To the Islands, Part II

My second day on the island I bought cruise tickets to Delos and Mykanos. Jason arrived the afternoon of the second day and we wandered around on Naxos. There are some interesting ruins in Naxos Town itself, which include a ruined Temple of Poseidon and an impressive Temple of Apollo which is visible from the harbor. The Temple of Apollo, which sits atop a hill to the north of the harbor, also overlooks a bay to the northeast where much of the ancient city on that part of the island lies underwater.
The morning of the third day we rose early in order to catch our ferry from Naxos to Delos and Mykanos. The first part of our day on Delos was nothing short of amazing. Almost the entire island is an archaeological sight, and there are some very impressive ruins, including some larger-than-life lion statues. Delos was in ancient times considered to be the location of the birthplace of the sun god Apollo, and the foundations of a large Temple of Apollo can still be seen today. Hellenistic and Roman religions were also prominent on the island, as the front of the Temple of Issus demonstrates. Although I am not a Classicist I was very impressed with the ruins on the island.
Mykanos is a different story. Although there may be some interesting archaeological sites on the island, for the most part it is just a party island. We spent a very hot afternoon on it, and I can say that the island has little to offer.
The fourth day we rented a car and drove to the interior of Naxos. We saw two "kouroi", or partially-carved marble statues which for whatever reason were not shipped away from the island. We visited the Church of Drossiani, which the guidebook claims is a third-century church (although it is very old, perhaps the oldest church I've seen, I don't think it can be that old). After that by chance we came across a distillery in the middle of the island which makes kitron, a liquor distilled from a fruit similar to a lemon (called kitron) which only grows on the island. The liquor is very sweet (the distillers add sugar to it, of course), and it is one of the better liquors I've tasted.
The afternoon of the fourth day we returned our car and took the ferry back to Piraeus and Athens. Jason left the next day and since then I have been passing the time in Athens until I leave for Turkey on Friday. I am very excited about this archaeological survey. Though I have enjoyed my time in Greece, I am ready for a change of scenery. I will stay in Turkey three weeks, until September 5th, and then fly back to Athens. I going to my first concert (other than classical music) ever on September 6th when Tool comes to Athens. Tool has been my favorite band since I was in high school, and I think that seeing them in Athens is going to be amazing. I'll stay in Athens until the morning of the 9th (my birthday...I can't think of better way to celebrate than flying from Athens to Newark--at least the first leg of the trip is on Lufthansa to Munich:), when I finally get to go back to the States. I'll fly back home to Nevada for a day or two and then drive across the country to Princeton just in time for the start of school on the 17th. That's a lot of traveling; I'll definitely need a day or two just to recover before school starts.
Yet I am really looking forward to this next year of school. As most of you know, I did not have a very enjoyable first year of graduate school. During my first semester in particular I was miserable; I did okay academically but I really hated my life. There are many reasons for this but I won't belabor them now. This summer has really invigorated me to an incredible extent and given back to me my joi de vivre. Until next time...