Amazing Amorgos
Giant waves made for an adventurous sail to Amorgos (ah-MORE-goss). You’d think that sitting on a sailboat for ten days is a great opportunity to catch up on blogging and photos, but not so much. When we’re in motion, the sun and spray on deck make it impossible to do anything, and seasickness sets in quickly down below. The key to avoiding seasickness is to keep the laptop closed, stay above deck, and focus on the horizon around you. Or lay down with your eyes closed and let the rolling boat rock you to sleep. Try to do anything with your eyes open below deck, and you’re asking for trouble.
On underpowered scooters and wearing helmets that had obviously been worn in fatal or near-fatal accidents, Conrad and I zipped up and down the mountain roads that cross the island. The higher we went, the more the crosswinds blew, and the more fun/dangerous the ride became. The terraces and wind reminded me of Peru, while the terrain and vegetation reminded me of Arizona. Views from the top were amazing.
We took some time strolling around Chora, which means “town” in Greek and seems to be the name for the main town on every Greek island. Lots of little alleys, old windmills, and cats.
One of our stops was Panagia Hozoviotissa, a 11th century monastery literally hanging on a cliff 300 meters above the sea. I picked some unfashionable pants from the pile of random clothes sitting by the door and put them on so I could go inside. No photography allowed in there, but there’s not really a whole lot to see anyway.
Continuing along the cliffs, we were treated to some tremendous ocean views. After an afternoon of exciting and dangerous scootering, we headed back down the mountain where a truly magical sunset presented itself to us. Amazing when things like that just sort of happen.
At dinner, Daisy asked me to come up with a list of questions for a fun little quiz night for the group. Here’s the quiz I came up with:
| Question | Points | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | What are the colors of Greek flag? | blue and white |
| 2 | 0.5 each letter, 0.5 if in order |
What are the first 4 letters of Greek alphabet, in order? | alpha beta gamma delta |
| 3 | 0.5 each | A Greek ferry sunk in the Cyclades in recent years. What year was it and how many died in the accident? | 2000 82 |
| 4 | 0.5 each | How many different nationalities are represented with passports of group, not including Daisy? | 4: Australian, American, Canadian, British |
| 5 | 1 | Where do the Cyclades get their name? | Greek word for circle |
| 6 | 1 | From which direction do winds generally blow in Cyclades? | north, northwest, or northeast |
| 7 | 0.5 each | Name the 4 main islands in Little Cyclades. | Iraklia, Koufonisia, Schinousa, Donousa |
| 8 | 1 | According to 2012 Lonely Planet, what is the combined population of Little Cyclades (within 100). | 886 |
| 9 | 1 | In a head-on collision situation, what should the captain of both boats do? | port-to-port, or turn starboard/right |
| 10 | 1 | What radio channel is used for a mayday distress call? | 16 |
| 11 | 1 | How many of the Cheryls made it to the cave on Mt. Zas? | 3 |
| 12 | 0.5 each | Demeter and Apollo are the Greek gods of what? | Demeter – agriculture Apollo – music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry |
| 13 | 0.5 each | How do you say “thank you” and “cheers” in Greek? | “thank you” – efcharisto “cheers” – yamas |
| 14 | 0.5 each | What are the names of the other G Adventures skippers we met on this trip? | Cornelius, Dave |
| 15 | 1 | Name 1 famous Greek person from history. | |
| 16 | 1 | What is saganaki? | fried cheese |
| 17 | 1 | In what year did Santorini volcano explode (within 500 years)? | 1600 BC |
| 18 | 1 | How many times have we dropped the anchor on this trip (within 3)? | 13, up to and including Amorgos |
| 19 | 0.5 each | What are the largest and smallest islands we visited on this trip? | largest – Naxos smallest – Iraklia |
| 20 | 1 | Changing direction back and forth as you’re sailing into the wind is called what? | tacking |
| 21 | 1 | How much money did Conrad make for eating an entire piece of cake in 1 bite? | 1 euro |
| 22 | 1 | What was the first thing that Dan took a picture of in Schinousa? | a man beating an octopus |
| 23 | 1 | How many enemies did Daisy make in the port of Amorgos (within 5)? | 1 |
Amorgos was one of the highlights of this trip. Maybe my favorite island after Santorini.
In the Cyclades, prevailing winds from the north make it uncomfortable or even impossible to sail in that direction, so it’s looking like we won’t get to Mykonos on this trip. I’m a little pissed off about this, as the G Adventures sales literature clearly shows Mykonos as part of the itinerary, and that’s one of the reasons I booked this particular trip. Daisy agrees that the G Adventures website is perhaps not as good as it could be and confirmed that the sailing itinerary starting in Mykonos and going south is the best and most comfortable way to enjoy the Greek islands. I wish I knew this.
Instead, we headed back to Ios for a chill afternoon at the beach and one more night of partying, joining a pub crawl through the lanes and alleys of the historic old town. All I have to say about this night is that when you can see the outline of a guy’s boner through his miniskirt, something has gone horribly wrong.
And then it was back to Santorini, where we said our quick goodbyes to Daisy and the rest of the group. Conrad and I caught a taxi bak to Fira for one last amazing meal at Mama’s and one last drink on the cliff overlooking the caldera. And then we were off. Goodbye, Santorini!
From Santorini, Conrad and I had originally planned to make out way back to Mykonos to party for a few days, but after hearing people’s mostly negative feedback about the place, we decided to make a change. Rhodes, here we come!
My name is Jeff. I'm a