Mykonos, Greece

Mykonos, a little island that has reached epic levels of popularity for its clubs, late night partying, dancing till dawn. and all day beach parties.  However, Mykonos's party lifestyle is primarily reserved for the summer months, and my calendar says November, so the place was pretty quiet. 

I circumnavigated Mykonos by motorcycle. It took about an hour.  I then decided to check out town center of Chora, the main population center on the island.  In town there were about 20 closed bars and restaurants and two open ones to serve the 10,000 or so locals who inhabit the island.  After wandering a short while, I found a little section of subdivision of the town called Little Venice that I wanted to check out.  The area was scenic on the outside, but the interior passageways and buildings were a bit dirty and unkempt.  In about 2 minutes of walking, I emerged on the other side of town and came upon a set of old windmills.  The structures were scenic and held my interest for about 10 minutes as I walked around them, took pictures, and read plaques.

I walked back into the center of town, found an open convenience store, grabbed a drink, and asked the proprietor if there was anything to see on the island. His response, did you see the windmills?  I answered with a "yup."  Did you see Little Venice?  Again with a "yup."  Did you  know the  coffee shop over there has the internet?   I got the picture.  Basically, if you are a twenty something, you can come here in the summer and party 24 hours a day, and that is about all this island has to offer.  To be honest, I really expected more.  With an hour to go until the ferry arrived, I headed over to the coffee shop, surfed the net, had a piece of apple pie, and reflected upon my day. 

The Windmills of Mykonos 

Little Venice, Mykonos

Passageway in Little Venice

Stage Distance: 0 mi (0 km)

Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 21,923 mi (35,359 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece

Syros, Greece

I have arrived in the beautiful Greek Isles, to be particular, I am in the Cyclades, a small group of roughly 220 islands just south of Athens.  I am currently on the Island of Syros, which serves as the legislative hub of the island group.  The island can be circumnavigated in about an hour.  There are seaside views from most every location.  The Cyclades sit in the Agean Sea, a body that is about as blue as can be, and when up close, crystal clear.  There are a couple of dive outfits on the island.  I may stop by to inquire about possibly taking a dive or two.    

Although, there is a short runway (3,500') that handles small commuter flights to Athens and Thessaloniki, the primary way to travel to Syros is via a ferry from Athens, which brings in most of the people, vehicles, and commercial goods. It is off-season, so the ferry runs just once a day.  Getting around the islands is quite cheap, and there are plenty of ferries to jump. Mykonos, a vacation hub for all of Europe, is a 1.5 hour ferry ride away.  A $14.00 ticket will get both the motorcycle and myself one way.  I am not sure I understand how they make money, especially off-season.   

Stage Distance: 104 mi (167 km), an additional 73 miles (118km) by ferry.
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 21,923 mi (35,359 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece

Delphi, Greece

Started making my way down to the Greek Isles.  It is a rather long trek from Thessaloniki, so I cut the journey into two days.  Day one brought me into the small and rather empty town of Delphi.  I am sure that in season there would be a considerable amount of people milling about, and checking out what the famous Oracle was up to, but on Halloween, there were just four pensioners, two punk rockers, an Asian couple, me, and a bunch of empty restaurants.  To be honest, I prefer touring out of season.  No long lines, no people in your shots, hotels are 70 percent off, and it is not 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8C) outside.

The City of Delphi is a quaint little town, and most famous for its 1,200 year (800BC to 400AD) female resident, Pythia, the High Priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, aka the Oracle of Delphi.  The question that I have is this, why did she leave in 400AD, or approximately 25 years after the temple was destroyed by an earthquake.  One would think that an Oracle, and not just any Oracle, but the most powerful Oracle to have ever resided in Greece, would have seen the earthquake coming, and would have left in 374AD or earlier.  Just saying.

Delphi Valley

Remnants of the Temple of Apollo

Amphitheater in foreground, Temple of Apollo in the background

I head off to the ferry terminal tomorrow, then onto the Greek Isles. 

Stage Distance: 235 mi (379 km)
Total Distance Traveled: 21,819 mi (35,192 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece