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Our last island! *sniff*
Jun. 12th, 2003 05:12 pmLast time I wrote I was on Paros, right? Ok, on with the story.
Our boat ride to Mykonos was remarkable for the fact that we actually felt the waves. In fact, the seas have been very choppy ever since we left Paros. G, being sick, slept most of the way.
After docking, we were rounded up by two sisters (there's apparently at least one more) who run a pension in town. G and I actually have a bathtub, a rarity here, and our minuscule balcony overlooks the bay and the sunset. Since we were to late to visit Delos, we just went out to eat and explored the town a little.
This place is like a maze of cute white-washed buildings with blue, red or green trim. You can't even drive a scooter down most of the streets (though I'm sure it's been done), they're so narrow. And the wind! I've seriously never been in a place so windy, barring the deck of a boat. It never lets up! At least, it hasn't since we got here; I'm not sure if it's usually this bad, but here it's constant and strong. Stepping inside brings relief from it you didn't realise you craved.
Today we got up early, sort of, for our guided tour of Delos. We arrived at the dock 20 minutes before departure time, and a representative of the company we'd booked with said he wasn't even sure the boats would be leaving because of the weather. Well... that's grand, we're only here a day and might miss the only reason we came! Fortunately, the captain decided to leave, but then the coast guard put out a warning that all boats were to leave Delos by 12:30, which left us just over an hour to tour (usually the last boat leaves at 3, I think). Our guide, a tall, handsome gay Greek man, was very nice and his explanations, though rushed because of time constraints, were detailed and interesting. We saw most of the site, at least the important parts. I'm satisfied.
Delos, like Mykonos, is pretty barren. The ruins are extensive, covering lots of ground. Besides the temples, there were houses, shops and various public buildings. Surprisingly enough, many whole walls and columns remain, as well as the usual broken stones all over the ground. Wildflowers grow all over the place, from cracks in the walls and through the paving stones, poppies, small purple flowers and larger yellow ones that look like a cross between goldenrod and wintercress (?).
This afternoon, G and I rented a scooter and had our first accident! Nothing serious, just a couple of scrapes, no harm to either of us or to the bike. We drove around the island a bit, but there really isn't that much to see except the beaches. We stopped at one to wade in a little and drove back to the town.
Since it's A-L's last night here (she'll be sleeping at the airport tomorrow), we want to go out for drinks. It's kind of scary that the prices for drinks are the same here as in Canada, but in euros... That's about 14 dollars for a martini.
Our boat ride to Mykonos was remarkable for the fact that we actually felt the waves. In fact, the seas have been very choppy ever since we left Paros. G, being sick, slept most of the way.
After docking, we were rounded up by two sisters (there's apparently at least one more) who run a pension in town. G and I actually have a bathtub, a rarity here, and our minuscule balcony overlooks the bay and the sunset. Since we were to late to visit Delos, we just went out to eat and explored the town a little.
This place is like a maze of cute white-washed buildings with blue, red or green trim. You can't even drive a scooter down most of the streets (though I'm sure it's been done), they're so narrow. And the wind! I've seriously never been in a place so windy, barring the deck of a boat. It never lets up! At least, it hasn't since we got here; I'm not sure if it's usually this bad, but here it's constant and strong. Stepping inside brings relief from it you didn't realise you craved.
Today we got up early, sort of, for our guided tour of Delos. We arrived at the dock 20 minutes before departure time, and a representative of the company we'd booked with said he wasn't even sure the boats would be leaving because of the weather. Well... that's grand, we're only here a day and might miss the only reason we came! Fortunately, the captain decided to leave, but then the coast guard put out a warning that all boats were to leave Delos by 12:30, which left us just over an hour to tour (usually the last boat leaves at 3, I think). Our guide, a tall, handsome gay Greek man, was very nice and his explanations, though rushed because of time constraints, were detailed and interesting. We saw most of the site, at least the important parts. I'm satisfied.
Delos, like Mykonos, is pretty barren. The ruins are extensive, covering lots of ground. Besides the temples, there were houses, shops and various public buildings. Surprisingly enough, many whole walls and columns remain, as well as the usual broken stones all over the ground. Wildflowers grow all over the place, from cracks in the walls and through the paving stones, poppies, small purple flowers and larger yellow ones that look like a cross between goldenrod and wintercress (?).
This afternoon, G and I rented a scooter and had our first accident! Nothing serious, just a couple of scrapes, no harm to either of us or to the bike. We drove around the island a bit, but there really isn't that much to see except the beaches. We stopped at one to wade in a little and drove back to the town.
Since it's A-L's last night here (she'll be sleeping at the airport tomorrow), we want to go out for drinks. It's kind of scary that the prices for drinks are the same here as in Canada, but in euros... That's about 14 dollars for a martini.
