I visited the Cyclades for the first time in 1971 and I immediately fell in love with these islands. In some ways they are similar and yet each island is unique. The ferry service today is so punctual and smooth that Deutsche Bahn could take a leaf out of its book. Back then, the crossing took considerably longer and was an adventure. Our ferry was called Miaoulis. I remember the ship's siren: it was a Tritonus. The Miaoulis was already an old ship at the time and was no longer able to keep to the timetable. As a result, delays of 1/2 to 1 hour had to be expected at the beginning of each season. At the height of the summer and even more so towards the end of the season, the Miaoulis was delayed by more than a day. Nobody expected the ship at the scheduled time. People simply turned up at the harbour half a day or a day later, sat in a café, played Tavli, drank Greek coffee and waited. The ferries were not yet able to dock at many islands and you had to be disembarked by dinghy. You can find more information about Miaoulis here
https://www.greece-is.com/ferry-tales-greek-coastal-service-from-1945-1995-gallery/
We found a really secluded bay on an island. There was a freshwater spring, so we had something to drink. About once a week we walked for almost an hour to the nearest village and bought food. During the 5 weeks of our holiday, there was no one in the bay apart from us - with one exception: one day, shepherds came with their flock to bathe the sheep in the sea.
I took the pictures here between 2018 and 2022 on Paros and Naxos. How hugely tourism has changed the islands!
