2009 Ports of Call 61 - 62

 

Click on this link and you will be directed to pictures of all 2009 trips.

 

Greece:  Delos Island

Sep 26

 

We are finally in the middle of the Aegean Sea, the heart of the Grecian Med and the wind is still blowing.  The islands in this area are labeled the Cyclades, Greek for ‘circling ones’.  They are scattered like a ring around the isle of Delos.  It is illegal to take your boat within 500 meters of Delos, so we docked at nearby Mykonos and took a ferry.

 

Delos’ saga began in mythical times when Apollo, god of music and light, was born here, and his twin sister, Artemis, was born on nearby Rinia Island.  By 1000 BC it was the religious capital of the Ionians.  When Athens rose to power it took advantage of Delos, aided by a 543 BC Delphi oracle to purify the island by removing all the graves to Rinia and no longer allowing births on the island.  However, Delos revived and prospered during Roman times becoming the commercial center of the Med.  Foreigners from many parts of the ancient world lived here in tolerance of one another’s religious beliefs, each group building its various shrines.  A revolt against Roman rule in 88 BC resulted in the entire population of 20,000 killed or sold into slavery.

 

Today Delos is still dry and shade less, covered in ruins.  Lee hopes it’s his last ‘rocks and pots’ stop.

Greece:  Mykonos Island

Sep 25 - 29

 

Mykonos is an amazing place.  The islanders have managed to make this dry, brown island have a very picturesque town using primarily white paint with a little blue, green, and dark red thrown in for accents.  Tourists come here by ferries and cruise ships in droves, spending just a few hours.  One book says it is more famous than Capri, more fashionable than Hawaii; Greece’s most picturesque island.  Don’t believe it; we saw much prettier.  However, it does remain the St Tropez of the Greek Isles and has its own Little Venice, shown above.  Where better to celebrate Johanne’s 27th with a drive around the island and lunch on Paradise Beach?

 

The Cyclades are called the ‘white islands’ because the traditional architecture is painted white.  This creates a great contrast to the brown, barren earth and beautiful, blue sea.  Mykonos town has taken it a step farther and outlined their streets, steps, stones, walls, etc., with white paint.  Actually, the residents don’t have a choice, frequent renewal with white wash is required by law.

 

At the height of Aegean piracy, Mykonos was headquarters. Pirates met here, found women, and filled out their crews.  Today tourists make it one of the richest islands in Greece.

Greece:   Naxos Island

Sep 29 - 30

 

Naxos is the greenest, largest, and most fertile of the Cyclades.  It was nice to cruise south to here with the wind behind us.

 

Naxos is full of history and monuments and, supposedly the best beaches in the Cyclades.  In mythology it is the island of Bacchus, the god of wine.  Its golden age was the 7th & 6th centuries BC when it was the master of the Cyclades.   It developed its art and trade, particularly sculptures which you can see throughout Greece, like the sphinx at Delphi, the lions at Delos, etc.  This was when Naxos’ most famous landmark (Portara, shown above) was built, a massive doorway that leads to nowhere.  It was an entrance to an unfinished Temple of Apollo, so massive (4 blocks of marble, 20 tons each) that the Venetians who later ruled could not recycle it to build their castle.

 

Today Naxos old town still has the castle within which the Venetian houses still stand, many with their coats of arms, half of which are still owned by the original families.

 

The island had much more to see, but we enjoyed what we could, including a wonderful meal, sunset, and sunrise.