Mykonos
Today was a full tour day in Mykonos and the island of Delos.
After a quick breakfast we went to the lounge where we picked up our tour stickers for an 8 hour Best of Mykonos tour. Mykonos is a tender port so we had a 10 minute boat ride to the main area of Mykonos where we met Sophia, our delightful tour guide., We then walked a few steps down the pier to the boat for our 30 minute ride to Delos, our first tour stop, Two other tour groups accompanied us on the boat which was fine for a short trip except for the lack of any running water, even in the toilets. .Maybe we are just spoiled.
Greek mythology calls Delos the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Delos was once a thriving community of homes, shops and theater for over 20,000 people which dates back to 3000BC. It also became a center for trade, thanks partly to the Romans who, in a dispute with Rhodes declared Delos a tax free port in 166 BC. The Romans also played a large role in the downfall of Delos about 100 years later when Delos picked the non-Roman side in a war . The Romans killed most of the iDelos nhabitants and the entire island was abandoned by 68 BC.
The construction in Delos was mostly stone. Some of the more well preserved areas of the island include mosaic floors which are incredibly detailed and well preserved.
Today, there are just a few people who live on the islad to care for the site and work on restauration. There are also a lot of cats who live there. The Greeks seem to like cats a lot.
After 3 hours in the hot and humid temperatures in Delos, with very little shade and no facilities we were ready for some refreshments, After getting back to Mykonos and a quick walk past a number of shops, restaurants, and a beach with a guy showing off his physique, we took a bus to Ana Mera in the center of the island.
We had a traditional Greek lunch with a little entertainment in Ana Mega and then visited an Orthodox Church right next to the restaurant where Sophia gave us some details on the church and on the Greek Orthodox religion. We also saw more roaming cats who are residents of the church.
We boarded the bus back to the main town of Mykonos where we did a walking tour through some of the picturesque narrow pedestrian streets with whitewashed shops, stopping at the only remaining but non-functioning windmills in Mykonos, an area termed “little Venice” by tourists and an often photographed church. Our last stop before boarding the tender back to the ship was a little shop where we got to try some local sweets and a sip of a local liquor. We then said goodbye to Sophia and headed to the tender for our ride back to the ship.
When we got bac to our cabin the colors were chaning as the sun got lower in the sky so I snapped one last photo of the area in Mykonos we had just left.
We did a casual dinner at the outdoor restaurant on the pool deck. It was ok but nothing special. We also went to the evening musical entertainment in the main lounge/theater which was excellent.
It was then time to head back to the cabin We have a full day tomorrow in Santorini, Our tour starts at 8:15 so we ordered room service for breakfast.