Mykonos – christineswalkabout

Delos Archaeological Site and Museum, Bonnie’s Windmill, and a Mykonos Deluge!

My principal reason to visit Mykonos was to take a day trip to the important archaeological site that is the island of Delos, located a thirty minute ferry ride away from Mykonos town. There was only one daily ferry departure and return on offer from Delos Tours, because it is still low season, so I would have a total time of three hours on the island rather than the five which is needed to see all of the archaeology, but I was happy nonetheless.

The mood was festive on the boat which was fully loaded as it pulled away from the Old Port. All around me, on the open upper deck, was an excited group of Mykonos Boy and Girl Scouts, ranging in age from about 6 to 16, accompanied by their leaders and many proud parents. They were on their way, with an organization called “All About Blue”, to do a garbage clean up on Delos. I spoke with two of the All About Blue leaders, and learned about some of the environmental education work that their group is involved in. After we docked on Delos, I saw that All About Blue also had a dive team on site to do underwater clean up!

After paying my admission fee, I headed in the opposite direction of the many passengers who had paid for a guided tour. They would follow the blue route towards the ancient religious centre, so I turned to follow the green route through the residential and commercial district, in order to avoid the crowd and to be amongst the first to climb up onto Mt. Kynthos, the island’s highest point (visible in the distance in the photo below).

The green route took me through an expanse of ruins that date from the later history of this small, but culturally and strategically important island. For almost a millennium, Delos was a sacred spiritual centre where pilgrims came to honour the gods, and in particular the twins Apollo and Artemis who were believed to have been born here. Then, in 167 BC, under the Romans, Delos became a free port, and it grew quickly into an important trading centre with a population of over 30,000. Sadly, a great portion of that trade was in slaves. I wound my way among the ruins of the shops and houses of the merchants and traders who came here from all over the known world including from Greece, the Middle East, and all parts of the Mediterranean.

Builders and artisans came too, and some of the homes here on Delos were among the largest built in Greece and featured central courtyards surrounded by marble columns, and elaborate floor mosaics (some of which, unfortunately, were covered with landscaping cloth when I visited).

I passed the ruins of a theatre,

and nearby I heard a very loud croak, from the depths of a large cistern, and from what was likely a very large frog. It sounded like a duck!

It was a glorious day, and I must admit that I quickly became more obsessed with the wildflowers than with the archaeology and history. I know that I have gone on and on in these posts about wildflowers, but it was truly stunning!

There were bees and butterflies all around, and small lizards darted among the stones of the ruins.

I loved this path, lined with red poppies, and purple geraniums and statice! First going up, and then turning to look back down.

I then rose up out of the residential district to this view of the path ahead to Kynthos,

but there were also temple ruins to the left,

so I was drawn there first. These are the remains of the Temple of Hera,

and of the Sanctuary of the Egyptian Gods.

I returned to the other trail, and to the start of the stone steps that lead up onto Mt. Kynthos. There was one long zig,

and then one long zag!

Only one other person had chosen to travel this route ahead of me. There he is at the top of the stairs!

And here is a view from the top, looking west down over a good portion of the archaeological site, and towards the beach and harbour.

This view looks towards the northern part of the island where the brown route (if one has five hours on the island to do all three routes), takes visitors past the ruins of a hippodrome, a gymnasium, a stadium and stadium quarter, a synagogue, and a temple dedicated to Anios, the mythical founder of Delos.

I began my descent,

and then turned to look back up the mountain after I had passed by the Sanctuary of the Egyptian Gods. The earliest settlers on Delos (c. 2500 BC), built their dwellings atop the hill, and almost 1700 years later, the Ancient Greeks built temples there to honour Athena and Zeus.

The wildflowers continued,

as did the archaeology,

and then, after a wonderful walk through another flowery meadow (looking forward and then back),

l arrived at the newly renovated museum. I breezed through quite quickly, past the statues, (though I did linger a bit longer at the one on the right!),

and past the fragments of wall paintings and mosaics, and other exhibits.

I was eager to be back outside where I then spent time exploring the extensive ruins of the religious centre of Delos.

I really like this next photo which captures all that I loved about being on Delos – the flowers, the ruins, and the mountain.

There was a bit of time left to visit the beautiful beach,

before I returned to the pier where the youngest Scouts were exclaiming over the finds made by the dive team.

It had been a spectacular morning on Delos, and I didn’t really want to leave! Nevertheless, I enjoyed the boat ride back, and after we returned to Mykonos,

I spent the afternoon in my lovely apartment making lunch, doing some laundry, sorting through photos, and chatting with a neighbour in the courtyard. Then, in the evening, I headed out into the old town to explore lanes that I hadn’t already explored, and to rise up the hill to visit Bonnie’s Windmill which is part of a Folk Museum. There was a great view from there down over the town and towards Windmill Row.

I enjoyed my walk back down the hill as the low sun shone warm light onto the buildings of Mykonos,

and when I reached the harbour I sat for a while on one of the benches for this sunset view.

My last day, though, on Mykonos, was an entirely different story! My original plan had been to travel to the town of Ano Mera, in the centre of the island, to visit a 16th century monastery with a lovely garden, and then to walk from Ano Mera to the southwest coast to explore several of Mykonos’ famous golden sand beaches. There was only one bus going to Ano Mera on that day, at one p.m., and one bus back four hours later, with no buses from the beach area, so I revised my plans accordingly. The morning was overcast, windy, and chilly, so I stayed inside until it was time to head to the Old Port for my bus. Rain started to fall just as I was leaving, and my umbrella was no match for the strong wind, but I was determined to stick with my plan. I stopped for a quick picture of Little Venice as I passed,

and then continued to the Old Port (where I had arrived on the Sea Bus and taken the boat to Delos), but I couldn’t find the bus stop, and was soon told that it was across the bay, “at the Old Port”. Yikes! I had only five minutes left so I hustled all the way across the harbour front promenade, and around where I asked, four times, “where is the bus stop for Ano Mera?”, and I was pointed, four times, in a different direction! I think that I saw the back end of what might have been my bus head up a hill out out of sight several blocks away. Oh well! Here was my view from the Old Port, across the harbour to the Old Port, as I realized that I would not get to see more of the island of Mykonos.

Then, the rain really started to come down, and within minutes the paved streets were filled wirh streams of water running to the sea, and some of those streams were starting to turn into inches-deep and fast-flowing rivers, while some staircases, as I made my way through the Old Town, had turned into waterfalls. No wonder there had been flooding on Mykonos and Paros the previous week, with nowhere for the water to go but down every hard-surfaced wall, slope, and street. The previous week’s heavy rains had caused a state of emergency to be declared and schools to be closed. Paros was hit the hardest, where more rain fell over the course of a couple of hours than would normally fall in an entire month. (There are some very dramatic videos on YouTube of cars being swept down city streets in the town of Naoussa, on Paros, in the deep and muddy fast flowing rivers that formed.)

I gave up trying to stay on the slightly shallower edges of the street rivers, and walked right through the centre of them as my boots were already completely soaked. I went as quicky as I could back to my accommodation, turned the heat on high, peeled off my sopping clothes, and spent the entire rest of the day inside, safely warm and dry. It is just as well that I did not catch that bus to Ano Mera as the heavy rain continued all afternoon, and during the previous week’s flooding, roads on Mykonos had, reportedly, “broken”!

So, sadly, because of the deluge, I didn’t get to see any part of Mykonos other than it’s main town, Chora, and of course Delos, on my three day visit. But, the following morning, Mykonos was kind enough to send me off with sunshine and blue skies as I left my apartment and walked, with my backpack, down the trail to my chapel, then past the windmills and Little Venice, and on to the Sea Bus which ferried me on a calm and sparkling sea to the New Port for my ferry trip to Santorini. I was very glad, indeed, that I had included a trip to Mykonos, and across to the very special island of Delos, on my first trip to Greece.

Full disclosure: Mt. Kynthos is only 375 feet high, so really more of a tall hill, but it did look and feel like a mountain!

Also, as well as seeing many small lizards among the ruins (though each briefly as they are very fast and timid), I also saw a very large Agama lizard, probably about 30 centimetres long. He was quite a surprise, and looked very much like a mini dinosaur!

Mykonos Old Town and Harbour, Windmill Row, and Little Venice

From Delphi I took the public coach bus to Athens, and then the metro to Piraeus which is Athen’s busy harbour and port which serves cruise ships, ferries, and container ships. I was delayed by almost two hours in getting to Piraeus as there was a road cycle race happening in Delphi, but I enjoyed my time waiting in the sun and speaking again with my U.K. friend as well as three young lads from northern Sweden who were travelling throughout Greece and the Balkans. When I did arrive in Piraeus, in the late afternoon, thunderstorms had built up yet again, bringing rain, so I spent most of my time in my small hotel room, except for two short outings to find an inexpensive dinner, and to walk around one of Piraeus’ two marinas that are filled with sailboats and very large and very fancy yachts. I had an early night, and woke before six in order to catch my Blue Star ferry to Mykonos. It was exciting to be boarding my first Greek ferry, to take me to my first Greek island! Here is my ship, the Blue Star Paros, and the view as we left Piraeus harbour at sunrise.

The six-hour voyage went smoothly, and more quickly than expected, as I chatted for a long time with three Greek teenagers from Corinth who were on a school trip to Syros. They were bright, curious, friendly, and keen to practice their excellent English, and they all had the most beautiful eyes! Hello to George, Melina, and Panagiotis (please forgive me if I have spelled your name wrong as I no longer have my note papers!).

My accommodation provider had warned me that buses were not yet running on Mykonos, so I was faced with either a four kilometre walk into town with my backpack, or having to pay around fifteen Euro for a taxi. But, luckily for me, the Sea Bus from the New Port to the Old Port in town was running, and for only two Euro I got a wonderful, mini sea cruise! As we sailed, I took photos of a large cruise ship, and several ferries (including the Paros), that were docked at the New Port.

Here are two views of our approach into beautiful Mykonos town, also known as Chora.

I headed off to find my accommodation, guided by google through a warren of small streets and alleyways, and I couldn’t resist taking a few photos en route.

My accommodation, at the Secret Garden Apartments, was wonderful!

I was warmly welcomed and I knew that I would love staying here. The photo on the right, of my little entrance way and sitting area, was the view out of my window!

The Secret Garden grounds were beautiful, peaceful, and inspiring!

After dropping off my things, I headed straight back out to happily get a little lost in the winding streets of Chora.

I loved the white Cycladic buildings with bright blue trim, the staircases, balconies, and painted walkways, and I passed so many churches and chapels. Chora has over ninety of them, and the small island of Mykonos reputedly has over six hundred! Most are family-owned, and were built in honour of a namesake saint, often to give thanks for the safe return of a loved one from the sea. I liked this chapel, where the rough stone of a connecting wall is left unpainted.

Some buildings (but very few) that I passed were in quite a state, but even they were oddly beautiful too.

I made my way to the Church of Panagia Paraportiani. It is actually a grouping of five small interconnected churches, the first of which was built in the early 13th century at the gate of a walled Venetian fortress which is now long gone. The unique structure gave the impression of being coated in a thick layer of bright white cake icing!

I then made my way to Windmill Row where six windmills are set on a low ridge by the sea. There are sixteen windmills in total on Mykonos, most of which were built by the Venetians in the 15th and 16th centuries to grind grain.

Across the small bay from Windmill Row is Little Venice, a series of Venetian-era buildings that now function as seaside hotels, bars, and restaurants.

The buildings are at the mercy of waves during days of particularly high tides and winds.

I walked across to Little Venice and turned for this view back to Windmill Row,

and then I ventured back into the labyrinth of alleyways, past small shops selling souvenirs, jewellery, art and clothing. There were cafes and tavernas, and luckily I came across an excellent bakery, Prozymi’s, which I visited more than once! Nearby was the harbour of the Old Port, and this is the Church of Saint Nicholas, the patron Saint of sailors and fishermen.

I walked out onto the adjacent pier for a closer look at these bright red fishing boats,

and over on the town’s waterfront promenade, people were strolling, dining at restaurants, and enjoying the sea view from conveniently-placed benches.

I returned to my accommodation, having planned to buy groceries at a nearby market, but it was closed unexpectedly so I was forced to dine at a casual and friendly eatery. Not a problem! I returned to my apartment, and as it neared sunset, I decided to walk the short trail that led from the Secret Garden down to the sea. And, just two minutes later, I was here!