It was a cloudy Sunday with good wind and at 8:00 we lifted our anchor from Despotiko and set sail to Sifnos, another island in the Cyclades group. Sifnos is a picture-perfect Cyclades island, with its quaint white-blue houses, pristine beaches, and gray-white winding alleys. We Med-moored (anchor in the bow and tied the stern with lines in the pier) in Platys Gyalos, the south side of the island where we spent most of our days. Platys Gyalos has everything you need: a long, wide, sandy beach, a wide array of restaurants and coffees, a bakery, and two mini-markets.

Our first day here was windy and cloudy, but all the remaining ones were sunny and warm, although we did get our fair share of strong northerlies for a few days. On Wednesday, Jelle was hard at work while Elena and I took the bus and visited the capital of the island, Apollonia. Apollonia is cute and located on a hill, providing excellent views of the island but also difficult to walk on these windy roads with a 3-year-old at 30 degrees Celsius! So our trip to the capital narrowed down to a quick stroll, a coffee stop, and a bus ride back, total time:2:30 hours. Jelle was really surprised to see us back so quickly!

We enjoyed our time here, lazing around, swimming every day, and trying out the different eateries. Surprisingly enough, we had the best pizza ever in a Greek-Italian restaurant called Mamma Mia and we even ordered takeaway a second time around, a traditional Greek tavern twice, and even tasted some cocktails!

After a week of lazy strolls, strong winds, and amazing food, we released our lines and motor-sailed our way to the next island, Polyagos. Polyagos is the largest uninhabited island in the Aegean, which should not come as a surprise, since the name “Polyagos” literally means “many goats”! Polyagos, like most Cyclades, has barren and impressive hills and pristine beaches. We spent two quiet nights here, in this little piece of paradise, surrounded by serenity, majestic rock formations, crystal blue waters, and stunning sunsets. Such a difference to the cosmopolitan Sifnos!