Shamballa Cruising Yacht Club: Time to Enjoy Pretty Mykonos

Our main reason for coming to Mykonos was to see the ancient ruins on the nearby island of Delos.

We were a bit hesitant about visiting Mykonos itself as it is known as a very popular tourist mecca. We generally try to avoid the full on tourist catastrophe, if possible, but the lure of Delos overcame any reservations we had.

Delos is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was the holy sanctuary for ancient Greek mythology and is now one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece. It is considered the birthplace of the twins, Apollo (god of music, poetry and arts) and Artemis (the huntress), the children of Zeus (king of gods) and Leto. Excavations of the site started in 1872 and are continuing today.

We finally got into the town of Mykonos to be tourist. We first inquired about boats to Delos. There was a late afternoon trip so our first activity was to enjoy the ferry ride to the island. Delos is impressive but I must admit not nearly as impressive as Ephesus in Turkey. We still maintain that the best Greek ruins are in Turkey. We had a few hours to walk around but could have stayed longer. Sadly the on-site museum was closed for renovations so we did not see many of the smaller unearthed artifacts.

Delos from the waterfront looking onto Mt Kynthos on the right

Poppies amongst the ruins

The city overlooking the harbour

Floor mosaic in the House of Dionysus

Avenue of the Lions

Sculptures

Another day we were able to tour around the town of Mykonos. It is full on tourism but not of the crass type. The streets were packed with tourist but the shops had a minimum of tat. The pedestrian area of ‘Little Venice’ is delightful. In fact if one were a shopper (I am not), one would be in heaven. There were endless up-market clothing, leather, accessories and jewellery shops. These combined with the iconic Greek blue and white buildings, tavernas and cafes make Mykonos a tourist paradise.