Delos

This was my first view of Delos, which is an uninhabited island about half an hour by boat from Mykonos. It used to be inhabited, which is what makes it such a modern archeological theme park.

The wind was bitterly cold and ferociously strong, which I hadn't been expecting. I was very, very under-dressed and probably looked like I was doing the I-have-to-pee dance during the whole two-hour tour just to keep moderately warm.

See that? It used to be someone's window.

There were wildflowers growing and blooming everywhere. The colors coupled with the bitter wind and absolutely gorgeous ruins made Delos exactly what I was looking for--it felt like I'd really gone somewhere new.

The boat runs from Mykonos once every two or three days, depending on the season and the weather. It took four days for me to make it out to Delos. I'd almost given up on getting there at all--there'd been a storm, the weather still wasn't great and the travel agent told me the wrong time for the boat. I ended up racing along the waterfront to the end of the dock--sprinting like I was in the sixth grade Olympics--but I made it before they cast off.

(I still breathe a sigh of relief when I think about how close I cut it. They pulled up the gangplank/walkway/whatever it's called behind me as I boarded.)

There aren't any second stories (storeys?) surviving today, but apparently in ancient times they were about as common as in I.V. or P.Q. (I.e., very. Many buildings had them.)

The ledge was used to hold olive oil lamps. And the surviving plaster on the wall! So cool.

Ruins for as far as the eye could see. Ohhhh my god, it was beautiful. (And cold.)

And the famous Delian lions! These are copies, though. They moved the originals into a small museum on the island to protect them from the damage they'd been receiving from smog and air pollution and such.