Martyrs, the most instragrammable spot on the island. Some mistake it for the Mama Mia Church, but that one is on a different island. Kastro is just so stinking cute, paved walkways, no vehicles what-so-ever, little cafes, and when you come to the end of a walkway, there is usually a great view to the sea

APOLLONIA

Apollonia is probably the most picturesque city on the entire island. Located just a five minute drive from our hotel, Apollonia is filled with charm….little shops, restaurants and cafes, bakeries, churches and bougainvillia shaded homes. We spent several evenings wandering the streets of this town.

CHERONISSOS

At the norther tip of the island, located at the end of a protected bay, is the sleepy little village of Cheronissos. The water here is always calm, the beach sandy, and you can swim out into the bay, in and around anchored fishing boats, or just lounge on the beach under one of the shade trees. We enjoyed an entire day here, reading our books, swimming, eating at the little cafe. A kindly Greek woman grabbed two of the four lounge chairs and gifted them to us for the day. There is a pottery shop just off the beach and I had such a good time talking about his works when he knew zero English and I knew zero Greek, but we communicated just fine.

Exploring Time Comes to an End

They say all good things must come to an end, and so it is with this holiday. Six days exploring this island just wasn’t enough so we will make plans to return.

Just a few more images from Sifnos before we hop on the ferry on the first leg of our return home.

Postscript: Two weeks after our return I went an had x-rays of my toe….yep, broken the whole trip. No wonder it hurt so much. We do hope our next trip will be a whole lot healthier.