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Beautiful Kea Island

Kea is a beautiful Greek island nor very far from Athens. Part of the Cyclades archipelago, the island has beautiful hilly countryside and quiet beaches. We arrived there by ferry from Athens.

Our first stop on the island was at Panagia Kastriani Monastery. Surrounded by legends, the church is very beautifun and from there you have spectacular views over the sea.

We then headed to the main town of the island called Ioulida or Ioulis. We walked on the small cute pedestrian-only and donkey-only streets of the town. The whitewashed buildings are a bit bruised, but we found that charming.

We took an easy hike towards Lion of Kea, a gigantic archaic sculpture created from a single block of local limestone.

We also paid a visit to Kea Archeological Museum, a nice small archaeological museum.

At the end of the day we stopped at Panorama cafe. We were surprised by a stunning sunset that we witnessed from there over the town's house roofs.

On the second day, after the breakfast we decided to get active. We found out about trail to the ancient city of Karthea and we decide to go. Actually, Kea has many hiking trails.

we drove to the starting point of the trail, Katomeria.

From there we took the hike towards the ancient city of Karthea. Karthaia has been one of the four city-states of the island of Kea. It has been inhabited till late antiquity. Escavations in recent years uncovered ruins of the temple and the terrace of Apollo and other sites.

After visiting the site, we fully enjoyed a dip in the sea at this fantastic beach, Kaliskia.