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From Paros To Sifnos

September 30, 2021 /

“They are very bad people. Dirty money”. 

Isabella, the hugely likeable matriarch of our host family on Paros, is holding court. “Too many bad people at the top”, she says, “this is how Greece is”.

Isabella always has time to talk, by her own admission she likes to get to know her guests, and our late afternoon ferry means we too have time to kill today. Now, the subject has turned to the recent summer fires across Greece, and Isabella is, disturbingly, the third person we’ve met on this trip to expound the same theory.

  • Bay of Kamares from our balcony
  • View of Kamares beach from our balcony
Kamares, Sifnos

There seems to be a widespread opinion that when the heatwave came, significant money changed hands, and those “very bad people” seized an opportunity to plunder. The theory goes that unscrupulous property developers paid significant sums to high ranking officials, who in return turned a blind eye as to the cause of the fires which raged through the very areas previously pinpointed for development by those same companies, the implication being of course that the fires were started deliberately. Clearly this may be the wild fantasy of conspiracy theorists, but Isabella is yet another person to adopt a despairing facial expression and lay out these “facts”. How appalling if what Isabella and others say is true.

Kamares, Sifnos

Travelling on an evening ferry, which is anyway about 30 minutes late, means that we arrive on Sifnos after dark, a first on this trip. The port village of Kamares feels welcoming with its lighting strung around the bay and its tavernas the centre of chatter.

After the expensive restaurants of Paros, where one evening meal broke the 90-euro barrier, our first meal in Kamares is delicious and authentic and costs 17.50 euros including half a litre of wine. We are, it would appear, back in Greece.

Kamares, Sifnos

Indeed Sifnos turns out to be a lovely island, afforded some character by the numerous deep ravines which run down the mountains in all directions towards the sea. The largest of these cuts a swathe from the main village of Apollonia down to our base on the coast at Kamares; apparently the River Livadas which runs through this gorge sometimes flows all year round but is bone dry this summer. Both Apollonia and its sister village Artemonas are quiet, charming villages with hefty Venetian houses shoulder to shoulder with squat Cycladic homes.

Sifnos countryside
Drying grapes

In fact Sifnos is blessed with several delightful villages: Exampela with its line of windmills, the resort of Platis Gialos with its 1000 metre long sandy beach, while the peaceful cove harbour of Faros is exceptionally cute. Across the island, a series of towers stand in various states of collapse, having once been an effective communication system similar to beacons, in the days when warning of raiding pirates was crucial to survival.

Faros harbour
Faros harbour

On a rocky headland – actually a tiny island rock joined to the coast by an ancient footbridge – stands Chrisopigi, a spectacularly placed monastery and chapel which is ridiculously photo friendly. On the top of the island, up a decent climb from the road on a stoney trail, are the remains of an ancient Mycenean acropolis known as Agios Andreas, from where we get fabulous views across the dramatic landscapes of this terrific island. 

Chrisopigi Monastery,Sifnos
  • Chrisopigi
  • Chrisopigi

Kamares at night is a welcoming and relaxing experience. Now that the end of season is approaching and the bars and restaurants are quietening down, staff and villagers have time to talk. They are very proud of their island, its beauty and its pottery. These days, the clay on Sifnos is its main mineral source and there are pottery workshops throughout the island, but in ancient times both gold and silver were mined here, making Sifnos an island once wealthy and powerful.

Kastro, Sifnos
View from Kastro

It seems that either the gold and silver mines were flooded or alternatively exhausted of value, leading to an exodus and a period of desertion. Wikipedia tells us that this is the origin of the island’s name, as “sifnos” is Greek for “empty”, but we can’t find any other trace of this translation.

  • Agios Andreas, Mycenaean Acropolis
  • Agios Andreas, Mycenaean Acropolis
  • View from Agios Andreas

Our two days exploring Sifnos – one with a hire car, the other using buses – have been fascinating and exciting and there’s no doubt we feel we could be here for longer and, like Amorgos, we would like to return one day. There is a lot more to do here than we have had time to do justice to. 

  • Kastro
  • Kastro
  • Kastro
  • Kastro
  • Kastro

Sifnos has probably muscled its way into our Top 3 of Greek islands. From here we move on now to Milos, the last island on this adventure before we return to mainland Greece.

  • View from Kastro
  • Dovecote
  • Kastro
  • Kastro Acropolis
  • Sifnos church
  • Sifnos Church
  • Sarcophagus in Kastro
  • Sarcophagus in Kastro

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