Greece Trip #23: Day-long Sailboat Around Milos: fun facts, miracle monastery

On Thursday, Sept. 16th the skies were clear and blue and the sun was shining brightly when we joined the tour group for a rented sailboat adventure around the island of Milos, Greece. In today's blog, you'll learn a couple of facts we learned from the handsome Skipper as we sailed around the island. Facts like why so many churches, why cliffs appear reddish color and the tale of a Miracle at a Monastery.

(Photo: Front: Andreas the Skipper, Rob, Bill and Tom. Credit: R.G) 

SITTING IN THE SHADE -  Although I'm not much of a beach and sun guy (because I get sunburn easily) I went and stayed in the shaded back part of the boat (canvas covering) with the Skipper and first mate, and 3 other guys. The other 13 guys stayed on the front of the boat and basked in the sunshine... (and drank like fish). Tom got sun and also swam a bit (the water was COLD!). We cruised by 2 unique rock formations. One that looked like a bear and another that looked like a rabbit. 

THE 10 HOUR TOUR -  There was a handsome skipper (Andreas) and first mate, who provided descriptions of places around the island, provided snacks, wine and lunch for the group. You'll meet the skipper in the next blog. Now onto some Milos facts:

WHY SO MANY SMALL CHURCHES ON MILOS? Whenever a church was built the government had to supply electricity to the structure. So, whenever several families decided to make a settlement,apart from other towns, they wisely also built a church. That ensured the government would connect power to their church and their homes! 

HOW THE ISLAND OF MILOS FORMED (FOR YOU GEOLOGISTS) - The archipelago of Milos is part of the South Aegean Volcanic Arc, formed as a result of the sideways and downward movement of the edge of the African plate of the earth's crust into the mantle beneath the Eurasian plate.TThe somewhat horseshoe-shaped island was built by a succession of eruptions from different centers which coincidentally resulted in the present-day form. The last magma activity occurred about 90000 years ago!.

WHY RED IN CLIFFS? - The reddish coloration in some of the cliff faces of Milos is actually, Manganese. Depending on how oxidized it is, manganese can be black, brown, pink, red, green, blue, and purple. Manganese is common in rocks, soils, and some minerals and is the 12th most common element in the Earth's Crust!

THE MANGANESE GREEK INDUSTRY- Manganese mining was a popular industry in Greece. It removes oxygen and sulfur when iron ore (an iron and oxygen compound) is converted into iron. It also is an essential alloy that helps convert iron into steel. As an alloy it decreases the brittleness of steel and imparts strength.

(Photo: The entire group. The Skipper is to the left of Rob, Bill and Tom to his right)

THE MIRACLE AT A MONASTERY -The Monastery of Agios Ioannis (Saint John) Siderianos is located on a hill above the bay of Agios Ioannis, on the western part of Milos island. According to the locals, this monastery was the sight of a miracle: in the Medieval Times, some locals had locked themselves inside this monastery to protect from an attack of pirates. They prayed to Saint John and that time the wooden door turned into iron, which is how the monastery took its name (Siderianos in Greek means iron). It is also said that one of the pirates tried to shoot a goal against the iron and his arm was paralyzed.

NEXT: Our Handsome Skipper and the Mystery of Fig Tree Cave