Arrive in Mykonos, Greece. A trip to Delos
We started the day with the ship docking early in Mykonos, Greece. Today's tour of the Island of Delos (pronounced THAY-los) met at 9 am in the bar del Poeti. We only had breakfast with Alan as Dad was again not feeling well and opted out of the tour today.
The tour met by 9:15 and we did not leave until around 9:45. We were tour number 17 today and left together to meet our guide. Her name was Mia and she took us all on a water taxi the other side of the inlet , then onto another boat for the trip to the island. The 2nd boat was a tour boat to Delos and it was packed with people. We had to sit on a bench near the bathrooms for the ride over. One of the tours guides sat next to us since it was standing room only by the time we left.
We arrived at the historic island of Delos; an archaeological site in the Aegean Sea. Nobody lives there except 14 to 20 researchers, archaeologists, and staff. We walked in the crowds, in the full sun and wind, and our tour guide took us quickly to the top of the main path to try to get ahead of the mass of people.. Mia avoids crowds by doing the tour in reverse. Her co-worker with the French speaking tour kept pressing on our heels. Apparently from her comments, the two of them are not very good friends...lol.
The ruins here are very old, with some dating back to before1400 BC. This was a large and prosperous city, and a center for trade and religion for over a thousand years. Like many ancient ruins, Delos was buried under feet of dirt caused by centuries of erosion of the loose soil flowing from the hills above. They estimate that they have excavated about 10% of the city so far.
We saw some really old stuff in Italy, but here we were seeing things that were truely ancient. We walked through the narrow winding streets that led uphill and saw the foundations and partial walls of houses and shops. Everyrthing was like a typical old city, with all the building having ajoining walls. At its heyday they estimate the city had over 20,000 citizens.
The total tour walk wasn't too far, but the landscape and uneven ground ground made it a challenge, and we were glad Dad decided to enjoy the ship's facilities rather than tour with us. One thing really nice about the walk is that Delos is in the middle of its spring, and beautiful wildflowers were in bloom everywhere. Mia said that for most of the year Delos is a very arid and dusty place, with nothing but brown grasses and shrubs, so we hit it lucky.
We finished the tour with a walk through the Museum. There were a lot of statues and partial statues on display, along with pottery and household items. It was interesting to see the statues, as you could see the early influence of the Egyptians in their style, and over the years it slowly advanced to be more intricate and realistic. Naturally, the Romans took sculpting much farther, but you can see the basis of their Roman style in these Greek statues.
We headed back to the boat, a little early so we could get seats. When we got back to the main port, Mia informed us that they dropped us all off on the side of the small harbor that is opposite where the cruise ship's shuttle buses are parked. What that means is that we will have to walk past all those shops an restaurants to get to them. LOL!
We walked a bit through Mykonos, which is a beautiful seaside town built on the cliffs and slopes of the harbor. Almost all of he buildings are painted brilliant white, and look amazing against the blue sky and blue-green sea. Mykonos also has some old windmills, and we saw one overlooking the town. The old section of town was a maze of very narrow streets (maybe 6 to 10 feet wide) filled with small shops. We worked our way around and made it to the bus.
Back on the ship, we grabbed a late lunch and sat back on our balconies, talking and relaxing. Dad had enjoyed himself all day, mostly strolling the deck and watching the activities. The rest of the day was as usual - a great dinner and a show in the Ship's theater. Tonight's show was The Addam's Family, another dance show with acrobats, based on the TV show.
Time for bed.
The tour met by 9:15 and we did not leave until around 9:45. We were tour number 17 today and left together to meet our guide. Her name was Mia and she took us all on a water taxi the other side of the inlet , then onto another boat for the trip to the island. The 2nd boat was a tour boat to Delos and it was packed with people. We had to sit on a bench near the bathrooms for the ride over. One of the tours guides sat next to us since it was standing room only by the time we left.
We arrived at the historic island of Delos; an archaeological site in the Aegean Sea. Nobody lives there except 14 to 20 researchers, archaeologists, and staff. We walked in the crowds, in the full sun and wind, and our tour guide took us quickly to the top of the main path to try to get ahead of the mass of people.. Mia avoids crowds by doing the tour in reverse. Her co-worker with the French speaking tour kept pressing on our heels. Apparently from her comments, the two of them are not very good friends...lol.
The ruins here are very old, with some dating back to before1400 BC. This was a large and prosperous city, and a center for trade and religion for over a thousand years. Like many ancient ruins, Delos was buried under feet of dirt caused by centuries of erosion of the loose soil flowing from the hills above. They estimate that they have excavated about 10% of the city so far.
We saw some really old stuff in Italy, but here we were seeing things that were truely ancient. We walked through the narrow winding streets that led uphill and saw the foundations and partial walls of houses and shops. Everyrthing was like a typical old city, with all the building having ajoining walls. At its heyday they estimate the city had over 20,000 citizens.
The total tour walk wasn't too far, but the landscape and uneven ground ground made it a challenge, and we were glad Dad decided to enjoy the ship's facilities rather than tour with us. One thing really nice about the walk is that Delos is in the middle of its spring, and beautiful wildflowers were in bloom everywhere. Mia said that for most of the year Delos is a very arid and dusty place, with nothing but brown grasses and shrubs, so we hit it lucky.
We finished the tour with a walk through the Museum. There were a lot of statues and partial statues on display, along with pottery and household items. It was interesting to see the statues, as you could see the early influence of the Egyptians in their style, and over the years it slowly advanced to be more intricate and realistic. Naturally, the Romans took sculpting much farther, but you can see the basis of their Roman style in these Greek statues.
We headed back to the boat, a little early so we could get seats. When we got back to the main port, Mia informed us that they dropped us all off on the side of the small harbor that is opposite where the cruise ship's shuttle buses are parked. What that means is that we will have to walk past all those shops an restaurants to get to them. LOL!
We walked a bit through Mykonos, which is a beautiful seaside town built on the cliffs and slopes of the harbor. Almost all of he buildings are painted brilliant white, and look amazing against the blue sky and blue-green sea. Mykonos also has some old windmills, and we saw one overlooking the town. The old section of town was a maze of very narrow streets (maybe 6 to 10 feet wide) filled with small shops. We worked our way around and made it to the bus.
Back on the ship, we grabbed a late lunch and sat back on our balconies, talking and relaxing. Dad had enjoyed himself all day, mostly strolling the deck and watching the activities. The rest of the day was as usual - a great dinner and a show in the Ship's theater. Tonight's show was The Addam's Family, another dance show with acrobats, based on the TV show.
Time for bed.
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