Day Three, First Day of Sea Kayaking on Milos

Awaking far too early as usual I went for a stroll to get the lay of the land and get some shots before the Sun got too high. I strolled down past a church to the bridge separating Triovasalos and Pera Triovasalos then back up the hill and up to the village of Plakes from where I could see the Castro atop the pinnacle at the edge of the village. This was a key lookout in Venetian times.

Rod met me for breakfast and we discussed the morning plans. We selected some kayaks, me in. Temoest 170 from Wilderness then headed off for the short drive to a lovely little beach, Plathiena, on the northern side of the island. Our plan was to paddle acros the mouth of the main inlet of the island on which the port of Adamas sits then up past an old mine and around to Cape Vani. We expected a headwind for the crossing which though supposed to strengthen, would give us a tail wind back at the end of the day.

It was a beautiful, sunny day, the warmest so far this Spring according to Rod. Soon after setting off we came to an interesting pair of stacks called "the Bears" after the shape of the main one. From the angle we approached it seemed more like the Trojan Rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail but it was certainly colourful with interesting weathering. The crossing to the other side was uneventful and the wind not strong at all.

Once on the other shore we made north along till we got to the old manganese mine. We planned to come back there for lunch. We then paddled past the old wharf, quite a dramatic structure then around Cape Vani. Rounding the point we found the sea and wind remarkably calm so decided to head on to the first beach along the western coast, Angathia. Before that Rod directed me to what initially seemed like just a rock face. On paddling closer I noticed a small crack that Rod then proceeded to paddle into. Turn out to be a narrow slot, just wider than a kayak, that cut through the small headland to the other side. Very photogenic and a wonderful start to the trip.

Angathia was deserted apart from flock of goats, most of whom took off when we landed. One stayed behind, trying to eat the pig face through a fence protecting it. This little garden was adjacent to a small house, empty, at the top of the beach. The goat kept bleating and on investigation I found it was stuck as it could not pull head and horns back through the wire gap in the fence. I called over Rod so we could try and free it. Brute force to snap the fence didn't work but eventually with two of us we were able to manipulate the goat's head back through the opening after which it took off without any thanks. There was an old dinghy above the beach that made for an interesting photo.

Heading back to Cape Vani we explored another sea cave then back through the slot, around the Cape and landed at the mine. The site was a manganese mine, deserted several decades ago but with several ruined buildings and some equipment rusting. After lunch we headed off to explore a mine tunnel that Rod had visited once but only gone a short way in. This time, equipped with headlamps we were ale to explore to the end. There were several tunnels and shafts and we found the remnants of the small railway used for hauling the black ore. Looked like something from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The paddle back across to our launch spot was uneventful save for having to wait for a ferry to cross our path. This time we headed around the outside of the Bears before arriving back at the beach. Total distance paddled was about 20km. All in all a very pleasant start to my kayak adventures with some unusual shore excursions. Looking forward to more!