The mirror calm seas turned into a river of gold and sparkling pink sapphires as the sun rose above the eastern horizon of the Aegean. A small group of striped dolphins drew close to the Sea Cloud to welcome the “early risers” as Cory Shearwaters glided just over the water. As the ship started to come to life, the crew went aloft to ready the sails and brace the yards to take maximum advantage of the light morning winds. By 10:00 a.m. when the staff introductions started, we were cruising along, with the majority of the sails set, at a respectable 1.5 knots!
Next to Santorini, the small rocky island of Folegandros, our afternoon destination, has the most precipitous cliffs. The island covers just 31 square miles and has a permanent population of a little more than 700 people. Like all the Cycladic islands, the main town or Chora, is tucked up on the high rocky slopes away from the prying eyes of the pirates of yesteryear. This is one of the most stunningly beautiful and authentic of the Greek islands—one comes here to soak up the essence and pace of true village life. The outer walls of the houses in the center of the Chora form the walls of the late Medieval Venetian kastro. The tiny front terraces and doors face inwards and line the central street or plaza thus facilitating the village ladies sitting together cooking, sewing, or just having a good gossip! We followed our guides through the labyrinth of tiny passageways, past flower bedecked terraces, somnolent cats, and brightly painted doors with matching shutters. The more energetic members of group started their visit to the town with a hike up a steep switchback path to the whitewashed church of Koimisis tis Theotokou (Dominion of the Mother of God) while the rest of us visited the Church of the Virgin Mary in the kastro. As this was the first opportunity for many of us to visit an Orthodox church, we got a brief introduction of the Orthodox faith. At the end or our short walking tour we all had an opportunity to get lost in the maze of small streets and squares with our cameras or find a café to sample a Greek coffee or frappe, FIX beer, or a shot of Rakomelo, a local honey liqueur. We returned to the ship just as the sun was setting and the full harvest moon was rising.
We barely had time to set down our cameras and tidy up before convening to the lido deck for a sumptuous Greek buffet of salads, suckling roast pig, mussels, and a large yellow-fin tuna followed by Galaktoboureko, a Greek custard cake and Greek liqueurs.
