Enjoy a Greek Isles Getaway: A Journey of History, High Seas, and High Spirits
Absolutely nothing beats designer cocktails, cave exploration, and loads of history in the heart of the Greek Isles.
The cocktail in my hand seemed wrapped in the thinnest slice of watermelon slid gently into the tall, narrow glass. It was a work of art and the only thing that made me tear my eyes from it was the view beyond of the languid blue ribbon of the Mediterranean. We were high up on the terrace of the Rooster Wellness Center, a spa and resort so posh, the staff glided along silently in brown silk pajamas and didn’t address you unless you looked desirous of assistance.
We were interlopers here. That they had let our sweaty group of charterers in for lunch to feast on organic cuisine was a wonder, but here we were on Antiparos Island, the little sister of adjacent Paros in the heart of the Cyclades. Just that morning, we had been spelunking in a 45-million-year-old cave and after climbing back up over 400 steps, we were more than ready to be pampered.
It was the midpoint of our two-week Greek charter where each island had been a completely different but amazing discovery. We had started from Agios Kosmas Marina south of Athens. Our Lagoon catamaran Hathor from Navigare Yachting had just arrived from its delivery in the south of France, and it was so new, some of the cushions were still in plastic. With the luxury of double the typical charter time, we headed south to the Cyclades, the less crowded of the five Greek island groups. Here, with the longer distances and bigger weather, we left the Athens day trippers behind and joined a more intrepid crowd of cruisers and explorers. It was worth every mile.
The Cyclades are made up of roughly 30 major islands running in a north-south direction between Athens on the Greek mainland and Crete below. The trip south was boisterous but fun, however, getting back was going to be rough, especially in a mean norther called a Meltemi. I was hoping to avoid that wind on my fourth trip to Greece, but the Meltemi dropped on us at Paros Island where I had to smile, cry, beg, and just about make an offering to the dockmaster to let us stay on the wall. Eventually, drawing hard on his cigarette that was really only two inches of ash, he relented. We paid the fee and went to town to explore the Holy Shrine of the Virgin Mary Ekatontapyliani, a renowned pilgrimage church which has the added benefit of having numerous neighboring tavernas.
That evening, we watched a big fuel truck maneuver down the narrow dock to service all the power cruisers. With only six inches on either side of his wheels, he backed down that dock like he owned it—not an uncommon sight in Greek marinas. We went to sleep confident of a good night’s rest. But in all the fuss of securing our spot that day, we hadn’t set our anchor well during our Med mooring. It didn’t seem to matter at the time since the weather was mild, but by the next morning, we faced a different reality as our poor anchor inched backward and we mashed our transom fenders against the quay. Not wanting to leave the boat alone in that situation, we sat tight. Until, that is, our German neighbors decided to stick to a rigid schedule, and in a moment of madness, departed the line of boats, taking it on the chin in the process. That opened a window for me to make haste and motor out as fast as the windlass could pick up chain. After re-anchoring a few hundred yards out, we jumped in the dinghy, rented a car, and made our way to Antiparos via ferry where we forgot about our morning troubles with crafty cocktails.
We had been on a counterclockwise tour through the islands having stopped at Kolona on the island of Kythnos on the first night and then circumnavigating Milos, the island where the Venus de Milo was unearthed in 1820. The main town here is Adamas, and after Med mooring on the quay, we strolled the circular harbor eyeing the handsome Zorba the Greek-types pitching their cruises. Their focus was a run down the western side of the island with lunch and unlimited ouzo. They were packing them in—vessel capacity be damned.
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I picked up their brochures and plotted our own course over dinner and grappa while watching the sunset from the waterfront village of Klima where every fishing shack is painted a different color and small skiffs bob on their moorings nearby. Loaded up with Greek olives and wine, we departed the next morning with only seven people on a 42-foot cat which was a luxury by comparison.
Our first stop was Sykia, a topless cave we dinghied into and had the place to ourselves. We continued to Kleftiko on the southwest corner of the island that is ringed by purple and green caves and rock formations that took us the rest of the day to explore. With no town nearby, Kleftiko is only visited by boat and when the commercial vessels returned to Adamas that evening, we were blissfully alone in our silent anchorage under a starry sky.
One more stop on our Milos circumnavigation was the moonscape of Sarakiniko where sheer white cliffs fall into blue-green water and the edges are dotted with pink caves. Busloads of hotel guests trekked over the landscape, but we had the advantage of seeing it from the deck of a yacht, and thereby, we ended up in more than a few selfies, I’m sure.
We were running a little behind to make it all the way south to Santorini, so we turned north and headed to Naxos, Mykonos, and Delos. Besides the restaurants and the gorgeous natural setting, two things made Naxos memorable. First, we were assigned the narrowest slip in the tiniest corner of the marina and had to shimmy in listening to the shouted directions of at least a half dozen Greek men onshore ready to “help” the female skipper. Later, even the dockmaster confessed that he didn’t think we’d fit when he told us where to park, so I felt doubly vindicated as I backed Hathor into that ridiculous spot.
Also in Naxos, we experienced a deluge. The rain came down in sheets and caught us losing our flip-flops in the steep narrow streets that turned into knee-deep rivers. The drenching made the shopkeepers bolder as they pulled us into their establishments, toweled us dry, and then hawked their wares as if this was just another day on Naxos.
Mykonos was next and it’s a lot on a good day. This is the island where the beautiful come to behave badly, and the narrow alleys of the hilly town are filled with tavernas and bars to help make that happen. It’s touristy for a reason—it’s iconic and not to be missed, but restful isn’t the word for it.
As a break from the glitz, we hopped a ferry to nearby Delos, an island completely dedicated to archeology and history. The 40-minute ferry ride was easier than anchoring at Delos, especially on that blustery day where the crew had posted signs in the bathrooms for the landlubbers: “Don’t vomit in the sink.”
Delos is a cultural marvel, and history buffs shouldn’t miss it. A square kilometer of a pure archeological dig, Delos will walk you through the remnants of ancient homes, shops, and temples with many of the mosaics and columns still intact. Step back to 1500 BC while walking along the Terrace of Lions and experience the island for the ancient commercial and religious epicenter that it was.
The Cyclades are magical. The food, the history, the landscape, the caves, and the churches can’t be beat. And the only crowds you really encounter are hotel guests who arrive on each island by ferry which means the anchorages are fairly free. Our last stop on the way north was at Sounion on the bottom of the Greek mainland with a view of the Temple of Poseidon on the lighted cliffs above.
The Moorings and Dream Yacht Charter both offer sailing and power catamarans here. The benefit of a powercat is that you can tick off the long miles quickly. The drawbacks are the significant upcharge for a power charter, and their limited availability. You can always charter a sailing cat and do the same run while ignoring the tall stick up top. You’ll be slower, but you’ll spend less on fuel.
The Cyclades is the kind of place that entices you to return over and over again to find all the things you missed on your first, second, or third charters. I’ll be back for sure, for the tomatoes and feta, the hiking and swimming, the caves and the centuries of history, and certainly for those enchanting cocktails.
-by Zuzana Prochazka
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