Spetses: the island of good food, good wine, and good beaches. For the first leg of our trip, my family rented a beautiful villa on Spetses with my cousins. 
Well, that was an adventure within itself. When we were young, we spent a fair amount of time with our cousins, given that they were in Boston and we were in Toronto. My memories of them are crowded with running on the paths of our family property up north with cap-guns playing cops and robbers, day trips to Salem, exploring beaches in Bali, and watching my brother and cousin antagonize each other relentlessly. It was never boring with them around, that could be for certain-especially when you armed the two oldest with potato guns. My brother had mastered the bug-spray bomb from the age of 6. As I said, never boring. And our trip to spetses was the same(though considerably fewer games of cops and robbers were played, ~shockingly~). If Septses should be known for anything, it’s the beaches. They dot the island, all unique in their own way, but all with the most beautiful blue water and views for days.
Kaiki, the beach closest to our villa, had a really nice setup – lots of shade, which I, as a pale person, highly appreciated. They also had a bar and restaurant which was nice; we never had to leave for lunch. It was a little bit busy, particularly on the weekends, but if you don’t mind it’s a nice place.
As you went further from the new harbor, beaches got quieter. We tended to favour Kaiki because of the convenience- the close, walkable, distance, the shade, the ability to have one “home base”, and the availability of the bar and restaurant. The other beaches were fantastic as well, many also having restaurants, but lacking significant shade or difficult to get to, as the majority of the island’s roads are Cliffside with a total lack of guard roads. We rented four-wheelers, but if that’s not your speed, there’s always the water taxi. Water taxis were always available in the new and old harbours and could take you to the other islands close-by.
One of the days, we rented a boat. Touring the island from the water was amazing – there were so many places we would never would have seen otherwise. Everyone enjoyed it; whether your thing is jumping off cliffs or the top of the boat itself, snorkelling, lying in the sun, or sleeping (ahem dad), you could do what you wanted.
There really is nothing quite like the colour of the Greek water. It’s incredibly blue, but still so clear. There’s nothing quite as inviting.
Another thing Spetses should be known for is its sunsets. After appreciating them from our villa for days, we decided to have a sundown picnic one night.
Because there are so many beautiful little inlets, we were able to fine one with very few other people; just a couple boats and a local fisherman.
We packed a dinner of the traditional staples: Greek salad, tzatziki, local bread, and cheese. If you’re ever on Spetses, this is, truly, a must-do.
As I am incredibly pale, I couldn’t spend every day out on the beach. Even with the amount of time I did spend, I used 3 bottles of SPF 50. So in an effort to take some time out of the sun, my mum and I went to explore the two museums on the island. The first of the two is based in a historical home and is about the local hero Bouboulina. A war hero, she led the revolt with her ship, The Agamemnon.
If you’re looking for an inspiring story, this is the place to go. The museum is viewable by guided tour in English and Greek. The tour guide we had was knowledgeable, entertaining, and answered the stream of questions we had without falter. Truly impressive.
The other museum is the island’s archaeological museum. With a much broader timeframe, you can learn all about the history of Spetses as far back as it goes. The museum has plaques in all languages, but considerably more information in Greek.
The final day we were on Spetses was my 18th birthday. I spent the day first at the archaeological museum and then wandering through the town around the new port. As the drinking age in Spetses is 17, we preceded dinner with champagne at the Havana Club, a bar with the most beautiful view of the water. We then had a dinner at a seafood restaurant cantilevered over a small beach. That night, my cousins and I ventured out to check out the social scene. Apparently we were about two weeks early, as many of the places we stopped into were deserted, and we ended up hanging out on the pier instead. All in all, a good day.
