Kythnos Island
Early in the morning hours, the deck staff dropped the lines at Sifnos Island and the Panorama headed north in the Aegean. During breakfast we anchored in a small bay on the northwest corner of Kythnos Island and prepared for our morning’s activities.
We chose two beaches for our landings this morning. One was a low sandy spit, ideal for kayaking and swimming while the other was bit rocky, but ideal for snorkeling. Sharon Grainger led a botany walk up a small valley for those that were interested, while many of the other guests decided to lounge on the beach, kayak, snorkel or swim at their leisure. Some guests chose to wander on their own and hiked up the hill to a small church and just enjoy the view.
Kythnos is a relatively uninhabited island, off the beaten path of the Cyclades. It’s well known for the hot springs that exist around the island. The local clay on the island was traditionally used for pottery but it is also utilized to make the red roof tiles that are characteristic of this area. Kythnos is mostly visited by Greek citizens of the region and sees very few international tourists.
After lunch we got underway for an afternoon sail to Piraeus. The passage from Kythnos over to Cape Sounion offered us a good breeze from the northeast and an opportunity to raise the sails. Once we were in the lee of the Cape, the seas calmed and this gave us a chance to enjoy National Geographic Expert Bob Hohlfelder’s last lecture. Bob’s lecture was titled “Revealing Poseidon’s Deepest Secrets” and he spoke about his experiences of searching for ancient shipwrecks in these waters.
Shortly after this, Sharon Grainger kicked off our evening’s activities with a great show of her images and impressions of the voyage. This presentation was a great opener for our Captain’s farewell cocktail party and dinner. It was a great way to end a fine voyage as we approached the vessel’s home port of Piraeus.
