It is not hard to tell that Sifnos is an island famous for the unique pottery art that decorate the gardens and balconies giving colour to the homes. After peeking into many shops that remained closed for the winter, we chanced upon a shop that seemed closed from the outside, but the owner peered out and waved for us to come in. He hollered, “I need to call the Guiness Book of Records, because you are the first tourists to come in 2010!”. We chuckled a laugh as he led us into his workshop. Busy at painting the clay bowls he had shaped a few days ago, he invites us to look around the shop and immediately engages us in conversation. Antoine is his name, and apparently in Australia they called him the ‘Greek Picasso’ as he made a visit there several years ago to demonstrate the art of Greek pottery. He chimes enthusiastically about pottery making whilst keeping a steady hand at the brush.

It’s time for you to meet Antoine now…

Sifnos is a largely unassuming island part of the Cyclades, a group of islands on the Agean Sea. It is much smaller than Santorini, the famous Mama Mia island or Mykonos, the luxury island visited by celebrities. Small was ideal since we were looking for a break (from a break!).

Quiet in nature and frequently flocked by Greek vacationers in the summer, Sifnos was a hush when we arrived. Small shops lined the bay, a few cars dotted the tiny streets and the ferry waved us goodbye. This tranquil state was to be continued for the next 2 days.  We rented a bike and scooted around the rugged and abrupt rocky landscape, tiptoes the quiet beaches, squinted at the immense whiteness of buildings on the island and Robinson Crusoe’d on this petite island.

The narrow pedestrian cobbled streets wind around the blocks of white square houses, twisting and turning with a view of the sea to offer at every corner. The view from the wide expanse of the Aegean Sea is punctuated by the little churches with blue domed roofs.

While the coastal outline of Sifnos is typically barren, within this tiny island is amazingly lush with greens and vegetation. Animals dotted the humble olive groves and veggie patches – from goats to sheep to donkeys.

Being off season allowed us experience the Greek way of life – watching mothers hang out the clothes, children walking to school and men immersed in their construction and rebuilding of the properties. We learned that people on the island worked only 8 months a year, the other 4 months were spend repairing and reconstructing hotels, restaurants and making more pottery in time for the summer crowd.