September 2 – 7, 2015 –
Leaving Paros, we motor-sailed north to Mykonos, one of Greece’s most popular islands. Mykonos is best known for its high end shopping and famous windmills. We anchored just off the main town with a perfect view of the windmills. While the island looks very dry and rocky, many years ago wheat was grown there and the windmills were used to generate power to grind the wheat. They are no longer used and wheat is no longer produced. Instead the classic windmills are a major photo spot for tourists.
Anchorage: Ormos Korfos, Mykonos, Greece: 37° 26.5′ N by 025° 19.5′ E: 15 to 20 foot depth close to shore, good holding but no protection from the North. Not good for meltimi or any northern winds. Dinghy ride to Old Harbour is long but OK in settled weather. No dinghy tie-ups in the harbor. There is room for several dinghies to land on the beach behind the quay, right in front of the restaurants.
From the sea Mykonos looks like a tiny village with just a few restaurants and shops along the waterfront. That is deceiving. Behind the waterfront is a relatively large warren of narrow streets filled with high end name brand stores and small cafes and restaurants. Every building is stucco painted classic white. Under foot the pathways are the classic irregular flagstone with white painted mortar–quintessential Greece.
Near sunset we wandered by a Greek church and watched as a bride arrived for her wedding. The tradition here is for the bride to arrive surrounded by family and friends and led by musicians. She had walked from the village up the hill to the church. The groom was waiting for her outside the front of the church where he presented her with her bouquet to carry before they entered the church.
Just west of Mykonos, is the island of Delos, a site not to be missed. Ancient Delos, from about 700-50 BC was the political and religious center of the ancient world. 
History has it that Apollo was born here. The Delos oracle was consulted before major decisions and it is almost as famous as Delphi. Adding to its power was the island’s location in the center of the Greek islands. That placed it in the center of the trading routes for the region. Currently, Delos is the largest active archaeological site in the world. 
Over thousands of years the town was almost entirely buried in windblown dirt and gravel. So far they have excavated only part of the site. Where excavation has not been done the surface looks like any barren island, except for a few protruding telltale stone structures. It reminded us of Pompeii, but with much more of the ruins still intact. 
More parts of homes are standing creating a clearer picture of the size and layout of the homes and the city as a whole. The temple of Apollo, the theater with seating and steps, and the five lions that guard the sacred lake are all quite intact, even the table that the butcher used for cutting up meat in his shop was intact. We highly recommend time there while visiting Mykonos. The two hours that we thought would be plenty of time proved to be too short. We would recommend to others to schedule to take 
the earlier ferry going over and catch the following round trip ferry for the return. In case you are thinking of taking your own boat, realize that private yachts are not allowed near the island, as Greece is, understandably, very protective of their antiquities since many have disappeared over the years. The 30-minute ferry takes tourists from Mykonos harbor to Delos hourly.
The next several days were spent on the south side of Mykonos in a small, well protected harbour. The sail was several hours all the way around, but the distance from Mykonos Town, where we were, could be covered by foot directly over the hill in less than an hour. This was a resort area and respecting an old proverb “when in Greece do as the Greeks” we decided to stay a full day and enjoy the beaches and the whole beach scene.
Anchorage: Ormos Ornos, Mykonos, Greece: 37° 25.2′ N by 025° 19.4′ E: 10 to 15 foot depth close to shore, good holding in sand but no protection from the South. Not good for southern winds or swell. Great dinghy dock–floating with plenty of room.
Sara was contacted that her father had passed away suddenly and our plans immediately changed. She made arrangements to head back to the U.S. as soon as possible while Bob stayed with the boat, as there were no marinas in the area where a boat can be safely left. We moved the boat to Naxos, the next island south. It had a town quay where Quintessa could be med-moored and Sara would have ferry service to Athens for her international flight.