Mykonos

We are in the home stretch of our latest adventure and as always, I'm starting to feel a little melancholy. I love traveling and I do not like the concept of going back to work, so as our vacation winds down, it feels like a double whammy.

 What has that got to do with the fact that we are now staying in Mykonos? Nothing really but I can make a logical connection to the fact that today we took a ferry ride and spent the better part of the day on one of the smallest Greek islands, Delos. For any of you reading this, that are history nuts, I recommend you do a little research on Delos. At one point in time it was at the centre of the Greek universe. Now we are talking about 2500 to 3000 years ago or more but way back in history it was the religious, cultural, and economical capital of the area. Not bad for an island that is only about 1600 metres wide and about 5 kilometres long.

 So now the melancholy connection. If you have ever visited any serious archaeological sites you almost always see these things cordoned off and tended to with vigor. But here in Greece, time and time again we have seen these major sites, some of the oldest sites in the world, left in a state of disrepair. We saw people walking over items ( pillars and parts of statues) that in a country in better financial state would have been completely inaccessible. Ancient mosaics covered in dirt and dust, and even the onsite museum was closed with a handwritten sign stating, " work in progress" but it was the middle of a weekday and there was very little work going on.

 I feel very sorry for Greece and the turmoil the country is going through, but I also feel incredibly terrible for the damage being done to this wondrous site, just because of inattention.

 Think about this just for a second. The ruins we saw today are older than Pompei!! That blows my mind and while I'm unsure of what can be done in today's political climate, I will say this to any of you reading this. If you have any interest in history and archaeology, get over here and see this soon, because I'm afraid if something doesn't change it won't be around for a lot longer.

 A little heavier than I usually write but I started off by saying that I was feeling a little melancholy and seeing things that I consider invaluable being allowed to turn to dust, is disheartening.

  On that somber note I will tell you about the photos.

1st is Joani in front of, "The terrace of Lions",

next is me doing my Shakespeare imitation in front of a 3000 year old home.

(property values are down).

The third shot is of a giant Theatre,

one of the few places they took strict measures to protect.

Then. there's my friend the lizard.

The site is full of various species of lizards and I took tons of shots trying to get one of them. This is my best result so I threw in in here just out of pride?! Then there is a shot of one of the unattended mosaics.

I think they would have been beautiful if they weren't covered in dust and dirt as I already said.

 The last shot is my favourite of the day. We climbed to the highest point on the island. It is called,"The Sanctuary of Zeus and Athena". When we got to the top, Joani used all her charm to get us a table and there we ate our lunch.

 TOP OF THE WORLD,MA.

 Winding down in Mykonos

 Garry