Mykonos and Delos

Friday. September 21. 

I cab it to the ferry and get a ticket to Mykonos. It’s my first ferry ride in Greece and I’m a little unsure. I keep checking that I’m at the right dock. There is a definite security presence. I ask a polizia. He looks used to answering the same questions. Yes, you’re in the right place. “Blue Star Number Four.”

  The ferries look like former cruise ships. I don’t know what their capacity is. A crowd of people wait to board. A parade of cars, boats, motorcycles, scooters and even semi-trucks go up a huge ramp into the ferry. It was quite a sight. We mere humans had to wait until the ferry was loaded.   

I got on board pretty early and had no idea of where to go. I went into “Business Class.” I knew I would get stopped, but I knew that then I would get directions to where I was supposed to go.  

People stored their luggage in an area downstairs, but I wasn’t going for that! That was too much uncertainty for me. I noticed other people were carrying their bags upstairs. I carried my bag upstairs and there were places for carry ons. I took a seat in a back row where I could go out on the deck and still keep an eye on the bag. Paranoia runs deep...   

A pleasant voyage. It was windy, but I could still stand on the deck and watch the coast go by. There were constant, spectacular coast views. It dawned on me why people want to cruise the Greek isles.   

The ferry makes two stops. I can’t get off the ferry, but I get a look at two little port towns. Ios and Pyros. They look very cool. Is this the “real” Greece? I’m doing a lot of big city, urban stuff on this trip. I wondered what it would be like to hang out in one of these towns for a while. At each stop vehicles and passengers disembark and a new load of people and vehicles comes aboard. Each time it’s a little spectacle. 

I still have to confirm every tour twenty four hours in advance. It was a pain to figure out how to make the call. I don’t even know how I did it, but I did confirm the next tour. The South Coast Cruise.

It’s funny how you run into the same people while traveling. Despite special attention a woman in a wheelchair seemed aggravated. There was Prayer Bead Guy. Couldn’t miss him. He was dressed in robes and fondling prayer beads. He rolled his eyes up into his head. I would see them both again on Mykonos and Delos.  

When we get to Mykonos people start lining up to get off the ferry. It is the last stop. I’m tempted to just hang back and let the crowd go, but I join the herd. When the ramp goes down the first people run like crazy down the ramp. I wondered what the rush was about. Most were racing for cabs. I just missed getting the last one at a stand.  In Spain there was an army of taxis at every airport, train or bus station, but here there are no cabs in sight and a long queue is forming. Now I got it. Everybody was scrambling to get a ride.  

It was still early and I couldn’t check into the hotel yet anyway. I was in no rush. I had landed in the “New Port” and the town of Mykonos was a couple of miles away. I could see people walking along a causeway, dragging their luggage behind them.

A “Sea Bus” was docked at the beginning of the causeway. For two Euro it would take me to the town of Mykonos. I knew the hotel was two miles from the town of Mykonos, so I got aboard. Even if I was headed in the wrong direction I would wind up two miles from the hotel. 

The Sea Bus was a converted glass bottom boat. The riders took seats facing inwards looking down at the bottom of the bay. At first the view was marred by bottles and other trash, but as we left the shore the water cleared and it was crystal clear. We did see some small fish. The short ride sure beat walking with my bag.      

 

Mykonos was like the port towns I saw on the ferry ride over, Ios and Pyros. It sure had a different pace, even from Santorini. There was the usual tourist stuff near the water. Restaurants and souvenir shops. It was early and the stone streets were almost empty. I stopped at a cafe to reconnoiter. 

Some young people were singing Greek songs at a statue in the nearby plaza. It was idyllic. A circle of early bird tourists started to gather around them. It looked like a scene from a movie. I’m sure they make a buck, but it looked like the buskers were certainly enjoying themselves. 

I wanted to get a taxi to the hotel. It took a while to find “The Taxi Stand.” There was a group of German tourists waiting, but no one else there. I wondered if I was in the right spot. A cab picked up the Germans. They had called ahead. At least I knew I should be in the right place. A cab pulled up, and I asked the driver if he wanted a fare. “You have to download the app! It’s like Uber!” My God. Even here? I called a number on the stand’s sign and ordered an analog taxi. 

While I was waiting a woman and her small daughter made themselves at home in the taxi shelter. I don’t hate kids. Really. But this kid was annoying. I don’t understand Greek, but the spoiled kid routine was easy to figure out. Was it more grating because there wasn’t anyone else around? Was it because I couldn’t really understand what they were yelling? I’ll admit I was tired. I was still a little frazzled after the luggage “delay” fiasco. 

Maybe fifteen minutes passed. I called the number on the sign again. “We can see you. It will be right there.” They can see me? What did that mean? I looked around. A taxi showed up and I got in. The mother yelled! I had left my sunglasses on the bench. I hadn’t been very friendly. Guess it shows me. 

   

My next hotel was the Mykonos Kosmoplaz. The pictures online made it look like a resort. When I walked in the man behind the desk greeted me, “Mr. O’Shea, welcome to the Kosmoplaz!” I hadn’t said a word. It probably didn’t take a genius to figure out what reservation hadn’t shown up yet, but these guys, Manos and Dmitris, were sharp. They were friendly and had a sense of humor. Staff at the other hotels had been friendly and hospitable, but these guys were a notch above.

 

They gave me advice on the area. There was a bar and restaurant at the back of the same building, facing the beach. They made it clear, “We are not connected to the restaurant.” “If you go to restaurants in Mykonos make sure you read the menu.” Which meant: check the price. If you walk a little bit down the beach the prices “Go down for the same thing.” There was a pool! This was ideal after the luggage snafu.

 

“Some people have a hard time figuring out the password.” The Wifi password is, “Askmeagain... Straight through.” Manos probably sensed I wasn’t in the mood for their little joke. He expected me to ask again, but his clue had helped me figure it out. 

I checked out the room and the Mykonos Kosmoplaz really was more like a resort. My room looked down on the pool. There was a ridge of hills in the distance. This was great after the luggage “delay.” I hit the pool. 

At the front desk I met Dmitri. “Do you want to go into town?” I would pass on that and stay in the area. He directed me to a nearby restaurant. It was a short walk to Nicki Gallop’s. Most lots had buildings of some kind on them, but the area still seemed oddly rural and remote. There was a lot of room for the whitewashed hotels and homes. The recommended restaurant looked like a converted home. I dined on the porch. A small fishing boat near the entrance created some ambience.  

As usual I ate a little early for Greece. I ordered the Sea Bream. Don’t see that on the menu back home too often. A large party arrived. It looked like a corporate party of some kind.   

Got back to the room at sunset. Hundreds of swallows were settling down for the night on the ridges above. It sounded like there must have been thousands of them chirping. They almost sounded like insects.

I went back out for a walk on the Platis Yialos beach. Everything was lit up. There were the lights from the restaurants and hotels, but there were big street lights too. It looked like a different world. I went to the end of the beach. There was an old dock made of stone. I wondered when it had been built. It didn’t look ancient, but it did look old. I sat there for a while and looked back at the view of the beach.

September 22. There was a great breakfast buffet at The Kosmoplatz that included pear juice! Today would be the “South Coast Cruise.” The tours from now on in Greece had “hotel pick up.” There was no more going to find the departure or meeting point. They must have figured out that it was easier to just send a van around to pick everyone up and not have to listen to complaints later about missed tours.  

Olivia was our tour guide. She is an attractive young woman from South Africa with a British accent. “I learned how to speak English by watching Nickelodeon.” We would board a “traditional Greek Kaiki style ship” and cruise the beaches of Mykonos. I hadn’t expected much from this tour. I was more excited about the archaeological tours coming up later, but the South Coast Cruise turned out to be maybe the most fun I’ve had on a tour! 

There was some kind of glitch and we made an extra stop at Kamari to pick up people who had missed the pickup. It was a nice diversion and a chance to see another small Greek town. This is the town Mesa Gonia became after it was destroyed in an earthquake. The ship had sails but depended on a motor. I was on the Aegean Sea!  

We sailed by Paradise Beach. “This is the beach that Jackie O. made famous. You can get a bottle of wine for 80,000 Euro! If anyone is buying I’d love to have a glass.” It was still early, so no one was ready to buy an 80,000 Euro bottle of wine yet.   

There were about forty on the tour. I quickly met a couple from Detroit and another from Chicago. We had all sat at spots along one side of the ship. It’s funny how we all wound up going to the same spot.    

Rod asked Olivia about the stone walls on the hillside. They reminded me of the stone walls in Ireland. They were meant as boundaries, but they also kept livestock under control. In Greece “livestock” are sheep and goats. It didn’t look like there was much up there that needed protection. “Hey, you took my rock!”  Rod asked why there were so many abandoned construction sites. Olivia explained: “Some ran out of money. Some started building without permits.” 

Olivia said Greek homeowners have to paint their houses once a year, or they risk getting the property confiscated. Greek banks will not lend to Greeks. They consider it too risky, “They fear default.” This has set up a situation where foreign investors buy property and evict the locals. It has become a big problem. 

Our first stop was a “natural beach,” Frangias. “There will be no sun beds or coffee stands. There will be nothing there.” The boat laid anchor and a ramp was dropped for us to get onto the beach.  

There were about twenty people already on the long beach. A very loud, obnoxious guy was screaming at a woman. Was it his wife? Was he kidding? We learned it was part of a film shoot. 

The water really was “crystal clear.” I had to swim here! I wasn’t sure how long we would be here so I dived right in. Unreal!   

I spread out a towel next to a young English couple. I asked them who their Premier League team was. He quickly said Arsenal. She asked if I was kidding. Lily assumed Americans aren’t interested in football. 

   

Gary and Julie are both from Detroit! “We’re both divorced, but not from each other!” Julie is making notes in a little book. Gary teases her about it. “I went to Italy with my daughters for two weeks. When I got back I realized I didn’t remember anything.” I admitted that I was a note taker too. 

Olivia supplied wine and ouzo. An old lady helped her pass out brown bread and olives. People started to loosen up. It was still early so most drank wine. “No one is drinking ouzo!” Olivia chastised us. “Who will have the drink of the gods?” 

The ouzo was different. It isn’t as strong as the ouzo in America. The alcohol content seems lower. Maybe there’s not as much sugar. It doesn’t have the kick and tastes much better. 

It turns out that Rod worked for Sears in Chicago for thirty years. He’s 78. The  extroverted and entertaining retired salesman has a lovely wife. They now live in South Carolina. He knew all the best places on Rush Street. 

There was plenty of room aboard the kaiki ship. It did look like an old sailing vessel. Most of us stayed on the deck, but the decks below were open. There were big windows and it was sunny down there. It looked like a great party room.  

We landed in the town of Kalafatis and had lunch at The Bandana. There were two couples at my table. Carlos and Amelia were born in Peru but live in New Jersey. They went there on their honeymoon and decided to come back and live in the Garden State. “We’ve been on our honeymoon ever since.”    

The other couple was an elderly German couple. Elmer and Anita wanted to sit outside. “We’re smokers.” They wind up agreeing to sit inside. We get a carafe of wine and some great roast chicken. All the food is fresh.   

We had free time after lunch. I wandered to the beach and ran into six people from the tour group. They had been stopped at the entrance to an enclosed part of the beach. “They’re charging forty Euros! Even just to walk across the beach to the boat!” There was a slightly longer way around that had no fee charged. Well, I know which way I’m going.

I walked over to a nearby small fishing village with a small church. I stopped at a small monument. It was probably a grave. There’s no one else around. The tour has been a break from the urban tourist scene.   

I headed back to the beach were the ship was moored. Rod was there sitting on a large rock. He looked pensive. I asked him which way it was to Rush Street. He pointed out at the water. “Right that way.” We started gabbing and it struck me. I’m on a remote beach near a fishing village in Greece talking about Chicago night life from the Sixties.  

The next stop would not be a “natural beach.” This was the real resort deal. One of the most famous beaches in the world. Paradise Beach, or Super Paradise Beach! It’s the beach made famous by Jackie Onassis.  

There were hundreds of sun beds. Waitstaff supplied drinks on the beach. This is why many come to Greece. There was techno music blasting from the nearby Tropicana Bar. “Elected as one of the best beach bars worldwide.”

There were certainly more people at this beach. Just about any water related recreational activity was possible here. You could rent water skis, boats, rafts or go snorkeling. There was a lot of traffic on the water. People zipped by waterskiing. It was still a great beach. I can say I swam at Paradise Beach! 

There were mossy rocks at the edge of the water. I slipped and wiped out while exiting the water. It looked bad, but I did land in the water. I scratched my back on the rocks. 

My Peruvian friends from lunch were sitting on the beach and saw me fall. Lucky for me Amelia had a first aid kit. “I carry it for the grandkids.” She gives me a much needed band aid.

There are tiny greenish lizards in the sand.    

I had survived my swim and I had to at least see The Tropicana Bar. I could certainly hear it. It was early afternoon, but there were dancing girls on a stage in the bar. The party never stops at the Tropicana.  

We boarded the Kaiki for the sail back. Some had gone to a souvenir shop and said the prices were ridiculously high.

The cruise back was more raucous than when we started. People were certainly less restrained than on the way out. Everybody was best friends now! A couple jumped up on the cabin and led us in “YMCA.” There was much hilarity.

Everything is scenic out here. Amazing coastline. There’s not much wildlife in Mykonos and Greece. I compared it to the Bay Area and realized there aren’t many birds. There were a few sea gulls, but not many compared to the Fisherman’s Wharf. There’s no food out here for them. It’s water and rock. There are no seals. I could see small black fish in the water, but they were the only fish I could see.

We saw a large building that looked out of place on the bluffs above the coast. “It looks like my high school,” someone cracked. Yeah. Mykonos Tech. It’s a night club! It seems a bit remote, but Olivia told us it’s a very popular nightspot.    

No one wants the tour to end, but we will drop people off at two different towns. There’s enough music and party confusion that I get off in the wrong town. Olivia teases me, but she says it’s OK. I get into a small bus with others from the tour group. They greet me like a long lost relative although it’s been less than five minutes since they left me at the dock. The bus drops me off at the town of Platys Gianos.   

When I got back to the Kosmoplaz Dmitris asked me how the cruise was. I told him that at the end everyone was the best of friends. “It always works that way!” 

For tonight’s beach walk I go to the left and walk up a ridge. There is a banquet hall at the end of the ridge. A large wedding party is getting out of limos. They’re all very well dressed. Must be high riding. A crude sign points to Nick’s Tavern in the distance. It looks interesting, but I decide to stay closer to the hotel.

 

On the way back I stop at one of the bars on the beach. I know it’s going to cost me, but the timing was right. It was just about sunset. A DJ was playing music from under a thatched cabana. The bartender has a hard time understanding my order. A glass of wine was twelve Euro. I was OK with paying for the view.  

The DJ played laid back music that blended perfectly with the sunset. Two guys in black “Security” jackets hung out with him under the thatch roof. The Security guys seemed to be enjoying the scene as much as any of the customers. Are they getting paid for this?

A young couple sat at the bar. The woman asks, “Where do people go to party?” The bartender who had trouble understanding my order suddenly speaks great English. He has plenty of suggestions if they want to go “in town.” 

Saturday. September 22. 

  The South Coast Tour had been fun, but today’s tour would be different. I would be going to the island of Delos. Delos is “one of the most sacred places in Greece. The birthplace of Apollo and Artemis!” I had heard of Delos, but I didn’t know much about it. It’s overshadowed by the Oracle of Delphi. It would be a four hour tour from 8:45 to 12:45. 

There was a hotel pickup, but the driver dropped me off some distance from where the ferry was docked in Mykonos Old Port. “It’s right over there!” He pointed. Auto traffic is banned in most of Mykonos, but it looked like he could have got me closer. It was a little aggravating, but I had plenty of time.   

An older couple was looking around. They had the ubiquitous vouchers in hand. I asked if they were going to Delos. They were a little suspicious, but I pointed at the ferry that was docked on the other side of the beach. “I’ll tell them you’re coming!” 

The Globus Ferry to Delos left at 8:45 a.m. It would be a forty five minute cruise to Delos. I grabbed a seat on the deck for this one. I was ready for another look at the spectacular scenery of the Cyclades islands and the Aegean.  Across from me were two young Russian lovebirds. It looked like they were on their honeymoon. They were snapping selfies like crazy, so I offered to take a picture. 

Prayer bead guy was sitting a few benches away. It was the same guy I had seen on the ferry to Mykonos. He had a dark complexion and looked a bit touched. He wore long robes. It figured that he was heading to the sacred site. He was really working the beads. His eyes rolled  up into his head. The crabby woman in the wheel chair was also on the ferry! 

It was exciting to see the Doric marble columns columns as we approached the island. This was going to be another experience of a lifetime. It is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The lower part of the island looked like it was covered with ruins. The island of Delos is 5 kilometers long. Three miles. It’s 1.3 kilometers wide. About three quarters of a mile.

We docked on a pier of worn stone and walked to new wooden gates that served as an entrance. There was a one story building with restrooms and a souvenir shop. Our contact paid the admission fee. “Keep the stub for the museum!” 

We waited inside the gate. There is some confusion. We were looking for tour guide Dennis. He wasn’t there. We went with Alexandra. She is another young, attractive and very skilled tour guide. The group I’m in has a wide age range. There are three couples with small kids. We started walking up a path with a slight incline. 

  There is a hill in the center of the island, but most of the area we toured was flat or had a gentle slope. Mount Kynthus is at the center of the island. It is 112 meters high. 41 feet.  

Alexandra gave us a little history. We know Delos was inhabited in 2500 B.C. It’s in the center of the Cyclade Islands. Its location in the center of the Mediterranean Sea and its large natural port made it a center of trade between Greece, Asia and Africa. It’s half way on the trade route between mainland Greece and Ionia.

Trading profits created wealth and culture. Foreign cultures were accepted to encourage trade. “The island became home to the first multicultural civilization.” It was a very tolerant and cosmopolitan city.

It was a powerful spiritual spot. Which came first, the trading capital or the sacred site? Greek mythology said it was the spiritual. Delos was the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Pilgrims from around the known world came to the Temple of Apollo.

The island produces no food, fiber or timber. There is limited water, but a good system of cisterns built by the Romans stores rain water. There are 537 species of plants on the island. Most of them are herbs. That sounded a bit odd. The island looks desolate. There are few trees. Was it different in ancient times?  

Alexandra says that it’s one of the brightest places on earth and can be easily recognized from outer space. Most of the island is slate, granite and gneiss. Gneiss reflects light. The light reflecting off the rocks helped make Delos a “spiritual magnet.” In a time long before electricity the bright island had a mystical and spiritual aura. 

Even the sea shells added to the brightness. Delos is home to a mollusk that is used to produce a purple dye that was used on clothes for royalty. Delian Purple. 

We walked past a breakwater to the Agora of the Kompetaliastae. It was conveniently situated near the dock. This was the first stop for trade and shopping. We could see the foundations of the ancient shops. The stalls were set up close to each other.

A stone street went up the slight incline. There was a street and the ruins of buildings on either side of us. The foundations and walls were still there, but they had no roofs. Some of the buildings are better preserved. They still have intact Doric columns. It was the empty shell of a city, but the streets looked like people had just walked on them. It was still hard to imagine what it had been like.  

We entered a section that was more of a business area. We stop at the intersection of three streets. Alexandra points out a symbol carved in the stone. It is barely visible but the dim outline is obviously phallic. “What did it point to?” I wanted to yell out whore house, but lost my nerve. This was a family crowd. Alexandra tells us it pointed to a brothel.  

As we went uphill there were more homes and mansions. Real estate values were higher at the top of the hill. The buildings were made of limestone and granite. They were covered in lime mortar and painted white to make them look like marble. 

Most homes had a courtyard at the center. The courtyards had shallow pools of water that were used to cool the house. It was ancient air conditioning. We went inside the House of Dionysus and walk around its courtyard.

Alexandra pointed out the House of Cleopatra. “She’s not the Cleopatra we know, but she was a very rich and powerful woman. Near it was the Temple of Isis and the House of the Tridents. It’s believed that a wealthy Syrian lived here.  

Some of the homes still had mosaics in the center of the courtyard. Most were simple geometric patterns, but some had mythological beasts. The House of Dionysus had a familiar looking lion. This is a reproduction. The original has been moved inside the nearby museum for preservation and safe keeping.

Over centuries some buildings changed their purpose. Alexandra showed us a home that had become an olive oil press.   

It’s only a slight elevation, but the view of the water and the other islands is awesome. We came to the theater. It held five thousand. It was a place of imagination. 

There were some old people on the tour. Older than me. Some looked like they couldn’t walk around the block. They even had trouble getting around on the flat part of the island, but they didn’t complain. It was painful to watch them struggle, but I had to hand it to them. They were still on the tour.  

Delos is two islands. The one we’re on is sacred. The island was “purified.” There could be no births or deaths on this island. We could see the neighboring island, Rheneia. 

The cemetery was on the neighboring island. All graves were relocated there. There are now a few inhabitants on that island who raise cattle. No one lives on Delos except archaeologists. It must be an experience to be out here at night.   

Wealth and prosperity created rivals. The nearby Naxians tried to control Delos. The city state of Athens coveted the wealth and spiritual power of Delos, but there was a bigger problem. The city states of Greece were threatened by the mighty empire of Persia. The invaders respected the sacred island and “left it alone.” 

After Greece’s victory the island became the center of the Delian League. The Grand Temple of Apollo housed the alliance’s silver treasury. Delians struggled to be free of Athenian control, but eventually Athens prevailed and Pericles had the Treasury moved to Athens. 

I should have gotten here years ago. Maybe I appreciate it in a way I couldn’t before. This wasn’t a bunch of black and white images in a book. Or even film footage. It was real.   

The ruins and statues are white. Our guide Alexandra mentions that the statues on Delos were once brightly colored. I had recently gone to a fantastic exhibit at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor: “Gods in Color: Polychromy in the Ancient World.” We think of the statues and monuments of ancient times as white marble, but they were usually painted bright colors. The exhibit had brightly colored reproductions. I always look at antiquities in a different way now. It is hard to imagine what it looked like back then. Especially with color.   

Alexandra stops the group on the Sacred Way, near the Terrace of the Lions. One path leads to the ruins of the Temple to Apollo. It was the goal of many pilgrims. 

The other path goes to the Archaeological Museum. The Naxian Lions keep watch along the path. There were sixteen lions. Nine have survived. One was taken to Venice. The originals have been moved into the nearby museum for their preservation. These are reproductions. The lions face what was the Sacred Lake. The Sacred Lake is gone now. It was drained because of a bacteria problem.   

Alexandra points out a palm tree about a half mile away. This was the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis! It still looks mysterious. I wondered what it looked like in ancient times.

  

Leto had been banished by a jealous Hera. She searched for an island that was anchored to the earth so she could give birth. The island of Delos had been floating in the sea. Leto saw it and had it anchored. Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis. 

Our guide explained that Apollo was a god who originated from the East. He was imported along with trading commodities. The guidebook explained that Apollo had two “personalities.” In the mountainous area of Delphi he was a vengeful god who determined the fate of humans. At Delos, “He was the god of light and music, of the joy of life in general.”  

Delos was controlled by the Macedonians and later the Romans. It made a comeback under the Emperor Hadrian. There was another period of economic prosperity, but Delos declined as a cult-centre. The sanctity of Delos no longer guaranteed its protection. Romans walled part of city.

In 167 BC Rome gave Delos to Athens. The original inhabitants were expelled! Delos became a center for the slave trade. It was attacked by Mithridates VI of Pontus in 88 and 69 BC. It never really recovered. In 60 BCE Delos was attacked by pirates of Athenodorus. It was destroyed and 20,000 were killed! 

Times changed. The trade routes through Delos were not as important. The island did not produce food, and it became uninhabited.

Delos became a refuge for pirates. Anything that could be scavenged was taken from the buildings. Marble was stripped from the temples. The bronze clamps that held buildings together were taken. The real miracle is that any of the buildings and temples survived.

Although it was uninhabited some shred of Delos’ spirituality was recognized by the Catholic Church. Christian churches and a monastery were built.

Delos was a bargaining chip. It was given to Venice as part of a treaty. Venice “had no use for it.”   

Delos was largely forgotten and abandoned. Some buildings and statues were visible, but most were buried. There were rare visitors drawn by the ancient mystery of the place, but living on the island was no longer practicable. Excavations were started by the French School of Athens in 1872.   

It was a short walk from the Terrace of the Lions to The Delos Museum. Most of the early discoveries on the island were sent to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. A museum was built on Delos in 1904. It was always too small and many objects were still sent to Athens. It has been expanded and another renovation was finished in 2000.  

The original Naxian Lions and other valuable objects were moved indoors to be protected and preserved.  

The Museum is a white building that looks out of place on the island. It’s looks like a warehouse or airplane hangar that is surrounded by ruins. There are ten rooms full of sculpture and mosaics. There is some jewelry and gold. 

Some of the more recent sculptures look life like, especially the large Kouros. 

The tour was too short. It was a real thrill to be out there. It wasn’t long enough. Archaeologists and other scientists are the only ones allowed to stay on Delos overnight. It must be quite an experience.  

  

Got off the Globus Ferry at Old Port in the town of Mykonos. I was getting overheated. Among the souvenir stands was an ice cream shop. There was a ragged guy in front of me. He was dirty and smelled bad. He bantered with the woman behind the counter. She had a hard time understanding me. I pointed at  tub of pistachio. “Dolce Latte.” Two scoops. How hard can it be? 

I walked through Little Venice to the wind mills. It’s one of Mykonos’ most famous photo opportunities. The white buildings near the water really do look like Venice. Restaurants, cafes and tourist shops line the walkway next to the water. Watch your step! 

When I got back to the Kosmoplatz I went to the front desk and asked Dmitris if I should get my ticket ahead of time for the ferry to Athens tomorrow. “Do you like to take risk?” There was a chance I could not get a ticket tomorrow. It was real front desk wisdom. I should check out the town anyway. I went into Mykonos. It took some searching to find the Blue Star Ferry ticket office.    

The woman behind counter was not too friendly. “Do you want Old Port?” I don’t know. I want to go to Athens. I didn’t know we would be stopping in Piraeus. I thought Athens would be the last stop.  

I bus back to the town of Platys Giannos. “Is it the first stop?” No, it’s the last. I walked from there and was very glad to see a small bridge that I knew led to the Kosmoplaz. Even this short bus ride and walk was through Greek island scenery. 

Last night in Mykonos.

I hit the pool. A group of Spanish come into the pool area. They don’t look happy about the pool or spa. Are they giving me dirty looks? I say hi. That’s a rarity for me. They don’t respond. There are two couples. The women test the water temperature. There is some heated debate. 

The pool is large. It’s not like there’s no room for them. Maybe they’re just arguing about what they’re going to do. They leave. Did they want the area to themselves? I have to admit I hope I aggravated them. 

The whole trip is winding down. I walk out of the Kosmoplatz and turn left. After a short walk I stop and look at the menu outside of Anios. A friendly waiter is greets me. Constantine is drumming up business. Why not? I dine on the patio outdoors and enjoy the beach view with my Sea Bass. After another sunset on the beach I get back to my room in time for the nightly ritual of the swallows roosting for the night.     

Sunday. 9/23. 

I had spent four days on the water. I felt the waves rolling when I laid in bed at night.  

So, it was goodbye to Mykonos and Platys Gialos, which had been a needed and refreshing surprise. Manos arranged a ride to the ferry. “They will pick you up at 12:30. I had time for another “final” beach walk. Dmitris said that if I was late, “You’ll have to stay here another month.” I said I would if I won the lottery. “Do you know what every Greek’s fantasy is?... To go to Las Vegas! Have you been?” Oh yeah. I had been to Vegas. It was back to the big city: Athens.