Mykonos

Flour mills of Mykonos

Island crawl had officially begun. We survived the organised chaos that was the Greek ferries. Our ferry was actually quite nice, and we somehow scored amazing seats right at the front with legroom aplenty. We reached Mykonos crossing the Aegean Sea that was as flat as tack. We later discovered that luck was very much on our side as it was usually windy and choppy. We came on a day with no winds AND no cruise ships in town! Getting off the ferry was like cattle being let out of the pen. The built in ramp was lowered while the ferry was still turning and manoeuvring into position. Once stopped, the final lower saw people rush out like shoppers on Boxing day sales. Somehow cars also drove off at the same time. We were at the back safe from the stampede watching with disbelief, amusement and awe all at the same time... 

Our guide for the day Angelo, was waiting for us at the port. It was a wonder that we saw him at all. Perhaps it was fortunate that he was very tall...Mykonos was not a particularly good looking island. Brown landscape scattered with rocks would be the best description. Amongst the dry rocky slopes were areas of white-washed buildings with a few concentrated strips of restaurants, shops and hotels. There were many beaches but from an Australian's perspective, they were not particularly beautiful. What was beautiful though, was the colour and temperature of the water which made swimming wonderfully refreshing. 

The 0700 ferry to take us from Piraeus (Athens) to Mykonos

Yup we just put our bags in the marked areas and hoped they were still there when we got off!

Seats 1A, 2A and 3A! Look at the leg room!

The rest of the passenger area

Very flat seas

Angelo clearly loved his island. He drove us around the whole island which included a walk about the old town, swimming stops, a coffee and dessert excursion, a wine tasting stop as well as a meal at a beach club. Angelo was hilarious and at times bordered on being inappropriate. It seemed like he had dated half the island and was related to the other half. The fact that he didn't take himself too seriously added a dimension of fun to the day. We were, however, glad to be able to check into our apartment after 8 hours. Despite being driven around we still managed to clock over 12,000 steps! 

Unfortunately, with Jonah experiencing an episode of migraine, we had to abandon plans to dine at one of the water front restaurants. Mal and I wandered the streets in the evening by ourselves and bought ourselves dinner to eat back at the apartment, which fortunately was in a prime location for people watching! The apartment was also spacious and comfortable. The only minor issue was that it had an odd smell (like canal water) which was also prevalent in the shop below. 

Panagia Paraportiani. A 5-in-1 church...and clearly an instagram spot! We had to be quick to get in before someone stands in front of it 

Little Venice

A very quiet Mykonos (the people don't start appearing til about lunch time!)

The light house

Our first swim

One of the highlights, a coffee stop near Ano Mera Square

Best greek coffee we've had. Says a lot as I don't generally like that style of coffee

Very light and fresh cheesecake, orange "pie" in the background. Truly tasty, it was hard to stop eating even though we weren't hungry

Second swim. By this stage, I had lost track of where we were on the island...

An unusual wine tasting stop...the vines were played classical music. We asked how they chose the music. The reply was "Vivaldi yes. Wagner no."

Even the donkey loved Angelo. She brayed as soon as she caught sight of him

The tasting was "generous" but the wine not so good according to Malcolm

The homemade lemonade though was amazeballs! A creative solution for straws - hollow pasta!

Meal stop at Tasos Taverna. I say meal because by this time, we had also lost track of time and it was neither lunch nor dinner...

Mussels cooked in wine

Really good eggplant dip

Simple but tasty grilled octopus and calamari

Our apartment above the jewelry store

Nice and spacious

With amazing views

Bedroom. Unfortunately Jonah's bed was in a little alcove/corridor but he was happy.

Bathroom

Off to get some sunset photos!