Mykonos
Who has not heard of Mykonos? The picture-book Cycladian style houses, ancient windmills and narrow winding alleys, the cats, boutiques, and nightlife. Did I really want to go there? No. But the best flight out was from there and I thought why not see for myself what not to see when in Greece. Lowest of expectations. And boom, first impression was matching those expectations perfectly: overpriced port transfer, overpriced impractical designer hotel, tourists everywhere (…as though I am not one of them…) pushing through the streets en masse, blocking spaces with selfie stops, following guides who are holding up umbrellas and sticks. Three city-sized cruise ships towering over the port. Noise. Music blaring. I thought I’d suffocate in these narrow paths. Get me out of here. Get me back to Ampelas (Paros) even if there is no mini market. The mind labeled the experience immediately as a mistake. I was traveling with my beloved cousin and felt bad for dragging her into this energy-sucking mess. Well, I thought, not all trips can be perfect, not everything can always unfold beautifully, the sun can’t always shine. But darn it, this was annoying.
We moved further away from the crowds into ever narrower alleyways and came upon a place near a chapel with people sitting outside under awnings chatting in pairs or groups. Greeks. Real Greek people. Two men sat with their backs against the chapel steps on colorful cushions having a drink. This was it, this was our place. We celebrated the pleasantness of the situation with a glass of Ouzo (a mistake in retrospect but we were a bit giddy) and home made soft ice cream. We too chatted. It rained hard, we went inside and continued chatting. We came out and the streets of Mykonos Town were shiny and empty, the sky dark, the sea lapping on shore peacefully. We had arrived.
The next day we had plans to explore the island a little, take a bus to a town in the center, but we did not and just meandered and let ourselves drift pleasantly in the fierce wind through the part of town called Little Venice, eventually towards a spectacular sunset. The sea was choppy with white caps, some waves leaping over the low sea walls spraying people.
Then, thinking we’d had a great day already, returning to the design-flawed fancy hotel, we discovered they had a roof top terrace bar and holy cow, the views, the vibe, the discreet warm up-lights, the cushy seats, the last red-orange band of the sunset right there. We had a good laugh and a good mocktail to celebrate again how very fortunate we were.
Mykonos Town is stunningly unique and beautiful and every person on earth should see it once in their lifetime to admire it. One day will do. Probably not in the heat of summer and probably not with a group of cruise ships in port if you can help it. But. See it if you can.
