John had done the research and knew that there was a Metro from the Athens airport to Piraeus. Our hotel was lovely and so too were the staff. We headed out for a quick bite at a traditional Greek restaurant complete with musician on the balalaika. John was OK but fading and after the hour-long Metro ride, the walk to the hotel and then the meal which he couldn’t eat, he was done for. ‘I’m sick!!’ He was really sick – he had picked up a stomach bug probably on the flight over.  Oh..it was bad!!! To make matters worse we had a ferry to catch the following morning and the paperwork said be there two hours early. Then we had a two-and-a-half-hour ferry to Milos. He insisted he would be alright. I searched everywhere for a mirror!!!!

At one stage… I was ready to throttle him. He was dehydrated and so he was muddled. He constantly asked me where we were, where we were going, what day it was. At one stage he asked..Where’s Debra? Oh its you. Great…made me feel confident. He was losing his mind and was really distressed. What a nightmare!!!! 

We arrived by taxi to Lithos Luxury Rooms on Milos – a six-room bed and breakfast resort on top of a hill with absolutely nothing around. Gorgia and her parents were our hosts. I explained that John was ill. And then it rained. It was surreal. This is Greece! It’s summer! It’s raining! It suited our mood. We went to ground. The following day I was struck down. 

On day three of our five day stay we decided we had had enough. We hired a car and did a little drive to Sarakiniko took a walk and some photos then had to return to our room for a few hours to recover. 

Later we went out again to O’Hamos a delightful taverna serving delicious Aegean Cuisine in a vine shaded garden. John had lamb chops and I nibbled on a Greek Salad. At the end of the meal, they gave us Mastic gum and it really did make us feel a lot better. 

Day five, Tuesday, and we continued exploring the island by car. After a little research we decided the Catacombs of Milos would be very interesting. It was used by early Christians first as a burial site and later as a place of worship and refuge. These catacombs are possibly even older than the ones in Rome. They close on Tuesday. 

OK it was off to the Milos Caves of Papafrangos. It was windy and there was nobody around. Ahh …the little beach area was closed off and there were warning signs about the cliffs being dangerous, so I clambered to the highest point and took a couple of pictures. That was it. That was all we could cope with. We headed back. It was a shame we never got to use the pool or explore Milos further. Our hosts, Gorgia and her parents were kind and considerate. They provided us with a packed breakfast as we made our early morning departure for the port and destination Paros. Things were looking up.