After attending the East Mediterranean Multi Hull Charter Yacht show at the end of April, I took a catamaran out around the cyclades for a week with my husband. We were once charter yacht crew and so we took out a bareboat and sailed ourselves around the islands. Here is what we experienced each day on our 6 night trip.
We did a one way trip from Athens to Mykonos. Going to Mykonos and back would be a lot of sailing for the 2 of us. I really wanted to spend more time on land to explore the islands so that I can share my experiences with you.
day 1
We boarded the yacht in Alimos Marina in Athens. My husband, Stuart, went and provisioned for us while I was finishing up with the yacht show. We left the marina and headed towards Kythnos which is was 45 Nautical Miles away and took around 6 hours. On route we anchored in the bay below the Temple of Poseidon in the Cape of Sounion. Unfortunately we did not have time to hike up to the temple but seeing it from the water was incredible. The temple dedicated to the God of the Sea was built around 440 BC. After some lunch we lifted the anchor and headed to Double Bay at Kythnos. This bay was so beautiful. We went to restaurant Kolona for dinner where the staff were super friendly. We witnessed an amazing sunset while eating fresh squid with a glass of Greek white wine. Delicious!
DAY 2
Day 3
Day 4
This morning we left Anti Paros and sailed for about an hour over to Paros. We anchored and then took the dingy straight to the town to explore. This was one of my favourite islands. Walking the narrow alley ways we saw traditional blue domed churches, many of which we were able to go inside. Paros has a mix of traditional Cycladic architecture, vivid nightlife and enchanting rural villages. As it was actually Easter Sunday (and we loved our meal last night), we stopped in one of the many restaurants along the promenade for another Easter meal. We had lamb again with a delicious Greek salad and bread. We walked along the beach front and viewed the windmills to burn off some of our lunch calories! We then visited the Panagia Ekatontapiliani Church. It was built in around 326 AD. This is one of the most important and best preserved Christian Churches in Greece. We took the dingy back to the yacht where we saw more Easter fireworks, and to end a great day, an incredible sunset.
Day 5
Day 6
We woke up at sunrise and headed to Mykonos. The wind had really died down and the sea was super calm. We saw the most amazing sunrise at sea and then were greeted by a pod of dolphins. We stopped on route in a small bay on the south side of the Island of Rineia so we could have a paddle board and walk on the beach. We did not stay long as we wanted to get to Mykonos early and make the most of our day there. We docked the yacht in the marina and took the little ferry to the main town of Chora. Mykonos was very, very busy even for being at the very start of the season. The streets were very pretty with high-end designer stores dotted here and there. We walked up to the famous windmills on the landmark hill in Chora. Most were built by the Venetians in the 16th century; their construction continued into the 20th century. They were used to mill wheat and were an important source of income. We went for a cocktail along the waters edge known as Little Venice. There were 3 cruise ships in and so it heaving with tourists. We sat and had a cocktail which was delicious, but at €25 each we only had the one! We really wanted to eat Moussaka so we found a lovely restaurant by the water to cure our cravings. After dinner we took the ferry back to the marina and headed to bed.
Day 7
We woke up on the dock and packed our bags ready to fly back to Athens. We took a short 40 minute flight from Mykonos International Airport with Aegean Air. The airport was really nice, clean and quiet. Catching a flight there back to Athens was perfect. We got to see all the islands we had visited from the air which was Epic. Once back in Athens we checked into our hotel and spent our last day in Greece exploring Athens before heading home to Scotland the following afternoon.
