Groovy in Greece – Mykonos Day 3 & 4 – Everywhere On Earth With Erin

This morning I head down to the waterfront at the Old Harbour for breakfast and I choose a place that Angela has recommend, called Yialos. It’s a less expensive option, and today I enjoy my daily freddo cappuccino with a yoghurt with muesli. I meet up with Helen at the nearby travel agency and we buy our boat ticket to Delos island. The boat picks us up at the Old Harbour, and we are off for a few hours of exploring. The ride takes around half hour, and it is nice and smooth. No one lives on Delos; it is an archaeological site. It is also a very important mythological and historical site and is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. There are tour boats that arrive a few times a day, and today it is not very busy thank god.

And because the site is quite vast, you’re not running into a lot of people while exploring. Archaeologists figure it was inhabited as early as the third millennium BC, and is known to be the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. It became a cult center of religious significance, and purifications were performed on the island to make it fit for the proper worship of the gods. Part of this process was removing all of the buried dead bodies, and no one was allowed to die or give birth on the island. It was inhabited during the Roman Imperial period, but was ultimately abandoned around 8^th century BC. Now we grab our maps and prepare to spend the next few hours exploring.

First, we walk into the Agora of the Competalialists, one of the main markets with this round marble monument dedicated to Hermes.

We head off to the right, and through the houses and theatre quarter.

This is the House of Dionysos, one of the largest which features the remains of a beautiful mosaic.

In this area, wealthy and average houses were side by side, and some of the smaller houses joined together to share a bigger space. This is the House of Cleopatra (not the Egyptian goddess).

There are 2 statues that were built to impress visitors and passers-by. These are replicas.

Also, there are so many kitties that hang out in this area so I have to stop and snap a few pics.

Next up..the House of the Trident, with a mosaic of a black dolphin with a red anchor and black tridents, indicating the house owners were connected to something maritime.

Once we’re through the neighborhood, we enter a large area that holds the remains of Delos theatre.

Now on our way up the hill is the House of the Dolphins, with another cool mosaic inside the courtyard.

The trail gets a little dicey so I’m being extra careful to not slip on the loose rocks. Perched up higher on the hill is the impressive Temple of Isis. So cool.

We are at the foot of Mount Kynthos and I am not feeling remotely ambitious to climb it considering it is really hot and there hasn’t been much shade along the way….and I’m out of water.

Helen wants to do the climb, so we split up for a bit while I slowly make my way back to the port area and snag a fresh water. I wait for her to get back and then we head off to the left to explore the rest of the island.

Walking past this…no idea who it is.

And here’s a fun one – the Stoibadeion, a temple to Dionysus and yes, those are what you think they are.

Over to the Minoan Fountain….

Next a stroll through the Agora of Italians.

Now we are at the Terrace of Lions which is the most famous attraction on the island.

These are replicas, and were built to guard the Temple of Apollo or possibly to inspire believers and invoke fear in not believing.

Just past this is the Establishment of the Poseidoniasts, a clubhouse of merchants, shipmasters and warehousemen.

And finally, the last stop is – the Lake House.

On the way back, Helen makes a new friend.

We board the boat back to Mykonos and search for a place for an early dinner. I loved Nikos, so we go there and enjoy more pasta and wine.

Since it was such a long day, we are having an easy night of relaxing and we plan to meet up again tomorrow. When I get back to the hotel, I go have a quick chat with Angela which turns into almost and hour of convo – she is a super interesting lady!

The next morning I have my last breakfast at a place called Cosmo café. A giant croissant and a freddo cappuccino please!

I meet up with Helen and we walk over to the other bus depot past the Old Harbour for a short ride to Ano Mera village.

The main attraction here is the restored 16^th century monastery Panagia Tourliani.

We have a look around and inside, and then over to the main square. It’s mostly shops, cafes and bars, and I thought there might be more to do here. But it’s nice to get out of the touristy part of Mykonos to observe island village life. It’s too early to head back so we decide to hike up this large hill in the blazing hot sun. At the top is the Monastery of Paleokastro,

the ancient remains of a Byzantine castle, and a cute little church with a small burial site.

It’s pretty cool and the views are amazing from up here.

We take the bus back to Chora and grab a quick lunch to go at Bambao noodles. In the late afternoon we meet up once again for my last night celebration in Mykonos, at Paradise Beach.

We choose the Tropicana Beach Bar, and the party has already started at 4pm. We grab some drinks and opt out of renting a beach umbrella – the club is open air and has chairs and couches so it’s cheaper to do that and pop down to the water when needed.

It’s pretty typical – dance music, guys offering free shots (that likely contain no alcohol haha), dancing up on the tables and platforms.

I order the most amazing wood oven pizza for dinner, and then as it gets dark the party really ramps up.

The “host” appears on the table in a tiny g string with an elephant design on his bits and helps to encourage all party goers.

We drink some more, we dance for awhile and then it gets to that point of….okay, we’ve had enough. We leave around 9pm; it was a fun way to spend my last night here in Mykonos. I’m so happy to have met Helen; it’s nice to have a friend to experience things with and it’s not so lonely!