Mykonos, Greece

We took the free tender boats to port and arrived at the Mykonos island at 8am. There are small white houses dotted all over the island. Some of them have doors painted in bright colors like blue, green or red. We walked up the narrow streets between these white houses. It was still early so a lot of the stores were not open yet. There are supposed to be a lot of restaurants, bars, jewelry shops. Towards one end of town we saw the windmills. A row of windmills stand along the shore. Below them is a beach. There were a few pelicans resting nearby. Pelicans are the local symbol here and we saw a few of them flying around. We even got quite close to one of them. They are about the size of a large goose. The view here is iconic. White houses stand against clear blue skies. The weather was perfect with bright morning sun. A few sea gulls were circling overhead. Excited tourists are posing in front of the windmills and were taking pictures of the windmills. Some younger visitors found pretty shells from the beach. I stood there for a few minutes taking it all in. After the past few days of rushing from point to point of sightseeing, I have never felt this relaxed before. This is a very small town and we didn't need much time to explore. It took us less than 2 hours to walk around the town although we did not go into the shops. We still got time left so we bought ferry tickets to Delos which is an island across from here. 

Delos Island - Legendary Apollo's Birthplace

We took the ferry at 10 am to the island Delos to see the ruins. The so called Apollo’s birthplace is actually quite interesting. Fallen stone columns, crumbled walls, broken statues and urns scattered around the island. Remains of building foundation can be seen scattered everywhere. Stone steps crisscrossing the area are still intact. Some of the walls were built with various sizes of stones that formed intricate patterns. The window and door openings are quite small. I guess the ancient people are shorten than we are. The openings were made small probably to prevent intruders or animals from entering. There are areas that look like gathering places that are wide open with tall columns and statues. The living quarters are closely arranged with small rooms. There is an area believed to be water storage. We walked as far as the theater and back. The amphitheater's benches had been upended over the centuries. Only the bottom rows had been reconstructed. There is a podium like stone table in the center of the amphitheater.  The ruins on Delos island is quite interesting and totally worth a visit. This ruin has a natural and untouched look to it. Some restoration is being done but most of the ruin is as if it was untouched. It felt like we were transported in time. I wondered why people had abandoned the place and never rebuilt the city. We took the 12:15 pm ferry back to Mykonos and the cruise ship. The ship leaves early today to head for Istanbul, Turkey.