Greece Day 9 (part 1) "DELOS"

The only advice we were given about Delos was to hire a tour guide when we arrived, so we paid ten euros each, and after about five minutes into the tour, regretted it.  However, we did learn quite a bit about this ancient island, but mainly from the tour book we purchased.

So here's a little history lesson about Delos. . .

Delos is the birthplace of Apollo.  According to the myth, when Zeus had an affair with the Titan Leto.  Hera (Zeus' wife) became so jealous that Leto had to find a safe place to give birth.  She managed to find a piece of rock floating from the sea, where she decided to stop.  Leto remained there after promising the island would cease its wanderings and stay in one place, and that her child would never abandon the island bringing great glory and wealth.  Leto's painful labor lasted 9 days because Hera prevented Eileithyia (goddess of childbirth) from coming to her aid.  Eventually other goddesses who supported Leto sent a messenger to fetch Eileithyia.  After this Leto "looking towards the mountain of Zeus" gave birth to the most beautiful of the immortals.  Delos became one of the most important sacred places of ancient Greece.

Apollo was the God of light and music, basically the joy of life, and he hated anything that might pollute the cleanliness and purity of his island.  This included the birth and death of those that lived there, and subsequently people had to be born and die elsewhere.  The only solution was to use the neighboring island "Rheneia" as a cemetery.

Delos was of great commercial and political importance in antiquity.  This ancient wonder had temples, commercial buildings, shopping centers, theaters, and private houses. 

The island had no way of producing food, fiber, or timber which were all imported.  There was also a limited amount of water so cisterns, aqueduct systems, wells, and even sanitary drains were put in place.

Delos also became the center of the slave trade, with the largest slave market in the region.  Italian traders came to purchase tens of thousands of slaves captured by pirates or captured from wars.

Unlike other Greek islands, Delos was not self-supporting, and eventually led to the island becoming uninhabited, to which it remains uninhabited to this day. 

Delos was one of the highlights of this trip.  After breaking from the group and exploring on our own, the only complaint I had was that I wish we could have stayed longer.  There is no place in the world like Delos.

We boarded the boat again to head to our next stop Mykonos. 

 

Greece Days 7 & 8 (part 1)

We finally arrived at Parikia, which is the capital and main port of the Island of Paros.  Although it was off-season Paros was still quite busy and while walking off the ferry and to the bus station it never fails the number of hotel and rooms to let owners who hoard around screaming at the passengers who just disembarked "NEED ROOM, I GIVE YOU GOOD PRICE!"  Makes me laugh every time.

 

 

In the 6+ years of coming to Greece I have been to Paros about 5 times.  This is the only place in the country that I have revisited, and will continue to do so.  The purpose of this particular trip was to visit with our friends (who opened a new restaurant on the island) and to spend time with our 2 year old Goddaughter.

Paros is located in the heart of the Cyclades.  Although probably not as well know as other Cycladic Islands such as Santorini and Mykonos it is still very popular and touristy.The crystal clear waters, the traditional villages with the white cubic houses in narrowed alleys, lovely chapels, and a decent nightlife are obvious reasons for its popularity. 

We were staying in a little village called Aliki.  Aliki is a peaceful coastal village about a 20 minute bus ride from the main Port.  If you are looking for something more cosmopolitan this village is not for you, but if good restaurants, great beach, and friendly faces are your thing Aliki is the perfect base for a vacation on Paros.

 

 

We really didn't have any plans for the next couple of days.  We usually rent a scooter when coming to Paros, but since we have been here so many times before, there was really nothing left to explore.  We had about an hour before our bus departed so I walked across the street to a local travel agency, just to browse, however something quickly grabbed my attention.  The travel agency was advertising a day trip cruise to the islands of Delos and Mykonos.  Two islands neither my husband nor I have ever been.  I grabbed the brochure and walked across the street to the bus station where my husband was waiting and asked if we could do the day trip.  He wasn't exactly excited about it, but by the end of the night the trip was booked. 

We finally made it to the Aliki, and went straight to our small hotel, checked in, and headed straight to our friends new restaurant (Thalassa mou), where we spent the rest of the day eating, drinking, and just catching up with old friends. 

 

 

The next morning we woke up early again to catch the bus back to Parikia to get another bus to Naoussa where we were catching the boat to Delos and Mykonos.  Naoussa is the most beautiful village in Paros and some even say in the Cyclades. This picturesque fishing village has manage to keep its authenticity, character, and charm with its whitewashed and flowered little houses, churches, and chapels, surrounded  by narrow cobblestone streets, colorful fishing boats, and even a Venetian castle.  One of my favorite things is to sit on the edge of the water and have a glass of wine.  There are many taverns and ouzeries (places to drink ouzo) around the village.

 

 

We boarded our boat and decided to sit upstairs to take in the scenery and get some fresh air.  It was extremely windy which made for a wild ride.  The waves were crazy, and even some crashed up and over the boat, soaking some patrons, while making just about everyone else reach for a barf bag.  My husband and I just laughed and played it off like a rough ride at an amusement park, changing seats often hoping not to get soaked.

 

 

I really didn't know what to expect with the Island of Delos.  the only thing that I knew about this place was that no people lived here.  I thought it was going to be a small archaeological site no bigger than the Parthenon.  But as we pulled into the small dock, I could tell that I was very wrong about this magical gem.

 

 

Greece - Day 6

We woke up way too early this morning to catch the 0745 ferry back to Volos.  We were taking the Super fast Ferry today instead of our normal "slower" ferries.  I myself prefer the slower ferries for the simple fact that you can actually get up, walk around, and even step outside for some fresh Mediterranean air.  The Super fast ferry will get you to your destination quicker, but it's like being on a wide plane.  You board, find your assigned seat, and sit down.  There are large windows, but with the salt water constantly splashing up, you can barely see out of them.  they do have TVs throughout, but all that they played was Greek News. . .BORING!  The one thing all the ferries seem to have in common, was making stops at other islands along the way.  Each time the ferry stopped my hubby and I would run off the boat, breather in some fresh air, and get a few photo ops of places we have never been, or even heard of. 

 

 

 

We finally arrived in Volos after several hours, loaded up the car, and started our 4 hour journey back to Athens.  The plan was to get to Athens, do some laundry, rearrange and re-pack our bags and try to catch the evening ferry to Paros (another Island, located in the Cyclades)  However, about half way to Athens we decided to find a small place along the water to eat.  So we got off the highway and started driving down the off roads following the sea.  After getting lost and hitting a few dead ends we finally made it to a small town on the water, had a couple of Souvlaki, and of course Mythos, and just relaxed.  Lunch took much longer than we had planned, so at this point we knew we were never going to make the ferry to Paros tonight.  No longer being in a rush, my husband took me to a small church that he would stop at as a child while on their family vacation.

 

The church was the size of a Master Bath in some modern homes, and half of it was built into the mountain, as I have seen a lot throughout my travels in Greece.  People would stop there, pay their respects, and then fill up jugs, and jugs, of the mountain water that ran down to the church.  We filled up our water bottles, but it was nothing compared to the amount of bottles the locals were coming to fill.  Car after car would just pull up and help themselves.

 

 

 

We finally made it to Athens, and to my husbands childhood home.  We showered, unpacked, repacked, and decided to take advantage of our only night in Athens during this trip.  One of my husbands favorite places to go while in town is Flisvos Marina (which is the MEGA-YACHT destination in Greece), and I really can't remember a trip to Athens that didn't include at least one evening walking through this Marina.  After walking around, and actually seeing one of the largest personal yachts I have ever seen in my life, we got a couple slices of pizza and a couple glasses of wine and just sat outside and enjoyed each others company.

 

 

 

We drove back to the apartment, and crashed.  It was a long day, and we had to get back up in a couple of hours.

 

We got to the ferry and the best thing about traveling in off season is that the ferries are not full and you pretty much can find a seat anywhere you want. This time we were traveling with Blue Star Ferries, and just our luck we were on their newest ferry "Delos".  I just have to say that this was without a doubt the nicest ferry I've been on.  After claiming our space we ordered a couple of coffees and headed out for part two of our Big Fat Greek Vacation.