As the famous Meltemi winds stormed down the Aegean Sea, expedition leader John Frick changed our course for the sheltered waters of mainland Peloponnesus. Our adaptable guides introduced us to the city of Nafplio, an Ottoman stronghold won by the Greeks in the War of Independence. Nafplio served as the first modern Greek capital from 1829–1834. Guests made the most of their morning excursion in Nafplio, which featured a walking tour, an optional 999-step ascent to the Fortress of Palamidi, and some generous servings at the local world class gelato shop.
Jeff was raised in upstate New York and completed his B.A. in geography at Middlebury College in Vermont. He attained his master’s degree in water resource science at Oregon State University where his research focused on glacier hydrology in the Paci...
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Our weeklong expedition abord Sea Cloud has taken us through a wide range of the conditions that the Cycladic Islands have to offer. Today, with calm seas, we arrived in the charming seaside town of Kamares, the chief port of Sifnos. During antiquity, this island enjoyed a period of great prosperity as they were privy to plentiful deposits of gold and silver, and the Sifnians built fantastic monuments at Panhellenic sanctuaries with their newfound wealth. By the late 6th century BC, though, these mines were exhausted, and the islanders later fell within the influence of the Athenian Empire, aka the Delian League. Traces of the Sifnians’ former wealth are evident in the blocks of carved marble, originally from temples of the Ionic Order, which have been repurposed into present-day structures. In the Middle Ages, Sifnos was part of the Byzantine Empire until the early 13th century when the Venetians wrested control of the Cyclades after the Fourth Crusade. This medieval phase of the island’s history is evident in the charming village of Kastro, where we arrived after a short bus ride from the port. Situated atop an outcrop, this fortified settlement stands aloft about 200 feet above the rocky shoreline of the Aegean Sea below. Its thick outer wall is breached by only a handful of narrow passages, while the narrow streets and staircases within it are ripe for exploration. To the east of Kastro, a beautiful little chapel with a characteristic blue dome (the Church of the Seven Martyrs) sits proudly on a peninsula against the stunning blue waters around it. Upon returning to Kamares harbor, some of us visited a sandy beach–it was time for a swim! Afterwards, we enjoyed a fantastic buffet lunch on the ship, with a special pasta bowl on offer. During the afternoon, the weather shifted, and we were once again feeling the steady stream of 20 knot winds from the north. In the evening, we gathered one last time for the Captain’s farewell drinks, and we shared our memories together with the voyage slideshow. After dinner, we got one last surprise– Sea Cloud’s crew took us through a hearty rendition of traditional sea shanties. Cheers to the (not so) drunken sailors!
We woke to a soft and beautiful light before sunrise with the nearly full moon setting over the island of Siros. The decks and rigging of the ship were wet from a late summer fog upon the motionless sea. The rising sun soon burned through the remaining mists as Sea Cloud dropped her anchor outside the breakwater of the port of Tinos. Following our breakfast, we made a quick transfer to the pier using the ship’s Zodiacs and boarded coaches for an hour ride north along the island’s rugged and beautiful western coast. Along the way, we stopped to admire and photograph a cluster of the distinctive dovecotes of Tinos. Introduced by the Venetians, doves provided both food and fertilizer to the Greeks of Tinos. Over the generations, the islanders build and refined the two-story, square structures to house the doves and to collect their guano. Built of stone and decorated with a lacey façade of slate, these structures are a distinctive cultural expression of Tinos. Crossing the ridge of the island in the north, we descended to the charming town of Pyrgos. We made a short visit to the town’s excellent Marble Museum, showcasing the mining and working of the fine marble for which Pyrgos and the island are famous. We then descended by foot into the village, passing among the whitewashed Cycladic houses with carved marble lintels or plaques above colorfully painted doors and windows. We arrived to the memorable central “square” with an enormous and gnarled European plane tree at its center. The square is surrounded by cafes, and our guests took a drink and tried the local galaktobureko sweet. We reboarded our coaches for the return to the main port town. Many of our guests, accompanied by our local guides, visited the very holy Church of Evangelistra to witness, at least from the exterior on this busy Sunday morning, the strong devotion and fervor of the religious pilgrims. Back on Sea Cloud , we enjoyed our lunch while the captain left the anchorage using a combination of sails and motor. After siesta, a final swim from the ship at “Sea Cloud Beach” was offered, and twenty-two guests took up this opportunity. National Geographic photographer Massimo Bassano gave a very well-received, behind the scenes account of photographing for the magazine. We finished our day with a Filipino dinner on the Lido Deck followed by a final night of stargazing on the Spanker Deck with expedition leader John Frick. Photo caption: Our visit to the Pyrgos Marble Museum allowed for a deeper appreciation of the processes involved in extracting, transporting, and sculpting the marble that Tinos is famous for.
This morning, we visited the island of Delos, a sacred sanctuary of Apollo. First, we explored the residential area, including wealthy villas with beautiful mosaic floors, followed by stops at an impressive theater, the sacred sanctuary, and the Avenue of the Lions. In the afternoon, the crew went aloft to set the sails. We had an opportunity for water safaris in the Zodiacs, allowing us to admire and photograph the majestic Sea Cloud under sail.
