Very rainy day to the last day of the year. Too wet for a round of tennis, so we just lounged on the couch pretty much all day, reading and watching some telly, and reflecting on the past 12 months.
With borders finally fully open, we had a fantastic year of travels. Thankful that I was able to work remotely, so we could have spent as much time abroad as we did – in Bali, New York, and Phuket.
Besides the travels abroad, we also had plenty of quieter but no less fun moments back home not pictured above. Long languid evenings catching up with old friends and family, over wine and cocktails, that make me immensely grateful for the friendships through the years. Especially as we look towards up rooting ourselves again next year.
Here’s to a 2023 well spent. And here’s to 2024, to good health and new adventures.
We could sneak in a week getaway in August, taking advantage of the Singapore National Day Holiday. But where to go?
I kept getting drawn back to kayaking again in Greece, yearnings of swimming in those stunningly clear waters and feasting on the freshest and sweetest tomatoes and cucumbers.
So back to Milos it was, especially since our planned 3-day kayak tour was cut short last October due to forecasted gale force winds. This time around, we booked in six full days of kayaking. We’d fly direct into Athens, take a half hour flight via propeller plane into Milos, paddle for six days straight, then fly back.
Took the 30 min ride by propeller plane from Athens to Milos
Day 1 Paddling the North Coast
Our definition of a blissful vacation: cloudless blue sky days paddling along the ever changing coastline of the volcanic island that is Milos, past old sulfur mines and natural hot springs, blindingly white cliffs of volcanic tuff rock, through natural sea arches and into sea caverns. We’d stop at desolate beaches away from the crowds, to enjoy a bit of snorkeling and rolling lessons by our guides, Rod and Dario. In the evenings, we’d grab dinner and a night cap along the waterfront, then retire for the evening. Rinse and repeat.
Day 2: Paddling the East Coast of Milos
It was such a pleasure paddling with Rod and Dario. Rod’s originally from Victoria, Australia. He had come to Milos 30 years ago as a geologist with a gold mining company, then fell in love with a woman and the island and decided to stay to open a kayaking business. Dario’s a saxophonist from Turin, Italy, who spent the past four seasons working with Rod. We eagerly submitted to their professional guidance and tips on better paddling techniques. We had a few days where the winds were gusty – up to 50km/h. Rod might have cancelled the tour that day, but happily we’d paddled with him a couple days by then, and he deemed us competent enough to go out in a double. And what fun we had! We surfed down some pretty choppy conditions, especially when we paddled around the headland to the Bears. In the evening, when the winds had died down some, he invited us out for a sunset paddle. So what was initially going to be a land day turned out to be our longest paddling day, 23.5km all in and in strong winds!
Day 3: Paddling the East Coast of Milos
Day 4: Paddling to Klima and the Bear – windy day with gusts of up to 50km/h; we did 2 paddles this day. During the day, in a double, and in the evening after the winds died down, the same route back to Klima for the sunset
It was very windy and choppy out by the Bear, but a super fun paddle
Day 5: Paddling the stunning South Coast of Milos with its myriad sea caves and arches; my favorite paddling day
One evening, Dario had a treat for us. Not only was he going to play his saxophone, he was going to do it under the stars in the ancient theater of Milos, a 2800 year old Roman amphitheater overlooking the coastal village of Klima. We caught the bus up to the village of Tripiti at sunset, then strolled down the the theater. There were only a few other tourists at this time in the evening, past 830pm, and when they saw Dario rock up to the theater with his saxophone, they settled in, intrigued.
In the deepening twilight, he took us on a couple of journeys – the history of jazz from the deep south up to Chicago, and his own personal story of how he fell in love with the music. It was magical, a haunting blend of the new and old, the soulful sound of the saxophone reverberating across the ancient marble seats. He finished in the inky dark night. Overhead, the milky way could be clearly seen and shooting stars streaked across the sky. For the first time in a long time, I missed my bulky DSLR. That would have been a stunning image haha.
Dario playing his saxophone in the ancient theatre of Milos
Day 6: Paddling the Sulfur Coast of Milos and exploring natural hot springs and sauna caves
On our last evening, we took the bus up to Plaka to explore the main city on the island, and to catch the sunset. This was the bit that most reminded us of Santorini – the narrow cobblestone streets and the crowds. Otherwise, Milos was the perfect serene escape.
ptanphoto 
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