We have mixed emotions when we discover that our last ferry journey of this long Greek sojourn is a hulking great catamaran named Champion Jet 2. On the one hand, it’s disappointing that our final crossing won’t be on a quaint island ferry; on the other, there’s a gale blowing and the seas are extremely rough. The powerful craft ploughs through the heaving waves with barely a roll. And so on to Milos which, if we hadn’t been forced to change our plans back in the first week of August, would have been our third island call rather than our last. After Milos we will take six days touring a new part of mainland Greece and then it will be back to the UK. Milos, curved like a croissant around its eponymous bay, makes an immediate impact: we’ve left it late to plan our activities here and we soon learn that there is an awful lot more to Milos than its famous beaches, and our first challenge is how to fit everything in. In fact Milos soon shows itself to be an incredible place – there surely can’t be too many places on Earth where so many dramatic scenes and exciting places are crammed into such a small area, let alone on a single island…. Wisps of smoke rise from cracks in the rock stained yellow by sulphur. Stones are warm to the touch close to where soft mineral deposits coat the ground. We are in the middle of the Kalamos volcano high above Milos’ south eastern corner, with just the sulphur fumes and the wind for company. There are no roads to this volcano, no signs indicating its existence, no guided tours and no official presence. We have in fact simply trekked a couple of miles from the car to find ourselves in this remote place where fumaroles puff out smoke and scorched branches lay on sulphur stained ground. It’s unique in our experience to be able to simply wander into and across a caldera like this, where evidence of volcanic activity is so plain and yet there is no hint of commercialism, or control. Driving on from Kalamos to the south coast we pass the industrial scenes of the bentonite mines before reaching a couple of those renowned beaches, and no wonder these beaches are notorious. The rock formations in the cliffs behind each beach are amazing in shape, size and colouring: reds and yellows here, the pink and white of a nougat bar there – or is it the red and white of a slab of raw meat on a butcher’s board? We’re slightly embarrassed to admit that we had to Google what bentonite is, but it’s a fascinating mineral and researching its uses was an education! But what really takes our breath away is a visit to the rim of the Aggeria mine from which both bentonite and sulphur are extracted. The vastness of the place is mind bending, the coloured shelves of the exploited areas incredible, and gigantic. Neither of us have ever seen anything like it. The open cast mine is a huge deep crater with towering stepped sides like some giant multi coloured sports arena over 2.5km long and 700m wide. This is one of the largest bentonite mines in the world, producing some 10% of the world’s output. And then there is Sarakiniko, and for at least the third time in our short stay here we are just blown away by what we see. The pure white rocks of the cliffs here have been eroded by both sea and wind to form incredible moulded shapes, some reminiscent of the waves which pound them, some moulded as if by a sculptor’s hand, others like gargoyles on an ancient wall. It’s an unbelievable natural sculpture park. To cap it all, we visit on a day when the wind is gale force, the sea a spectacular turbulent foaming mass, pounding the snow white shore in a way which shows exactly how the erosion evolves. Yet again we are spellbound and could stand and watch for hours. These spectacular sculpted rocks are in reality lava flows shaped by erosion, consisting mostly of pumice, diatomite and Pliocene limestone, essentially a mix of volcanic output and fossilised life. Lurking in a cove at the base of a steeply descending road is the pretty hamlet of Klima, which was originally just a set of fishermen’s huts with storage below and sleeping quarters above, utilised by the men of the fleet in the summer months only. The fact that the huts are now brightly painted holiday homes only partly detracts from its attractiveness. Klima the fishing village lies beneath Klima the ancient city, home to a Roman theatre which gave (and still gives, as occasional events are still held here) a magnificent blue sea backdrop to those watching the action on stage. Within the hillside close by are ancient catacombs with tunnels reaching up to 200 metres in length, filled with tombs holding up to eight bodies each. Milos offers all of this, and we’ve barely mentioned that it also has over 70 beaches, several relaxed seafront villages, a gorgeous chora at Plaka and several more lovely villages inland. Other coastal spots such as Kleftiko and Papafragas would be an absolute highlight if it wasn’t for Sarakiniko and others being even more stunning. With fascinating and visible strata, amazing coloured rocks, fossils galore and volcanic activity, this place is a geologist’s dream, and yet there is no doubt that Milos has something for absolutely everyone. You could easily spend a month here without running out of things to do. Across the island and down on the beach at Paliochori on the south coast is a restaurant with a difference. The volcanic nature of Milos means that you don’t have to dig too deep to find serious heat beneath the sand – enough heat in fact for the chef to cook meals by simply digging a hole and placing the fish, in foil, in the hole, and re-covering with sand. Minutes later, or, in the case of meat dishes, several hours later, the food is perfectly cooked and ready to eat. We simply have to experience this – and sitting watching the afternoon sun slip from the sky turning the sea into a dazzle, eating delicious fish prepared in such an unusual manner, is a fabulous way to end our time on Milos. By pure good fortune we have ended our island adventure on one of the most stunning and exciting of all of the islands. Our 12-week adventure is nearly over, with just a week on mainland Greece left. After visiting 17 islands in 61 days, making 22 ferry journeys and losing count of the number of goat and fish dinners we’ve eaten, we leave island life behind for a quick 6-day trip across the Peloponnese. We are now very well versed on Greek islands and without doubt we have a new perspective on island hopping 2021 version. Some things have undoubtedly and inevitably changed, but it’s been a terrific journey.
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