Kimolos, the island of silver soil

Most people assume Kimolos takes its name from kimolia, the Greek word for chalk. The island tells it differently. In Greek myth, the name belongs to Kimolos, the island's first inhabitant. Centuries later, Venetian sailors called it Arzantiera, the silver land, because its white rocks shone like silver from the sea. Spend a week here and you see what they meant.

Day one: Milos, then the short crossing

We took the early ferry from Piraeus to Milos, which left us two or three hours before our connection. Just enough time for a quick swim. Then the Artemis ferry, an hour across, and we were on Kimolos.

The owner of our rooms met us at the port and drove us to Aliki. We had lunch at Sardis, which everyone calls Beba's taverna and spent the afternoon on the soft sand at Bonatsa.

Day two: paddling to Kalamitsi

We started slowly, with breakfast and Greek coffee by the sea. Then we packed our beach essentials into our Off-White terry tote and took the paddle board along the coast to Kalamitsi, a small sandy beach just past Bonatsa. Lunch was fresh fish and seafood at the Kalamitsi taverna. We stayed on the beach until the sun began to set, then paddled back to our room in the last of the light.

Day three: Prassa and Horio

Prassa is white sand and crystal-blue water. We laid out our LiTTLE MARiNER towels and gave it the whole day.

In the evening we changed into our Sage Green terry shirts and went up to Hora, which locals simply call Horio. We walked into the castle of Arzantiera, where the old houses form the outer walls, and on through the narrow, whitewashed lanes of the market.

Dinner was at Kali Kardia, known to everyone as Bohoris, followed by a long walk. We loved the shops here: Arzantiera, Koumpi, and the little bookshop Tria Gourounakia, the Three Little Pigs, its window glowing after dark. We stopped for a drink at Agora, the bar in Horio, and the night ended with ice cream from Stavento.

Day four: pies, a church courtyard and Elephant Beach

We went back to Horio for breakfast: ladenia and tyrenia, the island's pies, from Nikos Traditional Bakery, with Greek coffee at Kampos. Then the castle again, this time to sit in the courtyard of Panagia Odigitria and look out over the sea.

In the afternoon we went to Elephant Beach, named after a rock shaped like one, an arch of stone reaching down into the water like a trunk. We laid our towels on the rocks and jumped from them into the sea.

A five-minute walk away is Rema, and the view across to Goupa, its white houses and brightly painted doors and windows sitting right on the water, with boathouses built straight into the rock.

Dinner was at Almyra in Psathi.

Day five: the places we'd go back to

By now we had favourites, so we went back to them: a swim at Bonatsa and lunch at Sardis, our favourite table on the island, with the freshest seafood, good grilled meat and traditional recipes cooked the way they always have been. In the early evening we went to Mavrospilia, the most beautiful place on the island for the sunset.

Day six: a town under the sea, a cinema by candlelight

At Ellinika we put on our masks and swam over the ruins of ancient Kimolos, which now lie under the water.

That evening we went to Amoni beach for Cine Kalisperitis, an open-air cinema by the sea. Lanterns strung overhead, candles along the shore, the sound of the water, a light breeze. It was one of the most beautiful evenings we have ever had.

Day seven: cheese for home

On our last morning we swam early, then took a final walk through Horio. We stopped at Sablos, the island's traditional farm shop, for local cheese to take home. A few last photographs, and then down to Psathi to wait for the ferry to Lavrio.

The people of Kimolos

All week we got around on Manolis's bus, with his own playlist of Greek songs as the soundtrack. When the bus didn't fit our plans, Aneza and her taxi did.

We also met Giorgos, who was born on Kimolos and spent his childhood here before life took him elsewhere. He told us story after story about the island. How, before the port was built, the ferry would stop arodo, anchored out at sea, while small boats rowed passengers and their luggage to shore. How, on long summer days and nights, the island's children would take their fathers' boats and go around the coast exploring. Stories like these took us back to a time when life moved slowly, and every moment stayed with you.

That warmth was everywhere we went. The Kimoliates, as the islanders call themselves, were generous and welcoming from the first day to the last. The whole island moves at its own unhurried pace, among people who know how to enjoy life.

Next time: Polyaigos

Just across the water lies Polyaigos, the largest uninhabited island in the Aegean. Its name means "many goats", and for years its only residents have been a shepherd couple and their animals. It is protected for its wildlife, including Eleonora's falcon, the mavropetritis, and its water is some of the clearest in the Cyclades. We are keeping it for next time.

That was Kimolos, for this year. Until next summer.

The towels that came with us are woven in Portugal from organic cotton terry. If you're wondering why we choose cotton for days like these, here's what most beach towels are made of.

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