Tuesday, I booked a tour which took me to see more of the island than just the town of Mykonos (also called Chora). It was great to see more of the countryside of this island which is about 25 square km. Mykonos has 15,000 permanent residents in the winter – 4.000 of them are foreigners. In the summer though, the island hosts over 50,000 people in 1 day. Also, that can be increased significantly when there can be up to 8 cruise ships in port at a time. It can really stress the resources on the island.
We started with a land tour of the island with the first
stop being a famous lighthouse. The Armenistis
Lighthouse, a secluded attraction with scenic views, it was built in 1891 as a
tribute to the rich maritime history of Mykonos island while remaining fully
functional today.
From there, we drove
through the countryside seeing villas owned and/or rented by the "rich and
famous" plus through areas where locals live.
Like elsewhere, the emergence of AirBnBs has caused issues for housing
and its prices. We stopped at a little
village called Ano Mera to get a sense of the part of the island that is less
touristy. There is a monastery here
although no one in the group chose to visit it.
The village also has the only yellow house on the island as it was owned
by a rich Venetian family who didn’t comply with the law that all buildings be
painted white and blue in honour of the Greek flag. (The following day our driver to our wine tasting told us an alternative story about the house but I didn't quite understand him.) Originally, houses were painted white using the
calcium from limestone as a way of making the homes more hygienic during the
various diseases that hit the island. That is the same reason the paving stones in the streets have white paint around them. It certainly makes for attractive alleys! We continued, on stopping at a beautiful beach, Kalafati, one
of the ones that it is still public. Andrea
said that many of the more famous and private beaches can cost upwards of $500
a day to use; of course, that would include a sunbed!
With that, our tour in the van ended with a
stop overlooking the town which allowed for some postcard-perfect photos. Then, we were dropped at the top of the town
to continue the tour on foot.
We visited
the famous windmills, walked through Little Venice – which I wasn’t able to do
the previous day because of the waves washing up onto the walkway. From there, we just explored the town’s
little alleyways. Andrea said in the
middle of summer it was almost impossible to walk through them without being
carried along in whatever way the crowd was going. That sounded awful!
The next stop was the Church of Panagia
Paraportiani. Situated at Kastro area
(in Mykonos Town) overlooking the Aegean Sea, imposing Panagia Paraportiani is
a 14th-century church that impresses with its plasticity, unique shape, and the
history behind its construction. The
name is translated as Church of Our Lady of the Side Gate (or Virgin Mary
Standing Next to the Entrance Door). It
is perhaps the finest example of Cycladic architecture, with whitewashed walls,
minimal aesthetics, a daring style, and smooth-edged corners. Also, with literally no external decorations
whatsoever and a large dome that dominates the building as it nearly merges
with the roof of the church, it is one of the most photographed churches in the
world that has also been classified as a National Monument. Our tour ended in the main square on the
seafront. I'd arranged to get a pedicure later in the afternoon and, after that, I got a taxi to the town as I wanted to have an early dinner. The walking tour had pretty much done my back in with all the standing around. I ate dinner at Kazarma, a restaurant next door to the one I'd eaten at the previous evening. I only had spanakopita and dessert along with some wine. The strong wind made any thought of walking back in the dark and cold a dumb idea so for 10 euros, I took a taxi back.
The following day, for a change of pace, I went on a tour to a farm to do a wine tasting. This was another Viator tour. There were only three of us on the tour which made it much more interactive with Staphos, the owner. The others were two women from Georgia, a mother and daughter. It turned out the daughter plays in the WNBA and, of season, plays in a league in Turkey. They were fun to chat with.
We
thought the tasting would be 2 hours but it was actually 3. We got bread, cheese, cubes of smoked turkey,
cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber and bread to go with the wine. Staphos told us that the wines from his farm
are named after the different winds on Mykonos.
I have no idea what they are in Greek though. We tasted a white (very good), a rose
(lovely), a light red (not my favourite) and another more full-bodied red. After the tasting, we also got to see some of the animals on the farm.
Back in Mykonos, after a quick stop at the viewpoint where my tour took us yesterday, I walked back down into the town from where the driver dropped me. I
wandered more of the narrow alleyways and went back up to the windmills to get
some photos of them from a different angle.
From there, I walked to Little Venice (in the background of the last photos) and decided to stop at one of the
bars there for a drink. I sat at the
water’s edge at one called Veranda – which I am sure is really hopping in the
summertime! – and ordered a Negroni from a guy named Ulysses from
Albania. He was so sweet, young (22) - and gay. At first, I thought I’d come back Thursday to
have dinner there and watch the sunset; however, it was already 4:15 so I
decided to stay and have something to eat there then instead as the sun sets before 5 pm. I have to say sitting there was magical watching the sun set and
listening to the water lapping at the shore.
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I asked Ulysses if people ever fell into the water from the terrace and he said, yes two this year!
Then I asked him about phones, wallets and handbags. He said "yes, girlfriend, all the time!"
Thankfully, I was careful with my stuff! No drama here. |
I said good bye to Ulysses who hugged me a few times and then headed up one of the little alleys where I found a jeweller selling earrings that would match the Greek opal pendant I bought in Rhodes last year. He gave me a very good deal. With that, I headed to the Reya restaurant for some baklava and another glass of wine. After that, I got them to order me a taxi as it was, again, dark, cold and very windy.
As I've mentioned it is definitely the end of the season here and on my last day there were no cruise ships in so almost all of the shops were closed. That was too bad as I'd seen a sweatshirt in a shop on my walking tour but the shop has been closed ever since. So, when I walked into the town on my last day, the town seemed very empty. The bonus was that taking pictures of the pretty streets with no people in them was easy. However, it was also a bit boring. 
I stopped for lunch at Raya, deciding I didn't want to go far in the cold and dark in the evening. The waiters there seem to know me as many came by to say hi. I never think of myself as particularly memorable but, in some way hopefully good, I must be. Even Ulysses came over and hugged me as I walked through Little Venice earlier. I've got to say everyone here has been super-friendly. I am not sure it would be like that in the high season but it is certainly something I will specifically remember about this place. Below is Petros who works at Raya saying good bye.
So, tomorrow I leave Mykonos and head to southern Turkiye for the last leg of my Mediterranean odyssey. The weather there is, thankfully, at least 4 or 5 degrees warmer than here so I get to extend my summer a little longer. I am ready for warmer weather; for a change of scenery although I love being here; and, for some company.
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