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Tuesday
25 September (arrival at Milos).
On Milos we took a taxi to the place of Rod and Petrinela, just say
you have to go to Petrinela and they know where to bring you. Rod
wasn’t there yet, he was with a group paddling en would be back at
17.00. So we had time to look around and have some lunch.
At 17.00 we met Rod in Petrinela's cafe for a group meeting. He advised to take food and water for 3
days. That will be 5 bottles of water for each person. We went
shopping for the food in the small shops that are around. We bought
lots of food, will it fit in the kayaks? We will see tomorrow. In
the evening we went to Plaka for a good meal. We even found a shop
were we had the best ice-cream on the island. We all went to
bed early; we are going to paddle tomorrow!
Wednesday 26 September
(first kayak-day).
At last we are going to kayak.
At 9 we have breakfast.
The bread is nice and fresh. Better than the hotel we had in
Athens.
At 10 we were all packed and we left with the car and kayaks to the
water. First we had a stop at the bakery to get the bread for 3
days. When we arrived at the sea we packed everything into
the kayaks. We had enough room in the boats to put all of our water
and food.
Then we finally got on the water. The first part of today we saw some
pretty caves where you can go in with your kayak. We were all very
impressed. At the first pause we dive into the water and had a
swim. The temperature is very nice. The second part of the day there
is some wind and we have to work a bit harder, but none of us has a
problem with that.
At the resting place we gather some wood for the campfire tonight.
And on the way to our camp place we stop another time to gather some
more wood. When we arrive at the camp site, we see that we are
not alone. There is a resident Donkey waiting for us. We all think
is a nice Donkey, but when he (or is it a she?) wants go on a walk
with our clothes, we are not so amused. He even takes a bite out of
Rod's food, a big Melon is not so big anymore…..
We are having a BBQ this evening. The meat and the potatoes are
roasted above the fire and we have some salad; a good meal! After
the meal we stay at the campfire drinking red wine and ouzo, before
we go to bed.
Thursday 27 September
(second kayak-day).
We woke up this morning and found out that it was a
very naughty donkey.
He opened the hatches of the kayaks and ate our bread and
vegetables. So
having a donkey around isn’t such a good idea after all.
But he (or she) didn’t find all our food so we could survive for at least for today and tomorrow.
We left on time to go to Poliegos where we will be camping tonight.
We had to paddle a bit against the wind and had a lot of fun. Then
Maaike called out that we were going to fast for her. Oops, we
forgot, we don’t have all as much experience. Sorry Maaike, we won’t
do that again and if we do, just say so and we will slow down for
you.
At lunch we practised the re-entry, at home we call this the
KIWI-method. We all could re-enter the kayak, no problem. We
also practised standing in the kayak, but were not all very well in
it. After lunch we left Kimolos and went to Poliegos. This
took us an hour. Happily the wind was less, so that was nice
paddling.
On Poliegos we had a short stop to gather some wood for the
campfire. Marcel had to take the biggest piece there was, he was
just showing off (again, just like last year when we were here).
At the campsite there was a beautiful beach with a bay. So we first
took a bath in the sea and washed our hair with some shampoo. Feels
a lot better. There are some goats near, lets hope they won’t
come to the campsite and eat the rest of our food….
Friday 28 September
(Third kayak-day).
Today we got up at 7.
Too bad, the sunset is
not very pretty. The goats didn’t find our campsite, so we still
have the rest of our food. We kayak around Poliegos, find a
nice beach and have a short break. Then we go back to Kimolos again.
We pass some beautiful coastline which seem to change all the time.
We see some very white rocks. They were used for mining and were
used for porcelain.
Just before we go to make the crossing to Kimolos we have a short
break, a nice beach where we must swim again. At the harbour
of Kimolos we stop to go shopping. We need some supplies after the
donkey experience. After the
shopping we have lunch at a restaurant. It is nice to sit on a chair
and eat from a table…..
After arriving at the campsite we have a swim to get rid of the
sweat of the day. This evening Maarten and Oscar will prepare
the dinner. Maarten tries to get the sauce for 10 persons in one
pan. He succeeds, but than the pan falls and a part of the sauce is
on the sand. He manages to save enough for us to eat, but the food
does grind a bit….Off course we have a campfire after diner and
drink some ouzo and wine to celebrate our vacation.
Saturday 30 September
(fourth kayak-day).
Today Maarten was already up early. He put on the water and baked us
eggs and bacon. The water was flat as a mirror. We left (again) on
time. This time we leave for Milos again. Our first stop was
at a small place where there are some shops. We needed more water
and bread for 3 breakfasts and 4 lunches. At the bakery we tried to
get the bread. But the didn’t want to sell us all we wanted. It was
too much. They wanted to keep some of the bread to sell on Sunday.
We were glad that there was a bit more wind now, without some wind
it was quite warm. At lunch we stopped at an abandoned sulphur-mine.
It is build around 1930 and closed around 1960 when the price of
sulphur was too low. In one of the rooms we even found a complete
bed with mattress and pillow. Eventually we had to go on
again. When we were all in the boats there was one left.
Oops, dit we forget
someone? Who do we miss?
We missed Dik, where
was he? He was just asleep, doing a nap and didn’t notice that we
were leaving…. Almost forgot him….
After this stop we went to the sauna-cave. We just stopped at a
small beach, were there was a nude couple. After we arrived,
they left the beach, it became too crowded for them. From the
beach you can swim to the cave. There is a natural sauna here, but
it smells like sulphur. The higher you hold your hand in the cave,
the hotter it becomes. After the sauna-cave we went to the
campsite. On the beach were we are going to sleep tonight there are
three restaurants, so we are not cooking tonight. Rod is leaving for
home tonight. We will see him again tomorrow morning. We pick
out a restaurant and have dinner there. Tonight we don’t have a
campfire, so we went to bed early.
Sunday 1 October
(fifth kayak-day).
This morning we got up early. Even before Rod arrived we were ready
to go. We still didn’t have a lot of wind today. Today we are doing
the rest of the south of the island. So we don’t have to deal with
the wind yet. We pass some caves. Some of them are so dark you
need a torch to see at all in the cave.
We also pass some beautiful passageways. There are tunnels and
arches were we go through. A lot of pictures are taken.
When we stop at lunchtime we see a small boat, which is stopping
there. It looks like the people have been fishing and they caught a
lot of fish. We are having a BBQ this evening and would like
to have a fresh fish on the BBQ. So we ask Rod if it is possible to
buy one of the fish. So he walks to the fisherman and returns with
one of the fish. Didn’t cost him anything. Just a glass of ouzo in
the bar.
In the evening the fish ends up on the BBQ. And for the ones that
don’t like fish there are sausages, greek salad, roasted potatoes
and bread toasted and then put in olive-oil and a bit of oregano.
Rod is having an experiment. He wants to bake bread on the fire.
He has some flour, mixes it with water and puts in a pan. Then he digs
a hole and puts some hot charcoal in the hole. Then he puts the pan
in the hole on top of the hot charcoal. Then he covers it all
with sand. Tomorrow we will see if it worked. It seems that
there will be a lot of wind tomorrow, but we will see that
tomorrow.
Monday 2 October.
(sixth kayak-day)
The bread was a great success - It looked good and it also tasted
good. And we had bacon and eggs for breakfast. Today
everyone was ready very fast. We got up at 7 and at 8.30 we were on
the water.
Indeed, there was more wind today. So the sooner we are on the
water, the better it is. As soon as we go around the corner, there
are more and bigger waves.The first part is
fun to do. There is a lot more wind, but the waves are not to bad
and the wind is no problem. When we kayak, we see some very
pretty places. We also see tunnels where we paddle through. It is
all so pretty here.
The wind is getting stronger and the waves are getting bigger. We
stop in a small bay to regroup en catch our breath. It is another
100 meters to the resting place. Rod and some others are going to
take a look at the resting place. The rest will remain here until
Rod comes back to get them. I also wait here, but Rod signals to me,
I also have to go with the first group. Ok, I am coming.
We are going through a small passage, which is nice. Then I see the
sea. Wow
those waves
are really
big! Must be
at least 2 meters high.
I follow the rest of
the group. But I don’t really like it, those waves are very big and
the wind is very strong out here.
Fortunately Brigitte and Peter followed so I wait for them to give
me some moral support. Then I enter the Laguna. There is no wind and
we can catch our breath here. When everyone has arrived, Rod tells
them this wasn’t the plan. The second group should have waited until
he came back to get them. But it all went all right.
The next part we really have to paddle as a group.
Don’t leave anyone
behind. We try, really, we do.
But with those big
waves, we are only trying to get forward against the wind, we don’t
have time and the guts to look backwards. So at the end we get split
into two groups. I end up in the first group and we arrive at the
beach first. It takes almost half an hour for the rest to arrive.
But we all made
it.
A
number of us is very tired. So we decide we have had enough for one
day. Tomorrow
there should be less wind. We will see were we are going tomorrow.
It all depends on the wind. Today we had a force 6.
And we had to paddle
against it. To paddle 6 km we needed 3 hours of paddling!
In the evening we make some pasta. Rod tries to bake another bread.
But this time he uses flower without the yeast. So we tell him it
will not work. But he doesn’t believe us and tries to make the bread
anyway. We will see the result tomorrow.
Rod phones home to ask for the weather-forecast. They are good. We
will start with force 4 and will end with force 2. We decide to try
to make the round of the island complete and end the trip were we
started it.
Tuesday
3 October (last kayak-day).
This morning we get up early. If we want to finish the tour were we
started it, we have to be at the water at 8. There is not very much
breakfast anymore, no eggs, no bacon and Rods bread is a failure, so
we are on the water at 8.
It all looks so quiet now. So we think we can make it. There are
some waves, but they are not as big as yesterday and there isn’t
much wind either. To be back in time we need to paddle 20 km today.
So not many stops and they also don’t last too long.
We take a break at a beach where there used to be a manganese-mine.
It was closed around 1925. Too bad we don’t have more time here, I
would have like to have a look around here. But we have to go on
The second stop is on a nice sandy beach. So we take a swim there,
the last one this vacation. We have our last lunch at the beach.
Then the last part to get back to our starting point. We made
it, we rounded Milos, Kimolos and Poliegos. Our kayaking-trip is
over. We have to get back to the civilised world again.
It was a very nice week. For Marcel and me it was the second
expedition here. We liked it so much last year we motivated our
friends at the kayak-club to go here. And they all had a wonderful
time. Maaike and Ria have improved there kayaking-skills. They
paddle so much better now. It was a fantastic week and we all
enjoyed it.
Maybe next year again?
Another trip? Maybe we will
do the Milos-Santorini trip then.
Rod, thanks for this wonderful week!
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