Day 2: Milos – Adamas, Sunbathing at Papikinou Beach

Thursday 3rd September 2020

Finding My Feet (and Breakfast)

I woke pretty early after a slightly restless night. I’d left the air-conditioning on pretty high when I went to bed, waking in the early hours shivering with only a light sheet covering me. Unable to find a thicker quilt, I resorted to wearing shorts and a t-shirt to get back to sleep.

Despite the interrupted sleep, I got up excited for the first proper day of my trip!

I had initially planned to explore Milos by hiring an ATV (quad bike) today and tomorrow. However, my pre-booked boat trip was rescheduled from the weekend to Friday because tomorrow will be less windy. This was a good thing as it gave me a free day today to relax, so once I’ve found somewhere to get breakfast, the only thing on my itinerary is picking a good spot on the beach to sunbathe!

I threw on shorts, a vest and my sandals and headed towards Adamas harbour in search of caffeine and, hopefully, Greek yoghurt and honey!

Aggeliki

Arriving in central Adamas just a few minutes later, I found a cafe next to the harbour called Aggeliki. It promotes itself primarily as an ice cream shop but has a good selection of breakfast options on the menu outside. It also had plenty of tables with comfortable-looking chairs, all with great views of the harbour.

They opened at eight and, as it was only a few minutes after, I was the only customer, so I snagged a prime table right at the front. I ordered one of their set-menu breakfasts for 10€, consisting of bread, butter, jam, fresh orange juice, coffee, and Greek yoghurt with honey. It seemed like a fair price, and it was delicious!

Beach Bound

Feeling pleasantly full from my substantial breakfast, I returned to my room and lotioned up for a day at the beach. I was soon ready to set off after packing my camera gear, towel, water, swimming goggles and a hat.

The closest beach to my accommodation was Papikinou, the main town beach for Adamas. It begins just a stone’s throw away and continues around the bay for quite a distance.

Once I reached the sand, I ditched my shoes and strolled along the shoreline, enjoying warm water on my feet and soft sand between my toes. I wasn’t sure where the best place would be to set up camp for the day, so I just kept walking until I decided I’d found the right spot.

The right spot turned out to be in front of a taverna called Lydia, where they provide sunbeds and umbrellas for a reasonable 4€, with a guy serving drinks and snacks as well.

Having arrived pretty early – it was only just after 9 – I had my pick of beds and decided on an end location so people wouldn’t surround me if it got busier later on. I had the place to myself for the first hour or two, but as the morning passed, it started filling up. The beds were nicely spaced, though, so it never felt crowded.

Most of the day was spent in a state of holiday bliss: sunbathing, reading my Kindle and listening to my favourite music on Spotify — a perfect combination! I went for several swims whenever the sun’s heat got too hot. The water was fantastic: the bay was relatively shallow and calm, and the sea temperature was cool enough to be refreshing but much warmer than I first expected. One benefit of the late summer holidays is that the sea has had plenty of time to heat up.

By 4 o’clock, I’d had as much sun as I could manage. After one last dip to cool off for the walk back, I packed up my gear and set off towards Venus Studios. I had a nice long shower to get all the sand and lotion off, then relaxed in my room to recover from the sun, nibbling through several biscuits I’d purchased last night.

Drone Time and Dinner

Conscious of not wanting to eat dinner too early, I figured that late afternoon was an excellent time to get the drone out for some aerial shots of Adamas. It was a bit breezy, but I’ve had the drone in much worse conditions, so I knew it would be fine.

Feeling like I’d had a perfect first day already, I got changed again and strolled back into Adamas, searching for a place to have dinner. I decided on a pizza restaurant called Aktaion, which happened to be next door to Aggeliki, where I’d had breakfast earlier in the day.

Stuffed with a cheesy but tasty pizza, I strolled back to my room, satisfied with my first full day of the holiday and excited for the boat trip tomorrow!