Chiro and Mykonos

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Next stop Chios, a small island once captured by the Turks during the time of the great Ottomon wars. Here we head to the acropolis, the highest point on the island, to visit a deserted village. This Village, once the home of 20,000 Greek citizens, was completely abandoned more than 500 years ago. The Turks attacked the village and either killed or enslaved all the locals. Since that day, no one has lived in the village, save for one old woman, whom we met. She is the squatter caretaker of the village. It was amazing to see a village build in 1100's just abandoned as if everyone left yesterday. Some of the buildings had fallen down over the centuries but others, like the church at the very top of the hill, just looked closed for the evening. We were given some free time to photograph and explore the site. From here we took the bus to another version of the village, build in the same time but fully inhabited. The streets were narrow, but our excellent bus driver somehow managed to get th bus down some very amazing tight turns. A little time was set aside for shopping and lunch at a local resturant. From there we headed to the city of Mestica where we saw the farming of mestic trees. Mestic is a resin, much like maple syrup, that is harvested from the million trees on the island. The mestic is used as a candy, as an ingredient in gum and cosmetics and many many other things. Mestic Trees are so unique, that they only grow on the western side of the island. Trees planted on the eastern side of the island whither and die. Trees planted on other islands also die, so there is something magical about the western slope of the island for this tree. Anyway, mestic is the main product of the island. Every July the farmer cleans the ground under the tree and covers the ground under the tree with calcium carbonate. Then, with surgical precision, he makes many small cuts into the bark of the tree. The tree then "bleeds" the resin onto the ground until September. The resin must be collected before the first rains or it will be ruined. The small mestic resin beads look like drops of clear liquid which are collected and cleaned by hand. One kilo of mestic sells for 70 euros. So it takes alot of resin to make any money. By 2:30 we are back on the ship for our cruise to Mykonos and our last stop on our tour. Mykonos is the party island, made famous by Jackie and Aristotle Onassis. Before them, the place was a sleepy vacation spot. Now it is all high end hotels, resorts, beaches and nightlife. The island comes alive after midnight. We hit the island at 5:30 for a nice walking tour of the local area. One of the more famous areas is called Little Venice, for this area was built by the Venetians, complete with windmills, to process grains for sale to Italy. I must say the Isalnd is beautiful. It is the only island in Greece, that by law, all buildings must be painted white. Mykonos is also a harbor town and once the home for one of the largest Greek fishing fleets. The fishing fleets are still there as are the 437 registered St. Georges Greek Orthodox churches. St Greorge is the patron saint of sailors, hence so many churches. We dined at a local restaurant overlooking the beach and waited for the sunset. Sunsets in Mykonos are spectacular as the island faces due West and the sun sets in the middle of the open sea. After dinner, the show begins, so we head over to the sea wall and snap photos as the sun slowly sets on the horizon. It was beautiful, and as the last rays of the sun departs, everyone claps, an indication that it is time for the nightlife to begin. Since we are not into the bar and nightclub thing, we do a little more shopping and walking as we slowly make our way back to the boat for our last night of cruising. So ends a most enjoyable day and a spectacular 7 days sailing the Aegean.

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