Yassas, Mykonos!

Day 1 : Andio (goodbye) to Santorini , yassas (hello) to Mykonos!

A short ferry ride and I'm island-hopping from Santorini to Mykonos. As beautiful as Santorini was, it's time for me to bathe in other waters. Mykonos is the jet-set capital of partying among the Greek islands, and I am well-aware that I'm showing up long after the raunchy parties are done. Fine with me, sign me up for the beach and some good food!  What I did not count on, however, was that partying on the beach makes up about 80% of what there is to do on Mykonos --  another 15% for shopping , a final 5% for visiting the neighboring island of Delos, and there you go. Nevertheless, I'm glad I missed the ''segregation zones of style and sheer snobbery'' which dominate these glitzy beaches (according to Lonely Planet). What a place this must be in the summer!  Personally, I much prefer a chilled-out atmosphere.

Andriani's Guesthouse. My door and room window, with an adorable little alcove outside.

View of Old Mykonos Town from my guesthouse.

Little Venice, part of Old Mykonos Town... appropriately named for the buildings sprouting mold, lichen and patios above the water. Tonight, I'll be hunting down a restaurant called Katerina's that my guidebook recommended (turns out, it's the building with the 3 white terraces, somewhat toward the left).

A lively conversation between old friends.

I found Katerina's!  Their home-made moussaka was the best I've ever tasted. View's not bad either...

... Not bad at all. Savoring the Mykonian sunset as I savor my moussaka.

Day 2 on Mykonos

As I wait for the bus to the beach, I meet an Aussie girl named Tash. Like myself, she is weary of rooming in hostels with teens, but finds it hard to meet other travelers when staying in hotels. Us two little kindred spirits ended up hanging out over the next 3 days. This is Paraga Beach, where I spent my first full day on Mykonos.

Day 3 - My birthday. Visit to the ruins of Delos (nothing like checking out old ruins to make one feel young)!

OK, all you history geeks, rejoice -- I've got more ruins to show you!  To all those who find this stuff tedious and boring, skip ahead -- no sense ruining your day with ruins (bah-HA!) 

The sacred island of Delos is hailed as the birthplace of Apollo, god of the Sun (and music, the arts and fortune-telling), as well as his twin sister Artemis (goddess of the hunt and -- not without conflict -- patron saint of wild animals). It was the 2nd most sacred place in Ancient Greece, second only to Delphi. In 478 BC, the ruler of Athens declared it both a sanctuary for the gods and a treasury for its mass wealth, and so decreed that no one could be born or die there -- previously-buried bodies were dug up and transferred elsewhere; pregnant woman and aging grandparents were shipped off to a nearby island as well.

About 30,000 inhabitants lived on the island when the Romans showed up; they turned Delos into the biggest slave market in the Mediterranean (as many as 10,000 slaves were sold here DAILY)!!  The city was then destroyed in 88 BC by the Greek King Mithridates, who hated the Romans and so, slaughtered 20,000 of its 30,000 inhabitants.

By the 2nd century AD, Delos was all but abandoned. Unlike many ruins in Greece that are much older, Delos was not buried underneath volcanic ash. Archaeologists basically just had to give it a very thorough dusting off.

I can't fit all the ruins in this shot, but here's a good part of them. The mountain in the distance is Mount Kythnos (113m); legend has it that Zeus witnessed the birth of Apollo from its summit. 

This is a grape press, found in many Delos homes.  'Nuff said.  I want one.

The House of Dionysus, built circa 200 BC, named for this mosaic depicting the wine god riding a panther. The central court had 8 columns and the second- and third-storey rooms had a view down into this court. Underneath the mosaic was a cistern for the collection of water; most wealthy homes in Delos had their own cistern and sewers/toilets. 

Et voilà!

The House of Cleopatra, named for the mistress and her mister, a wealthy couple from Athens... Their statues (now headless) were erected by Cleopatra (no relation to the Egyptian Queen) outside their homes in 138 BC after the death of the master. How do they figure out these things?

The theater at Delos, seating 5,500.

Marble seat next to stairs leading to upper rows. I wonder who parked his/her wealthy backside here.

Arched wall supports of theater's cisterns (containment of water). Limited water on the island was exploited with a complex system of cisterns, aquaducts, sanitary drains and wells. Built in 3rd century BC.

Terrace of the lions: All lions face East to greet the morning sun, the embodiment of Apollo. They are unsure how many lions there were (between 9 and 16), but only 7 have ever been found. Erected in 600 BC.

A solar-heated stone stove. The right half is restored to highlight the original, beautiful detailing.

Just a gorgeous statue in the museum. Don't know anything about it, except that it's gorgeous.

On the slope of Mount Kythnos stands an area called the Terrace of the Foreign Gods. This is the Temple of Isis (Egyptian goddess of nature and magic, who helped the downtrodden). This temple actually venerated the first Holy Trinity: Isis, Anubis and Serapis.  Built circa 200 BC.  It was also interesting to see an altar with Christian symbols on it inside, which was added much later. However, most civilizations in 2nd-century Greece were still pagan.

Statue of Isis, depicted in Greek clothing (not in typical Egyptian garb).

Amazing view from the summit of Mount Kythnos. You can see Mykonos in the background.

And here's Tash!  We're standing next to a monument erected to Zeus.

Upon our return to Mykonos, Tash gave me a birthday card that she had thoughtfully bought for me, as well as a chocolate bar that lasted about 10 minutes. What a sweetheart -- I actually got a birthday card/present and a fun friend to spend the day with, along with all your wonderful messages and emails. Thanks to everyone for loving me!

I introduced Tash to Katerina's Bar tonight, and to that smacking-good moussaka, then we had drinks at a very bizarre Tex-Mex/backgammon/cigar-smoking/laser dance bar. (I know, right?)  I had many colorful birthday drinks and I had fun -- and that's all that matters!

I will leave you now with a few pics of Mykonos' beaches and charms....  I have been in Athens now for a few days, and there's so much more to report here than there was in Mykonos (though it's not a bad thing to chill out on beaches...)

Reading 'Shantaram' on Agios Ioannis beach

Ornos Beach

Tiny church of Panagia Paraportiani. Somehow, there are 5 chapels inside, including one on the rooftop.

Athens is my next and final Greek destination before taking the plane to Morocco on Oct 23rd!  I looooved backpacking the stunning Greek islands -- thank you for reading and exploring them with me. xx