Sifnos
Sifnos seemed crowded when we reached Kamares port early in the morning. August is the most popular month for holidays and Sifnos is famous for its picturesque white villages and little towns and the beautiful small beaches. Greeks also like the local food, the tasty chickpea soup and lamb cooked in pottery!
We got on our buses to start a drive to Kastro, the medieval fortified capital. Kastro means fort in Greek. I could see all the pottery workshops by the road, the organized terracing and of course the elegant dovecotes. When we reached Kastro the young creative members of our group decided to go visit a well known pottery workshop. The potter, Mr. Kostas, is very talented and his whole family has kept alive this traditional and very useful profession.
The rest of us enjoyed a walk around Kastro. It was amazing to see how tiny the houses were during the medieval times and to discover all the ancient art and marble pieces decorating the houses of the locals. We indulged ourselves by devouring the local delicacy made of almond paste and sugar and we took great pictures of what the locals call “the endless blue.”
Then we drove to the venerated monastery of Virgin Mary called Chryssopigi but I was anxious to see what our “artists” had created. I loved the butterfly that Paz had made. I was stunned by the ancient Greek temple which was Riley’s inspiration and the highly crafted mug by Grace.
After returning to the port we enjoyed a great swim on the sandy beach. Before dinner we found out that the youngest were transformed into citizens of the glorious ancient Greek cities. They were now Athenians, Spartans and Korinthians and they are competing in the “PANORAMICS” (named after our ship Panorama), our own unique games. The Athenians have to work a bit harder and I cannot wait to find out which team will be awarded the wreath of glory!
