Delos @ Mykonos

Although Mykonos is beautiful with its cubist style Cycladic architecture and postcard-ready natural beauty, it doesn't take long there to realize that it's one giant tourist trap. For me, the one thing which was able to help the island regain some points was taking the thirty-minute ferry ride over to Delos for a breath of fresh air.

Little Italy

Pulling into Delos on the ferry

The history of Delos dates back to about 1600BC, for a long while it was the center of Mediterranean trade and survived various empires and wars up until it fell into ruin around 200AD. Walking around the island you really can get a feeling for the depth of its history, it's still preserved enough today to walk the same streets which the ancient Greeks and Romans would, although most buildings are worn down to partial sets of walls, it's much better than a perfectly reconstructed fake, and there are enough pieces of structure around the whole place to fill in the gaps with your imagination.

If you visit Delos be sure not to miss your opportunity to hike up to the top of Mount Kynthos. From the top, you can not only get a great aerial view of the all of Delos but also you have a great view back toward Mykonos. The hike back down the mountain which takes you to the ferry dock also takes you through some of the more interesting structures you can find on the island, so make sure you have enough time to explore this part fully before your ferry departs, or miss it and take the next one...

Atop Mount Kynthos looking toward Mykonos

Looking down onto the ruins of Delos

Ancient sewer?