At the island of Icaría, Icarus had flown so high that the sun melted the wax that held his wings together - he crashed, his father Daedalus buried him here - so far the legend goes, a huge impressive monument on the harbour pier in Agios Kyrikos reminds us.
We came the 47 nautical miles from the south coast of the island of Chios with a north-northwest wind and a very strong swell to Icaría. In the afternoon, the already strong wind increased again and we had to contend with fierce gusts shooting down from the high mountains of the island. So once again a tough ride.
The port of Agios Kyrikos is not recommended in the sailor’s guidebook - the strongest gusts in the Aegean are found here, they say. We made it, no sails were torn from the mast, but when you sit in the cockpit in the morning and want to put sugar in your coffee, the spoon is three-quarters empty when it arrives over the cup (in the harbour!).
Icaría - a very wild island, with gorges, vertical cliffs, tiny bays and picturesque villages, some of which are so narrow that it can be scary, when you drive in - as we did - with the rental car. How do we get out of here? So are the breakneck serpentine roads around the many rocky outcrops, some of them almost 1000m above sea level, with vertical drop-offs right next to the narrow road.
Ag. Kyrikos is very Greek, very relaxed, very quiet, the few tourists here are mostly Greeks. Very winding alleys, sometimes you can hardly get past the chairs and tables of the restaurants.
We are moored in a tiny little marina that has functioning water connections, but no electricity. But it doesn't cost anything either. And: in the rock face at the edge of the marina springs a hot, radium-containing healing spring. You can bathe in it in Therma, two kilometres away, where it flows directly into the sea. You swim through 50 metres of sea water, currently 20 degrees, then you are in a natural pool like in a bathtub, estimated at 40 degrees, the water comes directly from a grotto in the rock face.
Icaría - all in all a beautiful mixture of rugged wildness, intensified by the extremely strong winds, and cosy relaxed idyll.
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