Agean cats

 Here's one for all the cat lovers.

There are so many cats on Paros and Sifnos. 

They are everywhere. A local told me they neuter the males but some slip through the net. Throughout the villages you can see little water and food stations for the cats so they are cared for.  It does seem odd seeing cats on the beach but we watched  one playing in the sand at dusk the other night.

Aegean cats are one of the oldest domesticated cat breeds, having been introduced to the islands during the bronze age and are considered a national treasure. 

We chatted to a local about cats and he said he had four at home and the ones roaming are cared for by the community and know how to work the tourists :)

They are street savvy and know just how far to sit away from the restaurant and not get shoo'd away by the waiters.

They flop down in the middle of a shopping lane, on a restaurant chair and so many people pet them. 

It's fun to watch their power play at dusk, there's always a top cat:)

The fisherman at the port toss them scraps and they keep the mice and rats count down. If you feel you are being watched, look around and you'll spot a cat.

Check out the hose pipe fitting.

It's cataclysmic here!

Herronissos

We took the bus from Kamares Port to a small hillside village called Artemonas where we had to change buses  to get to a tiny little bay on the north west of the island called Herronissos.

We had to wait in Artemonas for our next bus. Artemonas  is a tiny little village where apart from the bus action,  very little was moving.

We drew the short straw and landed the bone shaker bus, however the driver  took it much slower than yesterday  and it felt a lot safer even though the bus was pretty old. It looks good from a distance :)

 We covered a lot of ground over steep mountainous terrain with sheer drops down to the sea as we chugged along  to  the end of the road. 

Looking out the bus window as we travelled over the mountains,  as far as the eye can see are terraced pastures with either olives or low growing juniper and wild oregano.

 The land looks shaley and so dry. I kept my eyes peeled for ancient towers, there are 57 apparently dating back to 6th century BC, I think I saw the ruins of one far off in the distance. They were signal towers (smoke) and later protective structures for women and children. The vistas seem almost from biblical times, the ancient stone walls, old old olive trees, wandering goats,  a donkey ...even the village names conjure up Greek mythology - Apollonia, Artemonas, Herronissos, it's fantastic.

At the end of the road there was a dusty path down to the bay.

The bay is tucked away through a narrow opening from the sea with steep steps down to a little track along the waters edge to beach.

Again the water is crystal clear and the little kaiki looks so pretty bobbing at the waters edge.

It is a functioning village, a fishing fleet operates and locals live here year round.

It must be so quiet out of the summer season as everyone we saw today, apart from the staff at the two taverna,  were visitors. 

We had a fantastic swim and a bite to eat before the two bus trips back to Kamares Port. We had the business class bus back - it had air conditioning :)

I've been reading up on the history of Sifnos and it's fascinating -  too much to detail here though. However it had gold and silver mines so naturally was fought over numerous times - Macedons, Persians, Venetians, Romans, Turks....until 1821 and Sifnos joined the revolution and won freedom with other Cyclades Islands. It's got bags of history and has two little archeological museums.

A wonderful day.

Vathi beach

Another beautiful day on Sifnos.

We looked into hiring a car or motorbikes for the day as the island is quite hilly,  however we're doing our bit for the environment and decided on using the little local bus system. Check out the € petrol/diesel price on the island.

Yesterday we took the bus from Kamares Port where we are staying to a little village town called Apollonia -  the  civic center of the island. A small village with white washed buildings, lots of little lanes and alleys to get lost in and apparently at night it is the center of nightlife on the island with bars and fine dining. We certainly saw a whole bunch of people in Kamares Port all glammed up waiting for the 7.40pm night bus, it must go off ;)

We changed buses at Apollonia to go to a remote beach called Vathi beach. Our bus was an ancient bus which only just made it up some of the steep hills and going downhill in the  very steep parts I was hoping they had jolly good brakes. The bus was full with a mix of tourists and locals kids and we actually stood on the second leg of our journey. It was hot and great stability training as you hung on around the bends! When we got off the bus we walked down a little dusty lane and into the most perfect little horse shoe bay with the crystal clear waters and it was absolutely beautiful. 

Only two restaurants / taverna right on the waters edge with  the waves nibbling at your feet. Right on the water was the Church of Taxiarches and of Evangelistria (17th century).

 

Lots of yachts pull in, drop anchor and row ashore and have lunch and then off they go on their way again. Lovely, lovely day - beautiful swimming.

Lovely traditional taverna, family run.

The bus back was an upgrade to business class!  It was a much more modern bus with air conditioning!

 Later we wandered down to the port  and it was all go with a lovely sunset going down and cargo ferries bringing in lorry loads of cement, building supplies  and all the supplies for the island. 

Lovely day.

Sifnos

And we're off again.

8.45 am sailing from Paros to Sifnos via Serifos, about 3.5hrs on a sturdy work horse ship chugging through the seas with approx 20 knot winds on the open water.

Beautiful morning leaving Paros. We sat outside all the way and while a bit windy, it was a warm wind and just lovely watching the different islands and yachts in the distance.

We were just behind a fast Sea Jet as we came into Serifos, a lovely small island with white houses stacked up tbe hillside

Another hour on from Serifos we came to Sifnos where we have 5 nights, the ferry only comes here Tuesday and Sunday. It's a tiny island with a cute little port town, Kamares, where we are staying. We'll explore the island tomorrow. There are 10 great walking tracks that cross the island, we'll have to start early so we don't roast in the sun as there is little shade.

We are getting to be pros at the ferry hop on / hop off quick turn around. It's down to the car deck and line up.

The ship is shaking and rattling as they turn on a dime and back the gangway up to the the little wharf.

Down goes the gangway.

A line then gets thrown to the shore, we get the 'all clear' signal and scuttle off knowing that cars and trucks are waiting to get off / on as soon as the foot passengers are out of the way.

I thought the water of Croatia was blue, but Sifnos is water is blue that is lit up, so beautiful and crystal clear! 

We found our hotel, 5mins walk from the port, set back from the road with a great view of the wee harbour.

 It was so hot we dumped our packs and hit the beach for a refreshing swim.

Watched the sun go down, time lapse sequence follows.

A few night shots to show we do go out after dark : ) , just in Galicia the sun didn't set until 2240hrs! Sunset in Sifnos is a much more acceptable 2040hrs :)

Sifnos is little, quiet and how I remember the Greek Islands from my first visit way back in the 90's -  it's going to be great exploring the island more tomorrow.