– idyllic, sun drenched, dazzling blue and white –
This is my second post on Milos Island and I’m dedicating it to the beautiful fishing villages we stumbled on throughout the island. Can you imagine a more idyllic life? I’ll begin with the fishing villages, known as syrmata, of which there are a few.
They consist of terraced houses that are built down into the water, and in other cases, cave houses built into the rocky shore. Today many are used for tourist accommodation (especially at Klima), but traditionally fishermen would moor their boats downstairs in rough weather conditions and live upstairs.
Fourkovouni, the first fishing village along the coast from us, is easy to see from the road and gives a good idea of what these villages look like:
Also very pretty is Fyropotamos, a little further around the island:
There was a decent looking beach here as well as some ruins, a sweet church and some rugged coastline.
Klima, just south of the town of Trypiti, was the busiest of the syrmata and seems to be mostly occupied by tourists.
It’s particularly pretty as the houses are painted in a multitude of colours. You can walk along the edge and look into each house as you pass as they’re fully open to the outdoors. It all seems perfectly relaxed and acceptable! We had a nice lunch on the waterfront here at Aotakas. Niran finally got to eat some of the local seafood!
Probably the best of all the syrmata was Mandrakia. It’s also a haven for tourists but the locals still live and work here, so it feels a whole lot more authentic.
There was a single taverna here, which was getting ready for lunch. These were the inspiration for Niran’s lunch in Klima – “sun-dried” octopus. We later learned that in order to ensure they’re tender enough to grill, the Greeks dry their octopus in the sun for one full day.
See more about the churches of Milos
