Up at 0700 and a REAL shower! What a luxury. I think we both took 30 minute showers. Scrubbed until we were raw….such a good feeling. Down to the terrace and a light breakfast of coffee (lukewarm like everything in Greece) and mini croissants with apricot jam. Yummy. If you ever go to Mykonos, you MUST stay there. Zorzis. Excellent little place. Not cheap, but not really overpriced either. As Jonathan said, really, no bullshit. Period.
Then down to the waterfront where we bought tickets for the first boat to Delos, 0900. Still windy and chunky on the water, glad we are on someone else’s boat.
On Delos …amazing! 3000 years of history at our feet. It’s overwhelming to think about it. To think about the ghosts in their dress, walking these same roads so very long ago. How one wishes they could really see into the past. As we walk along the paths through the grasses and thistles we see shards of pottery lining our way. We are walking on bits and pieces of dishes and jars that people used in their homes two to three millennia ago. It is incomprehensible!
When we docked, there were signs saying what was forbidden, yet everywhere we see people flicking cigarette butts and stepping over rope barriers. The lack of respect for the past and what little has survived is almost unbearable. We see people walking on mosaic floors that should be under glass, they laugh and have their photos taken. It makes us so angry. On the other hand, the lack of interpretational information is also frustrating.
We hiked up to the top of Mount Kynthos (112 m, felt like the top of the world….if you went back in time, it would have been the top of the centre of the world!) where we looked in all directions. We could see Delos laid out below us…over 2000 years ago there were 30,000 people living here. Today there are twenty residents. Personally, we feel there should be none.
There are so may ruins and artifacts, that it is awful to say so, but after three hours, you are sort of immune to it, which is even worse.
If you come to Delos, plan on at LEAST three hours! And do go first thing in the morning. The site opens at 0830, the first boats arrive shortly thereafter. You are allowed to come in by boat but you must not anchor closer than 500 metres and you must be gone by 1500. The water line has come up considerably so you could potentially anchor in an ancient urn, so do be careful.
Delos is a must, in one word, overwhelming.
Of note, diving is strictly regulated in Greece and if you are considering it, be aware that if you go down, you may just come up to guns pointed at you. You must have a guide and even then, there are specific places to go.
Back on the boat to Mykonos at 1220. Back to Zorzis to pick up our bags and change because it was so darned cold! A lovely South African woman (didn’t get her name) who works at Zorzis convinced us that we must make a trip to her country soon. We promised to email her for information if we do decide to go.
We bought our tickets back to Paros (1430) and then hunted down a shop, “the White Shop” to find a top I fell in love with …overpriced like everything else in Mykonos, but lovely.
We are glad to have come here, but we are equally happy to never come back. We heard more loud English than anywhere else and in all honesty, it was mostly annoying. This is tourist central in the Cyclades and we are glad that we couldn’t beat the weather and manage to bring the boat up here. After giving up on Santorini, we had planned to spend three days here, one night was enough.
Stopped at Jimmy’s for another gyro, dripped oil all over ourselves, then a waterfront cafe for a chocolate and banana crepe and cappuccino. Stuffed, we roll to the ferry terminal to wait for our Flying Cat 4.
Lots of people, we act like Europeans for a change and wander blithely to the front via an alternative path. We are tired of being polite Canadians and ending up pushed out of the way. Time to take a stance …Mykonos has not done nice things to us.
The catamaran flies in and we (rudely at the front of the line) find our seats and watch the show. One word, mayhem! People were still wandering around with luggage and trying to figure out where to sit when the boat left. Signs everywhere say “all passengers must be seated with seatbelts buckled when the ferry is underway”?. Yeah….riiiiight….. Like everything else in Greece, signs are irrelevant.
Again, what would have been a five to six hour sail for us, was completed in 40 minutes….with Jurassic Park, sort of playing, on plasma TV’s. Our best estimate on the speed of the ferry is 40 – 45 knots. And smooth in spite of chop. Truly amazing, and efficient ….unlike everything else here.
Back on Paros at 1550, hotel owners attempted to accost us at the port, but then we were recognized as boaters from the dock. We’ve been here too long.
Heading for the boat, stopped by an elderly couple that we have seen and spoken to repeatedly over the past few days. They are Scandinavian and have been waiting for their kids to arrive from Kythnos. While we were stranded in Paros, their kids couldn’t make it off Kythnos. We found ourselves at the Port Police at the same time a few days ago asking about weather. Lovely couple. They were driving by and saw us walking with our packs. Stopped to ask us why we were still in town, we said we just got back from Mykonos on the ferry…they asked how we liked it, we said one day was enough…too many people and too expensive, they laughed and gave us the thumbs up…they had only lasted a day also! Their kids had finally arrived in he Triple Dutch, a “small” 30 foot sailboat. It’s all relative.
Back to the Pink Elephant, we missed her. Felt good to be back. An American flag across the dock, one fellow from Edmonton, the rest from Washington.
Went for a walk, realized I should have used the head before leaving so looking for a washroom. Find the public WC. Oh, this is novel. Open he door to the toilet to find a porcelain hole in the floor…..Ok, I’m game, except there is no toilet paper on top of it ….I lose confidence and back out. I can pee in a bush in the woods, but I’m not so sure about this. Decided on a better plan and went to Christo’s (if you come here, you must go, good food, cheap wine…but the shooter (if he offers you one) is jet fuel) for some tzatziki and wine before an attempt (failed) to find a shop where we fell in love with a blanket. Much better WC!
We see a fellow going down the street with a cart full of fresh garlic strings for sale. A Kodak moment…and of course, where is the camera? On the boat.
Back to the boat for dinner, then another (failed) attempt to find our blanket and a pendant I really fell in love with.
Note: As in Mykonos, if you find something, and you like it, and the price is reasonable…just buy it!
We walk by the internet cafe and the owner waves to us….have I mentioned that we’ve been here too long.
It is Sunday evening and so calm and peaceful in Paroikia….I can’t believe I didn’t like it here at first, I love this place now. We tried to find a market open were we could buy ice…no such luck. We stopped at a tavern and asked if we could buy some, they asked if we needed lots, we said just to mix some drinks this evening…they gave us a bag and asked us to have a drink for them too. We’re almost locals.
So we will make one more attempt to find our blanket tomorrow and then we will leave and head for Seriphos….or Siphnos……wind dependant…..calm now, we may just be motoring again ….sigh.
