Delos & Mykonos
We sailed from Cape Sounion in the middle of the night heading to Delos. The seas were calm and during breakfast we heard the anchor being dropped. Delos, the sacred island of antiquity, was lying in front of us. Hats, sunscreen and ready to go!
The tender let us wait a little but in a few minutes we were there on Delos, an uninhabited island where only the stones can tell us the stories of the once busy and crowded city. A very small rocky island in the middle of the Aegean, this was once the most respected place in the area, as it is the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Half of the island is covered by the sanctuary of the two gods – temples and statues (or maybe we should say the pedestals of the statues since most of them have been taken away by the Romans to decorate their cities).
The path leads to the birthplace of the gods, where a palm tree stands to verify the story; Apollo and Artemis was born in the shade of such a tree. Impressive archaic lions, gifts from Naxos, still stand as guards of honor. We passed a market place, some wells, and a fountain and finally headed to the museum where we saw statues, offerings to Apollo, mosaics from old houses and many other objects telling us about people’s everyday life.
The last part of our visit was the residential area. We saw big houses with mosaics decorating the floors, cisterns to collect the rainwater, and colonnades to separate the open court yards. We walked all the way to the theater and saw the public cistern. The sacred island along the way became an international trade centre where thousands of people from different countries were exchanging products and ideas. Enemies of the Romans destroyed it and from the early Christian times, Delos had become a shelter for pirates. The last chapter of the story of Delos is in the hands of the archaeologists.
As much as we enjoyed the visit it was a hot sunny morning and Expedition Leader Michelle’s announcement for a swim from the stern spread big smiles on the faces of the group. The water was great and everybody really enjoyed it!
Lunch, some time for siesta (when in Rome do as the Romans do) and here we are in Mykonos. We walked through the “labyrinth” town where one can discover hidden beauties as well as its cosmopolitan atmosphere. We saw the famous windmills but we could not find the equally famous Peter the Pelican.
On the way back, from a house with white ribbons, a bride stepped out holding her father’s arm, ready to start a new life. Musicians led the way as the bride and her family and the well-dressed guests walked to the church where the groom was waiting. This was a picture that reminded us of the authentic simple life of the islanders before the cruise ships “invaded” the island.
The sunset with its wonderful bright colors was a perfect closing for a day full of new memories that were added to our minds, hearts and cameras.
