Milos Day 4: Catacombs, Ancient Theatre, Klima, Mandrakia and Sarakiniko

Saturday 11th May 2024

A cloudly breakfast in Adamas

I woke early after a good night’s sleep, hungry and eager to start my day of sightseeing in Milos. Looking out of my hotel room window, I was disappointed to see that the cloudy weather had followed me from Santorini despite the blue sky when I arrived yesterday. The weather wasn’t entirely unexpected, though: I had seen the forecast yesterday and decided to visit Kimolos on Sunday because it looked like a better day.

After a quick shower, I dressed and left the hotel, heading towards the harbour front for breakfast. I noticed that the wind had dropped significantly, which gave me hope that conditions were improving. My destination for food was Aggeliki, where I’d had breakfast every day of my previous visit to Milos back in 2020. It’s mostly known as an ice cream shop and cafe but also has a breakfast menu.

When I arrived, it was about 8:30 a.m. The harbour area was quiet, with only a few locals and tourists passing by. Quite a contrast with Santorini, but a welcome one. I sat down at the front of the cafe and was slightly disappointed to find they didn’t have a set breakfast option with yoghurt and honey. I could’ve ordered everything separately, but it would have cost quite a lot, so I chose a waffle with nuts and honey instead. This came with tea or coffee (I had coffee) and some fresh orange juice. It was tasty enough, but I left feeling sad that I’d not had my favourite Greek breakfast and decided to try somewhere else next time.

Catacombs and Ancient Theatre

I had planned many things to see today, starting with the Catacombs and Ancient Theatre on the hillside southwest of Trypiti. I picked up my camera bag back at the hotel and set off on my e-bike. Given my bad experience on Paros the last time I hired an electric bicycle, I wasn’t sure how well the battery would last, so I tried to keep it in economy mode as much as possible. It was tough work heading uphill from Adamas towards Plaka, but the motor definitely made a difference. Whenever the road flattened out or descended, I turned it off and coasted along.

You can read more about the Catacombs here: Catacombs of Milos. I’ve made it into a separate post so it’s easier to find.

It was pretty warm inside the chambers, and there was very limited headroom (not ideal for a tall person like me), so as much as I enjoyed the visit, I was glad to be back outside in the fresh air and able to stand up properly.

An ancient Roman theatre, dating from the 1st – 4th century AD, is further down the hillside, a short distance from the catacombs. It is free to visit, but given its proximity, it makes sense to do it before or after visiting the catacombs.

The site has been extensively excavated over the years and partly restored, but it is apparently one of the best-preserved examples of a Roman theatre in the Cyclades islands. I enjoyed walking around the site and reading the information about the discovery, excavation and restoration work that has been carried out.

Klima Fishing Village

My next stop was the small, traditional fishing village of Klima, once an important port on the island. Despite being close to the ancient theatre, there’s no direct road between the two, short of scrambling down the hillside. Instead, I retraced my route on the bike back up to Trypiti, then turned right onto the coastal road down to the small resort.

It looks much less impressive under cloudy skies, but the brightly painted buildings on the water’s edge are captivating and unique. You can walk along in front of the dwellings, but if you don’t time your movements correctly, you can end up with wet feet!

Plathiena Beach

While researching things to do on this trip, I noticed a stunning-looking beach on the coast just northwest of Plaka. It seemed like somewhere that would be popular with tourists in the summer, so I decided to pay a visit after leaving the ancient theatre. The route took me back through Trypiti and past a coffee shop called MonK Cafe. I seized the opportunity to top up my caffeine levels with an Espresso Freddo, then continued on to the beach.

Sadly, once again, the cloudy weather doesn’t favour the beach in my photos. It looks nothing like some of the pictures you’ll see on Google Maps, but I’m sure it would be a nice place to swim and sunbathe in the right conditions. The beach was deserted when I arrived, and I had no plans to stick around, so once I’d taken a few photos and video clips, I jumped back on the bike and headed off.

Firopotamos and Mandrakia

Making my way around the northeastern coastline of Milos, my next stop was the small fishing village of Firopotamos.

I visited on my first trip to Milos in 2020, and aside from a few pretty painted buildings at the water’s edge, there’s not much to see or do. Wanting to conserve my bike battery, I stopped on the hillside above the village to take a photo, then continued on to Mandrakia.

Mandrakia is a slightly larger seafront village southeast of Firopotamos. Its sheltered harbour is picturesque, and it’s quite well known for Medusa, a fish restaurant with a reputation for great food and nice views.

As it was past midday, I decided to stop and have some food at the taverna. It was quite busy and didn’t have many tables, but I got seated immediately. I don’t eat a lot of fish, and on my last visit, I just had a salad and bread, but this time, I ordered cod fillets, chips, and fried feta cheese with honey. The food was delicious, and I helped it down with a half-litre of white wine!

On the wall next to my table, I spotted a few photos featuring celebrities who had visited the restaurant. I can’t say it impressed me much, but I suppose it’s good advertising for them!

I took my time at the restaurant as I’d already ticked off quite a few sights and didn’t have many left to see. My next stop is the famous Sarakiniko Beach, but after that, I’ll probably head back to Adamas and chill out for a bit. I’ll return to Plaka in the evening to catch the sunset and have dinner. I’m planning to see Pollonia tomorrow as it’s where the ferry from Kimolos departs, and other than a couple of beaches on the south coast that I visited on my previous trip, there’s not much else to see.

Sarakiniko Beach

Getting to Sarakinino Beach took some effort on the bike, as there’s no way to access it directly along the coastline. Instead, I had to head inland and uphill before heading east and then downhill again. There’s a car park at the end of the beach road, though I imagine that in summer, it’s not nearly large enough to accommodate all the tourists.

Fortunately, the sun had started breaking through the clouds over lunchtime, making the island look 10x more appealing, although it brought with it a slight breeze. This caused Sakariniko to be quite wavy, much as it had been on my previous trip, and as a result, nobody was braving the water. It’s certainly a strange and surreal place–you’ll no doubt have seen it described as ‘moon-like’ and other-worldly, which is about right.

I parked my bike at the closest end of the parking area, got out my camera and wandered first towards the cliff edge, then down onto the very tiny patch of sand that makes up the only actual ‘beach’ you’ll find here, and finally up onto the rocks the other side. A decent number of people were around, but the wind and still-mild temperature meant few sunbathers. Most were walking around like me or sat on the rocks in groups, chatting and taking in the scenery.

Back to Adamas and Charging the Bike

I didn’t spend long at Sarakiniko and was soon on my bike again, this time heading south back to the port town of Adamas. I had just over 50% battery remaining, but given the rate it had gone down when I was climbing hills, I was keen to charge it ahead of tomorrow’s trip across to Kimolos. I hadn’t been provided with a charger, but the rental shop owner said I could stop by and pick it up if I wanted to, so that’s where I was heading.

I made it back to my hotel by mid-afternoon, armed with the charger cable and also a freshly charged battery on my bike. Unsure what to do with the remainder of the afternoon, I had a quick shower and rest, then decided to cycle around the bay to Achivadolimni Beach. I knew the route was mostly flat and would be quite relaxing and scenic in the late afternoon sun.

I stopped briefly on the way to take a photo from Papikinou Beach, where I’d enjoyed sunbathing on my first trip to Milos in 2020. It’s a lovely, sandy beach just 10-15 minutes walk from Adamas.

Achivadolimni Beach

The road to Achivadolimni Beach follows the coastline around the interior of Milos Bay. Aside from a slight hill just south of the airport road, it’s nearly all flat and was a breeze on my bike. I treated myself to using the full power of the electric motor, knowing I could charge it up back at the hotel.

The beach was deserted when I arrived. I parked my bike on the side of the road and walked down some concrete steps that provided access to the sand. This part of the island is popular for surfing as it tends to have an onshore breeze and decent waves from across the wide bay.

I strolled a little way along the beach, enjoying the peace and quiet with only the sound of the wind and waves for company. I’d had a great first day on Milos and was pleased that the weather was improving.

Dinner and Sunset (or not) in Trypiti

My final outing for the day was a visit to the hillside village of Trypiti to see the sunset and have a nice evening meal. I set off on my bike at 7 p.m., knowing it would be early for the sunset but wanting time to explore first.

As I climbed back towards Plaka, I could see a large band of clouds across the horizon, and I quickly realised that I was unlikely to see a proper sunset. Oh well, I was still determined to walk around and see what photos I could get while I worked up an appetite.

I left my bike in the public parking area near the bus stop in Trypiti and set off on foot. I could see some converted windmills uphill to the east, and it seemed like a good place to try to get some shots of the landscape.

I retraced my steps back towards the parking area, then turned southeast down a narrow street where I spotted the large church of Agios Nikolaos:

At this point, I decided there was no reason to wait around for the sun to drop closer to the horizon, knowing it would be obscured by the clouds, so I turned my attention to dinner instead. Back in 2020, I’d enjoyed an excellent meal in a nearby taverna called Ergina, so I was slightly disappointed to find it was yet to open for the season. I checked the menu at the highly-rated Barriello, but it was very expensive and not quite to my taste. I then found Glaronisia as I was heading back towards the car park. It’s also highly rated and has a much more traditional and reasonably priced menu, so I decided to try it.

Moussaka, my favourite Greek dish (which you’ll know if you’ve read any of my other trip reports), caught my eye when I looked at the menu outside. Sadly, it wasn’t to be, though, as the waitress came over with a menu and told me they had everything available except moussaka! I was a bit stumped on what else to order but settled on more fried feta cheese as an appetizer–similar to my lunch, but this one came with a pumpkin marmalade instead of honey–and for the main course, I chose a lamb dish in tomato sauce with chips. They didn’t offer house wine by the carafe, so I opted for a bottle of Mamos beer instead, which is very nice and a good alternative to Mythos.

The food was very good, although I don’t like eating lamb on the bone as there wasn’t much meat. What there was tasted great, and by the time I’d eaten the chips and the appetizer, I felt pretty full. Not wanting to rush back to the hotel, I sat for a while, enjoying the ambience as the restaurant got busier and sipping away at my beer.

When I left the restaurant, it was quite dark and had cooled down quite a bit. I was prepared, though, with my body warmer in my rucksack and lights on the bike; I had no trouble getting back to the hotel unscathed and moderately warm.

Satisfied with a productive and enjoyable day, I reviewed some of the photos and videos I’d captured during my sightseeing activities, then went to bed, excited for my trip to Kimolos tomorrow.