Mykonos and Delos

Where to begin? An early start on Saturday morning, the bus down to Piraeus, onto the Speedrunner III:

The latest in luxury ferries

Relaxing on the boat

 Several hours later, we arrived in Mykonos, and were whisked up to our hotel, a modern structure built in traditional Mykonos style, with a lovely pool:

A refreshing dip in the pool.

Then we walked down, down down into Mykonos town, which lives up to its reputation for picturesque views, as well as for being a tourist mecca and hedonistic resort.

Here's a picturesque view. Sorry, no pictures of the hedonism.

There were minor disappointments. The Folklore Museum, eagerly anticipated by Leslie, turned out to be closed, but the explanatory sign almost made it worthwhile:

After a lot of wandering and exploring, we ended the day at a psarotaverna (fish restaurant), where we sample the local Mykonian cheese and other delicacies such as grilled octopus, and Phil got to choose his fish from a refrigerated bin. Most of the students had found their way to the nearest beach--it should be said, this was their first chance to go to the beach since they arrived in Greece.

But it wasn't all fun and sun. The next morning, bright and early, we got on another boat, and made our way to Delos, Apollo's birthplace. The ruins on the island are extensive--mostly Hellenistic and Roman, but well preserved. We got a fairly well-informed guided tour of the high points which lasted the morning. Afterwards, Leslie and the kids, along with most of the students took the (sensible?) option of returning to Mykonos on the earlier boat for more beach time.

Lifestyles of the rich and famous, 2nd century BCE.

A hardy band stuck around, though and spent another hour and a half exploring areas on the island not covered by the tour. Unfortunately the gymnasium and synagogue were off limits, but we found more beautiful Hellenistic houses, some with (live) peacocks. Then we hiked up to the top of Mount Kynthos, and were rewarded with spectacular views of the island:

Apollo's domain

The hardy crew, triumphant

 We made our way back to Mykonos, in time for another dip in the sea. Then dinner at a more touristy restaurant, but good food--octopus in wine sauce, this time, and lamb yiouvetsi. Poor Ellie, who'd been a trouper at Delos and the beach, conked out during dinner (although she managed to eat her icecream while still asleep!), so we got a cab back up the hill.

Ellie demonstrates the art of eating while asleep.

Monday morning, we got our final beach time, and another dip in the hotel pool. We also got supplies to celebrate Ellie's birthday: her fourth on the Fourth! Although her friends from school couldn't be there, the students made up for it, and we were well supplied with cake, hats, noisemakers and balloons.

The boat back was not so superfast, and crowded with Greeks and tourists, many of whom smoked. But we stayed out on deck and passed the time with Apples to Apples and Mafia--good Honors games. We arrived back in Piraeus at sunset, and a bus was waiting for us, to whisk us back home--except that all of central Athens was closed due to unexpected reasons (the closing ceremonies of the Special Olympics), so we had to endure a massive detour through traffic clogged side streets, and finally made it back to our apartment somewhat bedraggled, at 10PM. But all worth it!