Delos, Secluded Beach #2 PARTY, & Mykonos

This morning we arrived at Delos.  This island is completed uninhabited, but instead has archeological park. Andy and Alec took the tender very early into the island…partially to beat the crowds, but also the heat.  Completely exposed with pretty much no greenery it was going to getting scorching hot fast.  In Greek mythology, this is precisely why Leto, escaping the wrath of Hera, was able to find sanctuary here in order to give birth to Apollo and Artemis. In some versions of the myth, Zeus (Leto's lover) called on his brother Poseidon to create the island with a thrust of his trident, hence the name Delos, which signifies 'appearance' or 'apparent' in ancient Greek.  The boys found the site very good.  Ally and I opted not to do it as, and this will sound a bit snobbish, but through our living in Israel, we have seen a lot of ruins.  But they saw a lot of pieces still with amazing mosaic tile work and an entire row of lions.

We knew we had a swim stop in the afternoon before heading to Mykonos, so I scheduled massages for Ally, myself, and Alec.  Ally went first and while she was in getting a very good Balinese massage, they moved the boat to a secluded beach and proceeded to load the tenders with umbrellas, pillows, and large grass mats.  The boys arrived back I sent them and Ally to the beach and it was my turn for some relaxation/massage.  After getting out I found one of our activities directors and told him I needed to get Alec back from the beach for his massage.  He said food was being sent over to the beach for lunch and I could go over and swap with him.  Once on land, Mark, the lead activities coordinator said Alec is having too much fun.  You can get a massage any day, but you can’t have a party on a secluded beach in Greece any day.  So, he sent word back to the ship he would be staying.  And we proceeded to have one of the best afternoons of our trip.  Food, beverages, music, dancing, snorkeling, and that beautiful Cycladic blue water. Amazing!!!

Back on board we all cleaned up for Mykonos.  As we pulled in the only “big box” was leaving, and our ship was the only one anchored in the harbor.  We tendered in and had about 45 minutes until our dinner reservation, so after dragging the boys through the insanity of shopping in Santorini (and all other islands) we decided to split up.  Scared of the labyrinth of streets we opted to go straight up the first alley and back down.  We would return here later in the night as it had some great shops and was the most affordable…well except the $2K, on sale for $500, skin care regimen I got sucked in for.  Let’s just say it was only a cream and it really did work removing all the lines under my eyes, but it was the most unnatural crazy feeling sensation.

After escaping the eye cream trap by throwing Andy under the bus - “I can’t spend that kind of money without his permission” – we headed back to the waterfront for our reservation at Vegera.  I had picked this restaurant because they had online reservations, a great view, fresh seafood, and burgers, fries, and pasta for the kids. Turned out another great choice as we met the boys who were already at the bar being offered welcome shots.  Another amazing meal that ended with another freebie of beautiful platters of Greek yogurt topped with a cherry sauce.  Light, refreshing, and delicious. 

After dinner we opted to try to walk to the iconic windmills along the water like our crew had told us.  We tried but didn’t have a lot of luck.  So instead, we ducked into stores again and even a bar with all the kids playing ABBA.  We even danced in the street.  Ally really wanted to shop, so we split up again and headed back to the harbor and started up into the alleys.  They were right…it was insane…and expensive.  Chanel, Gucci, and other labels where no piece, even a little tube top, was less than 225 euros.  Now hopelessly lost I turned the navigation over to Ally and she got us out and even walked us right by the windmills.  We made it safely back to the first alley and did our shopping.

We all met at the tender pick-up spot and I was done, but Ally wanted to try the Mykonos nightlife.  So Andy, Alec, and she stayed on land…along with the rest of the Jarnac crew and they went to a couple of bars and got taste she was looking for.  I think they rolled back on the boat after 1AM and we would move through the night arriving for our last day, a full day, at Sifnos.