May 14, 2007

Mykonos to Athens

Today’s goal was to spend the morning capturing differing pictures of Mykonos. I really enjoy walking the alleys of cities and towns trying to grasp the temperature and reality of the environment. The only limitation was to meet Nobu at 4:00pm to walk to the ferry.

Mykonos is an island of contrasts. The buildings are stark white, which is almost overly accented by the direct sun. To offset this blank cityscape of white boxes, door and window jams are brightly painted. Some homes have natural wood stained doors and shutters while others continue the colorful theme.



(Or, maybe these shudder were just yet to be painted...)


The grey stone streets and white washed buildings make every added color “pop”. The residents of Mykonos appear to have a favorite plant, the geranium. They line stairs, windows, and balconies.





I’m not sure if there is personal ownership of the cat population or if the general public takes care of these wandering felines. If you walk off the main thorough fair by even a block, suddenly there are cats everywhere. They appear to be completely comfortable with people and don’t budge from their positions, no matter how close the approach.





Given the lack of visual distraction the smallest details stand out. Designers seem to be aware of this point and make the most of standard hardware elegant.



The occasional bound circle of flowers visually jumps, even from a bright background.





Aside from the raw physical beauty of the Aegean, I think Mykonos may be most known for two addition structures, the windmills...





... and the seemingly endless variety of churches. Driving a moped through the countryside, it appeared that practically every family maintained a chapel. In town there are several unique and differing styles from which to choose.









Finally a section for Mom, the flowers love this environment. Many families keep postage stamp size gardens filled with beautiful varieties.





Seeing this yellow rose reminded me of Mom’s back yard.



Nobu and I faced quite a challenge. The wind was blowing so hard that all the smaller crafts were anchored or docked in the safety of the harbor.



Undaunted we took off for our 5 km walk to the other end of the island to the “new harbor” and our high-speed ferry back to Athens. The wind was blowing so stiffly that our pants were plastered in the front and luffing in the back. Leaning into the wind we had to push to make the 5:00pm departure time. Usually the distance could have been easily covered in less than a half hour, but today’s headwind forced us to lean heavily forward and consciously work for the needed pace.



Nobu had his “super cool” travel bike and had to scramble for footing on several occasions with the rogue shifting gust.



The effort was actually a great setup for sitting on the ferry. We weren’t exhausted and definitely enjoyed the opportunity to sit for a few hours.





Nobu has been a good traveling companion and friend. In spite of his limited English he is full of expression and wit. As an artist and furniture designer he sees many things that my quirky pattern sensitive eye enjoys. The phrase, "Good design" was exchanged back and forth for architecture and implements we especially appreciated.
(Camera shy, I had to sneak up on him for this shot.)


One of my favorite conversations was when we were talking about "lizards" and their presence all over the world. He said, "If I eat, I never hungry anywhere." This led to a discussion of the coloration of differing species. Showing him a picture of my favorite lizard from Ghana, Nobu said with emphasis, "Ah, gooood design." I agreed, "Yep, God did a pretty good job on that one."



The ferry arrived back in Pireas just about sunset.



From there it was an easy Metro ride and walk to the hostel.

May 13, 2007

Mykonos – Side Trip to Delos

Delos is the most sacred island of the ancient Greek world, as it is believed by mythics to be the birth place of Apollo, the god of light, harmony, and balance; along with his twin sister Artemis, the moon goddess. These mythical gods constitute two of the most important deities of the ancient Greek Parthenon.



The sacred island grew rapidly, in 167 BC, after it was declared a “free port” establishing the tax free transfer of goods. As a result all commercial activities of the eastern Mediterranean region quickly began to flow through the tiny, less than 5 square kilometer, island. Wealthy merchants and bankers from the entire Mediterranean region soon build houses and business centers in Delos. The small island soon gained the title of “maximum emporium totius orbis terranum”, i.e. the greatest commercial center of the world.



Delos was allied with Rome and this afforded some protection but also made it a prime target for those antagonistic to the empire. The 30,000 plus literally defenseless inhabitants were attacked and the city of Delos was sacked in 88 BC by the Mithridates from the Black Sea region. Prior to this attack more than 750,000 tons of goods were transferred through the Delos ports annually. The city was burned and looted. It is estimated that over 10,000 people were slaughtered, as there was literally no military presence on the island. The people of Delos rebounded and rebuilt their mercantile capital over the next ten years only to be sacked once again in 69 BC by Athenodorus pirates, allies of the Mithridates. Two attacks in approximately 20 years was too much for the trade center to accept, so fairly rapidly the island was abandoned except for a small group of priests who maintained the sanctuaries. Gradually, the lavish houses and temples were looted and demolished for their marble and thousands of tons of rock was transferred throughout the Mediterranean to build other structures.



Today the main sites of interest are the Lions of the Naxians that have unfortunately been naturally worn and sand blasted over the last hundred years since being unearthed.


(Replicas now outside with actual lions in the museum.)


Close to the lions is the Granite Palaestra or one of the main ancient water sources. These wells are so reliable and pure that the current archeological village uses it as their source.



A fun and reasonable climb is to the Sanctuary of Zeus and Athena, situated on the highest point on the island. The views are tremendous of the port and surrounding islands.





Returning down the hill, to the port, there are four main sites. The first is Temple of Hera and is the only temple with remaining statuary.



Second is the ancient theatre. These structures never cease to intrigue me. I wish we had a few modern theatres like this. I think a nice place to start would be with the Mountain Play site on Mt.Tamalpais.



Past the theatre is the House of Cleopatra. Who knows if there was an actual connection but the idea makes sense with the fame, timing, and status of the port.



Finally, the Dolphin and Poseidon houses were sites for beautiful mosaic floors. It is like a treasure hunt in this part of the city to try to find which ruin has mosaics.

(You may need to click on the picture to enlarge for detail.)








Meeting new people continues to be half the fun of this trip. Today was no exception. Nobu and I met Patty and Ken, a couple from Hong Kong, on the ferry ride from Athens to Mykonos. They were on the island of Delos too and we rode the ferry back to Mykonos together. They are well traveled and have been to almost every continent. Ken was the first person since leaving Kenya to properly identify my belt as being Masai. (That can be your challenge when we meet to see if I’m actually wearing the Masai belt that day.) The four of us had a great time over lunch together.



The rest of the afternoon was spent blogging and e-mailing in an attempt to try to catch up a little. Then the sun put on an Aegean shadow show with the Mykonos windmills, churches, and surf as a foreground.

May 12, 2007

Athens to Mykonos

Last night, while waiting for the room key at the reception desk, I overheard a Japanese man talking in broken English about wanting to go to Mykonos and not knowing how to arrange transportation or actually “get to” the port in the morning. I offered that we could ride the train together in the morning. So Nobu and I met at 6:00am to head to Mykonos.

The Athens metro system is actually quite good. The only challenge was finding the proper platform and then we were off. I felt the haze of uncertainty that tourists in New York’s Times Square subway station must experience. Walking through the underground human “habit trail”, maneuvering the linking tunnels, there is a building escalation of commitment because ‘who wants to retrace that many stairs?” Fortunately, we found the Green Line and were on our way to the port of Pireas.



We would travel by the largest catamaran I have ever seen. The space between the twin hulls was so large that cars and trucks simply drove up the middle ramp and were directed where to park. There was a hydraulic lift system that allowed for two layers of vehicles in the hold. I had the feeling that this trip was not going to result in the stereotypical “Greek Island Ferry” sinking typical of ancient ill maintained vessels.



Upon arrival, we faced the “hotel barker” gauntlet. However, this time we had consciously chosen to use this aggressive system to find accommodation, instead of using the internet. A crowd of brochure wielding islanders swarmed. There appeared to be a conscious process. The first person was able to speak to me uninterrupted. Then, when I declined because the price was safely in the “sucker” zone, all hell broke loose. Ten people were all vehemently pointing at brochures and speaking over one another. The tables had now turned and I was stating stipulations “40 Euro for two, next to an internet café, in town.” A thinner group of a few remained, each pointing and talking at the same time. I simply picked the person in front of me and we were off.



After checking-in, Nobu and I were off to the beach. I rented a death trap moped, complete with sticking throttle and limp brakes. Nobu travels with a “tricked out” little bicycle with tiny wheels and indestructible design.
(Don't worry, he didn't carry a pack when we went to the beach.)


I would venture ahead down the roads and then come back to report on findings. We stumbled upon Psarou Beach that we later discovered is one of the most upscale on the island.



It was a “full on” European waterfront experience and I had to keep from laughing at Nobu’s glinting eyes, so a little good-natured teasing was definitely in order. (Sorry, no pictures for the curious.) Despite a beautifully sunny day and warm surface temperatures, the water was freezing. Many people were wading and swimming but clearly this took effort. I walked into the to my knees and had immediate and serious second thoughts, when a Swiss woman spontaneously gave me a ribbing. Ok the challenge had been set and she was right, after about ten minutes all feeling in the submerged limbs was gone. One step at a time, over time and conversation, then finally I was “in” for a brief shining moment. Add the Aegean to the list of global submersions. Now it was Nobu’s turn to give me a fair share of teasing.
(Whew, where is that glare coming from?)


Not being much of a sit, baste, and rotate beach enthusiast, after about three hours under a grass umbrella it was time to move on. Nobu decided to stay longer at the beach, so I was off for a moped kamikaze adventure to the backside of Mykonos. The island has stunning views of volcanic peaks, deep valley, rolling hills, and many coves and bays. The common feature was small family sized chapels, everywhere. A few windmills dotted the landscape, but chapels were definitely the dominant structure, after basic housing.







The world’s scenic farmland is filling in with vacation homes or villas. Mykonos is no exception. Hills above beautiful Panormous inlet are starting to spot with new housing construction. In one way it is sad to lose the pastoral view, in another, that would be an awesome place to spend a few weeks a year.



The typical island life and human scene is fading quickly as Mykonos becomes a purely tourist driven economy. However, far on the backside of the island in Agia Arma, fortune was on my side and I came across an “old timer” returning home from the day. Watching him wander home, it struck me that the changes to this small island in one lifetime must be immense. Solitude with the seascape is practically a thing of the past and my noisy rattletrap moped is a prime invader.



On the return to the main town, the sea, land, and trademark Mykonos windmill line-up literally lay in front of my. These were the most picturesque moments of the day.

May 11, 2007

Greece – Ancient Corinth

This day of touring has been on my wish list for months. To see the excavation site of Ancient Corinth, that has the closest period dating to the time when the apostle Paul taught and lived, brought reality to the bible. The bible is a factual account of actual human beings, but somehow this gets pushed into the back of the mind and is reduced to “nice stories” about somewhat mythical people, e.g. Apollo Mythology. (Nice Segway.)

One of the structures that Paul was sure to have seen was the Temple of Apollo, which still has remaining and standing ancient pillars.

(Paul thinking about "Paul", in front of the temple of A-pol-lo.)


The archeological dig has uncovered the street market where Paul would have sold his ropes and tents, as well as spent time teaching.



While in the adjoining museum, these three statues stood out to me because their original placement was inside the massive Roman Basilica. A Roman Basilica was not a Christian religious site but the name given to the town’s main meeting hall. When the hall was not employed for town councils or massive public announcements it was filled with vendors. These statues would have stood above the main floor in alcoves.



I really liked this second century Christian church, originally constructed of stone remnants from other Greek and Roman structures. I love this because the edifice obviously wasn’t the main focus. The structure was sound, as it has survived almost 2,000 years, but it is a functional space. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with beauty in church architecture, but I just find it interesting when that somehow becomes the point of spiritual awareness/enlightenment as opposed to the message or Word.



We finished the tour by visiting two water locations. First, the ancient sea port of Cenchrea, which Paul documents as his port of origin for the voyage to Ephesis.



An second the canal at Corinth, carved out of the solid rock and serving as the line of demarcation between the mainland of Greece and the Peloponnese peninsula and islands.