Antiparos Strait

Today started with a rather expensive cab ride to Pounta as we missed the morning bus and did not wish to wait two hours for the next. Our cab driver, George took advantage of the road (or maybe just ignored the speed limit). Regardless we were flying along at speeds of about 140km/h which paid off when we made the ferry with seconds to spare. My Greek is poor, but I have a suspicion that good old George called the ferry operator and told him we are on route. Either way making the ferry saved us an hour of waiting.

We took the ferry across to nearby Antiparos. On arrival we attempted to hire a quad bike. No success, unfortunately they would not rent us a quad bike as we had no experience and it was very dangerous. I think this wouldn't of been an issue if we weren't female. A male hired one shortly after us and it was pretty obvious he did not know how to drive a quad. With no other bike hire shops open we were stuck with a bus to the Grotte.

The Grotte or Cave of Antiparos is located on the south eastern side of the island, roughly 110 metres above sea level. This cave is believed to be one of the oldest caves in Greece. The entrance to cave is an arch, whch at a guess is about 10 metres high and 20 metres wide. The arch is framed by a small church aptly named St John of the Cave. Slightly inside the mouth for the arch you find a mammoth stalagmite, which is believed approximately 45 million years old and the oldest in Europe.

We then descended into the cave, 411 steps to be exact. The cavern revealed was large and deep, in excess of 100 metres. The cavern had been vandalised with many stalactites being removed and names engraved in the limestone. Overall, despite the damage it was worth a visit just to see the sheer grandness of the cave.

Next, we headed back into town and treated ourselves to some relax time. The local spa, Flora offered some great spa packages. Nicole went for chocolate and I algae/seaweed. We were lathered in our chosen product and them wrapped in a electronic blanket. Eventually, once we were good and sweaty it was rinse time. The package finished with a full body massage. We left smelling delicious (Nic more so than me), feeling refreshed and with soft supple skin.Read more