Impressions of the Kyklades, Greece
It is not necessarily true that in pronouncing 'Greece' one automatically thinks of temples and museums and dusty archaeological sites somewhere on a barren hill in the middle of nowhere. The neat and cute little houses and chapels of blue and white on ridges overlooking the vast expanse of the Aegean Sea are indeed at least as attractive and inviting. But what about combining both? In the Kyklades, the archipelago of sea and sun, with its countless islands, all with names on '-os', and all ever so diverse and different. They offer the prospect to combine the temples, museums and sites with the little cute houses of white-and-blue. It is this exploration we are about to make. And, as we go, we will discover that the Kyklades, as they are called in Greece, are far more intensely intertwined with the core history of Antiquity. After all, the islands produced one of the most extraordinary civilisations of art, as far back as the middle of the third millennium BC, with sculptures that could easily be mistaken for contemporary creations, stylised and semi-abstract, expressive through their moving simplicity. Simplicity! So let's turn down the volume of the metallic beat from the beach bar and enjoy the simplicity, the genuine source of the charm of Greece and its islands.
We successively visit the islands of Kythnos, Serifos, Sifnos, Milos, Kimolos, Sikinos, Folegandros, Tinos, Mykonos & Dilos, Syros, Naxos, Paros, Amorgos, Ios and Thira/Santorini.
Before visiting the place of your choice:
Chalkio is one of those rustic villages in the rugged centre of Naxos which seems not to have been overwhelmed and crushed under the footprint of international tourism. The village is authentic, with old houses lining the narrow and shady paved alleys, an old windmill being its picturesque landmark. From here on descends towards the South-Western coast, to the beaches and bays around Pyrgaki, attractive and even somewhat idyllic. Chalkio and Pyrgaki, 14 kilometres and a world apart.
