This is the second in a series of posts about walking Sifnos, Greece. If you missed part I, click HERE. Otherwise, keep reading 🙂
While many of the trails are accessible if you stay in Apollonia (as we did), there are some that you will need to drive to in order to begin or return. We didn’t want to rent a vehicle, so our original plan was to use the island’s municipal bus. Our hostess Agiliki had provided a timetable so we knew when the buses left — easy, right?
Hah!
On our first attempt, we waited outside for 45 minutes but the bus we needed never passed. I finally asked a woman who was waiting with a group of school children — we had trouble understanding each other but I discerned that she had no idea there was even a bus to Platis Gialos, but I knew there was. So either my pronunciation was so abysmal she had no idea where I wanted to go, OR we were waiting at the wrong bus stop. Either way, we walked to the center of town where the taxis hung out and easily procured a ride to our destination. We used taxis for the rest of the trip.
At each bus stop, there was a list of rates (see below) and list of phone numbers for the 10 taxi drivers. We sometimes had to wait 10-15 minutes for the driver & we always needed an easy location name to give them that they would recognize, but it was so convenient and quick. The only day we had trouble reaching a taxi driver was on Sunday — we had to call six numbers before someone said “yes, pick you up 10 minutes!”
Kastro to Chrissopigi, Trail 2
Trail 2 was definitely my favorite. We began with a quick taxi ride to Kastro (cost=7€), where we further explored the ancient village & walked the ? steps down to the Church of the Seven Martyrs. There was a bench on the far end of the church overlooking the sea where we just sat, enjoying the feeling of being tiny in this vast world. On our way up, we met a young man looking very Zen in his short sarong who told us he began every day with that walk. He was from Spain & I have no idea why he was there or for how long. I should have asked, but he was very chatty & we were anxious to get started on the trail. It was one of many times that I regret not slowing down to appreciate the moment. Oh well, I’ll learn someday 🙂
Kastro
Church of Seven Martyrs
Kastro
Church of Seven Martyrs
Church of Seven Martyrs
Church of Seven Martyrs
Church of Seven Martyrs
Kastro
Kastro
Kastro
Kastro
Kastro
Kastro
Kastro
Trail 2 began at the parking lot that serves as the first entry to Kastro. We began downhill with views of farmers tending their crops & bright blue beehives, with great views of the sea & Kastro behind us. The sea views quickly disappeared as we headed south & were overtaken by olive groves & abandoned farms. The path was very rocky at times, in fact at one point it was ONLY rocks — we were all happy we had good hiking sandals & no one twisted any ankles.
Trail 2
Trail 2
Eric on Trail 2
Trail 2
Trail 2
Aimee and Eric
Walk to Faros
Looking back at Kastro
Walk to Faros
Beehives
The rocks made it a fun trail & kept us so busy that we were surprised when we reached the village of Faros so quickly. We could see Faros for awhile as we walked down towards it, which helped build the anticipation for what became my favorite beach town on the island. I LOVED Faros! It was tiny but so perfectly situated, with other great beaches close by & fabulous tavernas on the water. I’ll talk more about tavernas & beaches in a later post, but just know this: if I were given a week left to live, I’d want to spend it sipping fruit drinks at Gorgona & eating seafood at Limanaki while soaking in the sea at Faros. Our quote for that day was “I hope heaven is like this.”
Faros feet
Faros
Gorgona taverna
Aimee & her cat friend
Faros beach
Frappe at Gorgona
Faros
Faros
Drinks at Gorgona
Melon at Gorgona
Faros
Faros beach
Fruit at Gorgona
Fish at Limanaki
We could have stayed at Faros all day, but we had more to see along Trail 2 so with promises to ourselves to return later in the trip, we trekked on. In less than 5 minutes on the trail we were at another beach called Glyfo, where we saw our first topless sunbather. Glyfo was a little larger with a few more people but it had no food…so we walked right past & continued on. A short walk up & around the coast brought us to another beach, Apokofto. It was excellent & had superb views of Chrissopigi, the church that was our end point for Trail 2. Apokofto had a taverna on the beach, which of course meant we HAD to stop & partake of more refreshments AND relax by the water.
We ended our walk past the church to the large baptismal font out on a cliff, then chatted with the very friendly Katarina while waiting for a taxi. Katarina owned a tiny market next to the church & had a basket of newborn kittens — my sister Aimee was in heaven. We were grateful for her help in calling the taxi — all we had to say was “Katarina’s Chrissopigi” & the driver knew exactly where we were. Katarina was also the one who explained why there were so many cats on the island. She said “no vet.” 🙂
Later that evening, we dressed up, walked around Apollonia & had a leisurely dinner at Cayenne after sunset. It was a perfect day.
Glyfo beach
Looking back at Faros
Trail 2
Chrissopigi
Glyfo beach
Dessert at Apokofto
Chrissopigi
Chrissopigi
Baptismal font on cliff at Chrissopigi
Waiting for taxi at Katarina’s
Faros
From Faros to Chrissopigi
From Faros to Chrissopigi
Apokofto
Apokofto
Apokofto
Chrissopigi
Open hours at Katarina’s
Trail 2
Apokofto beach
Clare in Apollonia
Apollonia
Apollonia
Apollonia
Dinner at Cayenne
Dinner at Cayenne
Dinner at Cayenne
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