Delos

The first night onboard was smooth, and in the morning we arrived at Delos Island. What a wonderful experience it was to be enjoying breakfast while at the same time looking over this uninhabited island full of remains from temples, altars, stoas, statues and houses decorated with colorful mosaics.

The Panorama's tenders brought us ashore and we started exploring the sacred island, the birth place of the god Apollo. We walked on the processional road, like the white robed Ionian pilgrims did in ancient times and saw the temples dedicated to Apollo that are now in ruins. We also saw the huge marble base of Apollo's 27-foot high colossal statue that now only has two pieces left. There is a terrace with lions still guarding the sanctuary and looking towards the sacred lake, now drained, and the palm tree where Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis. We had a short visit to the museum and then walked through the residential quarters. We were surprised by the luxury and the size of the houses decorated with mosaic floors, frescoes on the walls and big underground cisterns. Then we walked on to the theatre and the climbers walked up the steps to Kinthos peak for a fantastic view. It is hard to believe that this deserted island was once upon a time a very important religious and commercial center with 25,000 inhabitants.

After our 3 hour visit we returned to the Panorama for lunch and we spent the afternoon on one of the sandy beaches of Paros Island (called Naoussa Bay) and had time for both kayaking and swimming. And guess what!? The whole island and its beaches were flooded with people except the place where we went.

This is what traveling with Lindblad Expeditions is all about!