We spent eleven days exploring the Cyclades on the Vitamin Sea, a 51' sloop. Along with our skipper Kristien, our gang included my brother Dave and his wife Kathie, my sister Linda and her husband Dick, plus Dick's brother Jim and his wife Ellen. Part of the reason we'd chartered this specific yacht was that it is set up with four double berths with heads, plus a separate small cabin for the skipper. Sailboats are always cozy, but this one accommodated all of us pretty well.
Monday early we met Kristien near the yacht harbor. She gave us a little orientation to the boat and then sent us off to stock up on groceries and supplies. By late morning we were motoring out of the harbor toward Mikonos.
Unfortunately the winds were very light so we were motoring more than sailing. Occasionally we'd put up the sails and leave the motor running so we could make headway; Kristien (who is Belgian but now lives in France) referred to this as "Italian sailing." We anchored in a quiet bay on Mikonos and had a swim off the boat. Later we took the dinghy to the island and walked to a nice restaurant for dinner.
Mikonos was busy and too crowded for our tastes. We were glad to only be on the island for a few hours.
Next morning we cruised to the nearby island of Delos, which is a major archaeological site. It has been occupied since the third millennium BCE, and was considered the birthplace of Apollo. It was an important religious center for the Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans and later civilizations, each of which built temples and other buildings. Now, the entire island is an open-air museum.
After exploring Delos we cruised to the nearby island of Sifnos, where we anchored in a quiet bay, swam off the boat, and enjoyed a very nice dinner onshore.
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