This weather--I just can't even.

It's raining. But the sky is blue. And there's sunlight glaring like crazy off the wet rooftops.

I just don't even understand Scottish weather. (But it is kind of exciting.)

Room with a view

I had a nice little room in Naxos at this place called Pension Irene. Irene's son met me at the Naxos dock at 11:30 at night when I arrived and offered me a thirty euro room. I snorted, and he offered it for twenty. I told him I'd pay fifteen, and he grumbled but gave in. No hard feelings, either. He was a very nice guy. On my last day there, he let me stay in the room until midnight for five euros.

The shower sucked and sprayed water everywhere, but at least it sprayed warm water. And I had a double bed, a television, a mini-kitchen (with a kettle for tea!), and a balcony. Not bad a'tall.

Looking left out of the balcony...

And looking right. Yes, that is the ocean off in the distance. It was about a ten minute walk away, maybe less.

From a distance

I really, really fell in love with Ariadne's Arch, in case you couldn't tell.

Pictures from Naxos' dock

The Turkish castle. Opening times varied and the entrance was difficult to find. (So no, I didn't make it inside.)

Naxos' waterfront. Ariadne's Arch is almost directly behind the camera.

Inland

Another photo from the bike ride around Naxos, this one from securely inland. That hill in the background is actually another island, though. (Paros, I think. Which I ended up on eventually, though it wasn't part of the original plan.)

Ugh.

LOOK AT THAT HILL. Ugh.

(Taken during my bike ride around Naxos.)

Cycling Naxos

View of Naxos town, Greece. Probably my favorite (inhabited) island. That teeny-tiny little blue-domed roof is a block away from where I stayed. I rented a bike and went cycling through the hills with the goal of making it to the ruins of the temple of Demeter, about 6 km from Naxos town. I made it about four km before I got sick of eating bugs and worrying about being hit by trucks and smartcars as I cycled, then turned around and went back. (Which must have been slightly downhill, because it was infinitely easier going.)

And this is that goddamn bike. Made it back to the waterfront and collapsed onto a bench for a while before heading back into town to an internet cafe, then to shower, return the bike, and dinner. Phew.

More wildflowers and ruins

More wildflowers and ruins on Delos, Greece.

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.

The edge of town

Mykonos again--the edge of town, up on a hill. The windmill far off, just above the center is the same as the picture two posts down.