Sailing & Sifnos Island
The day began aboard the Panorama at approximately 4:30a.m. when the anchor was lifted and our captain began a southerly voyage heading for Sifnos Island in the southeast edge of the Cycladic Archipelago. The entire ship had been asked to secure all gear in our cabins as we were expected to hit high winds after leaving the safety of our anchorage at Cape Sounion and the temple of Poseidon. As promised, before 6:00a.m. the seas were above five feet and the winds were high!
In these kinds of conditions a great advantage aboard the Panorama is sailing. Captain Dimitrios unfurled the sails at 8:00a.m. and shortly after cut the engines. We were making just over six knots, considered excellent speed and also an indication of the wind strength. We spent most of the morning sailing as our Captain choose several tacks giving us an exciting and wonderful first morning in the Mediterranean Sea. Two talks were offered this morning; one preparing us for the opportunity for photography in one of the most picturesque parts of Southeastern Europe and a second talk touching on the geology, the architecture, and the culture of the Cycladic Islands.
The late morning proved to be even rougher as the winds continued to build. Fortunately, the Panorama pulled into the port of Kamares on the west side of Sifnos Island just before lunch and very shortly tied up at the main dock. Many people took the opportunity to get ashore on solid land and explore this tiny Cycladic Island port. Walkers, swimmers of varying levels and a few of us who just wanted a chance to move left the Panorama to begin our first exploration of a small Greek island. After lunch the exploration extended by bus and van inland to the Kastro, the Venetian castle of the island. It was built on an ancient Sifnian acropolis and is the quintessential Cycladic village filled with white washed buildings, blue trim, many cats, and, due to the winter rains, a profusion of native wild flowers.
We divided into two groups and our Greek guides, Lora and Smaro led us through the narrow pedestrian streets, telling the stories of each architectural level and feature until we made our way out onto the seaward side of the island with a fabulous view and a renewed encounter with the high winds of the day! We were given an option to walk down several hundred meters to the seaside and a famous small Orthodox church called The Church of the Seven Martyrs. It faced directly into the force of this day’s wind! A special treat today was a surprise as the guides had contacted the local priest who had agreed to open the church for us to explore and photograph. Our host was very friendly, spoke English and was very happy to share stories and information with our whole group. Waves were crashing all around the small outcropping where the church is built, only adding to the drama of walking into the wind and out onto a point where this church has been for hundreds of years.
Upon returning to the Kastro there was plenty of time to relax, enjoy a coffee, tea, lemonade and even lemon pie. Between two adjoining cafes our group found comfortable seats and shared time while looking out over the valleys around the Kastro…small churches, houses and dovecotes and Sifnian chimneys in every direction. The hillsides, all green and lush with the past winter’s rains, provided a truly saturated green landscape with hints of color…the famous wild flowers of the Mediterranean showing off their beauty in subtle shades of pink, red, yellow, and blue.
All too soon it was time to return to the Panorama. Boarding our bus and van we began our short trip back to the port of Kamares. But, our guides and bus driver had other plans! It seems that a close family member of one of our drivers was invited to a wedding and she decided that our whole group should come along for some of the traditional Greek wedding ceremony. In the late afternoon of the day of the wedding, local musicians travel about the community, going to each member of the wedding party, stopping at their door and singing many traditional Greek songs. As the group travels through the local community the crowd gets bigger and bigger, so 40 more people from out of town was not a problem. We were all brought into the crowd, served wine, hugged and invited several times to join the festivities! We unfortunately had to decline, as we had an entire meal waiting for us on board the Panorama. Reluctantly we boarded the bus and van and slowly made our way back down to the port and our waiting dinner, ready to share the story of being spontaneously brought into the celebration of a Greek wedding!
The hospitality of Greece had already made an impression, and as we finished dinner and each of us tried to decide whether to go for a walk, get a good night’s rest, read, or just reflect, it was quickly becoming apparent that this small country in the Mediterranean Sea had much, much more to share in the coming days as we continued our circle through the Cycladic Archipelago.
