The Other Islands

One of many matchmakers
Fresh catch displayed on board

Our matchmaker, the ferry brings us to a next possible intended. As you all may know, in the past centuries marriage through matchmaking was most common

Eating deep fried crunchy ansjovis

.

And the only way to the heart of a potential betrothed was frequent visits to her parlor and later possible attendances at dances and or theater visits, during which one was allowed to escort the lady there and be publically seen and of course "talked" about.

Milos a possible loved one?

Well the hundreds of islands, that the republic of Greece has to offer suitors can in many ways be seen as a replication of the matchmaking process of olden days.

We, the suitors, do not know what we will find when our matchmaker, the ferry, brings us to the front door and each following day we are allowed to see more and more of her beauty, character and temperament.

City of Plaka, Milos - another beauty

Will we return and maybe even become so enamored, that we propose to stay forever and embrace her charms till death us part?

Tourists baiting locals with ice
Local got the catch of the day
For you who want to see more of us

We are told that the islands have annually 20 million suitors and that their different charms embrace every year new faces like Sandee's and mine although through the centuries their expectations of lasting love relationships may have withered.

Catacombs of Milos shelter for early Christians
Klima a town only to be reached by boat

We sought to define our assessment by visiting two more islands after Sifnos, the islands of Milos and Folegandros. Both so different that comparing them might be an insult to each of them.

World War II bomb shelters now art expo space

Milos has each year half a million suitors, whereas, the larger and less endowed with natural beauty,

Expo talks about World War II experiences

Folegandros gets less than 200,000 visitors. Compare that with the favorite "ladies" among the Greece islands like Santorini or Mykonos visited by a million plus suitors each year.

Waterside village's Loo with a view

Comparing the three islands on their charms was not easy, maybe because at our age the ardor in our pursuit of their charms has been tempered by too many prior experiences. (Does that make us Cads?)

Right across from my coffee chair

Our favorite became the by nature less endowed Folegandros, who in the end bewitched us with a laid back atmosphere showing us every day a different side of her charming company during warm cozy evenings, providing original food and pleasant company, almost fooling us into believing we were the only foreign suitors among the many mingling in the plazas and courtyards of enchanting Chora - her small intimate capital.

Horiatiki salad can't get enough of the real tomato taste

Breakfasts on our private terrace, wine at our "reserved" spot in down town as if we were natives to the island. It all gave us the most welcome feeling.

Folegandros Breakfast everyday the same
Church of Panagia (virgin) re?-built in 1687 seen from our balcony
Our runner up was Milos, because of a seaside lodging with our own roof side private terrace for lazy evenings,
where we consumed "horiatiki" salads, the famous very tasty Greek salad consisting of tomato, cucumber, green peppers and onion some olives and sometimes as a variation on this famous staple some added capers all flavored by olive oil, salt and pepper.

We also rented a car on Milos to see the outlying villages, beaches and farms. And to top all of that off, a full day sailing trip on a catamaran around the island laid bare her physical charms in such a way, that betrothing her seemed unnecessary. Although Milos was charming and had a wild beauty to share with us, we felt still just visitors, not adopted natives, a status that Folegandros offered us.

After ten days at three islands, a twelve hour trip back on the "matchmaker" brought us to the last beauty to be enthralled by: Athens, a 4 million citizen city housing 40% of all Greeks. Although we would only visit the inner city, 4,000 years of human stories are enfolded to those who seek this grand old lady's charms.

 

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