Part 2 - Mykonos

Mykonos

21 September 2009 – 22 September 2009
Mykonos is part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. There are 9,320 inhabitants. It is believed that the island was named after a local hero, who is considered an offspring of the god Apollo and was worshipped locally in antiquity.

Today we got up at 5.30am and headed to the Metro station to jump on a train and head to Pireaus

Wharf which is where the ferries leave for the Greek Islands. Unfortunately we didn't pre-book seats, which I would recommend for the long ferries (this one was 5 hours), so I found a possie outside with my trusty blankie braving the elements to have a snooze whereas Casey did the traveller’s hunch over a table inside.

A little later in the morning when the sun came out --->

When we were planning for our trip we did a lot of investigation into tours, books, etc. We were told by everyone that the best thing to do is just cruise! Don’t pre-book your accommodation or ferries as its easy peasy when you get there. People will just be lining up at the docks with places to stay. Ok we said, we are independent woman, we can go on holiday and not pre-book accommodation, gulp! As we were due to dock we grabbed all our things and hoped what everyone said was as easy as they said. Fortunately for us it was. As soon as we got off the ferry all these people came towards us, bombarded us (I felt like a celebrity) offering accommodation. We took the first guy who talked to us, Bobby, because he was patient and didn’t pester us and also because it seemed that they were all the same price. We were travelling just off peak season so we paid 20 euros each per night, which we thought was pretty good – Mykonos was the most expensive place we stayed but it was our favourite. You will find as well that the people will drive you to and from your accommodation which is great! No wondering around in the dark looking for your hostel.

That avo as we were close to town we decided to walk down the hill (note: most islands are hilly!).

We had a look around the harbour, the famous Greek Island windmills - The windmills of Mykonos are the trademark of the whole island. They can be seen from every point of Chora (main town) village and they are the first thing to see when the ship gets close to the harbour, as they stand on a hill overlooking the area. There are 16 windmills today on Mykonos. Most of them were built by the Venetians in the 16th century and till the early 20th century, they were used to grind the wheat. They were an important source of income for the inhabitants and supported a lot the economy of Mykonos in difficult times. With the evolution of economy, their use gradually declined till they stop working in the middle of the 20th century -

We also saw the filming of “Wog Boy 2: Kings of Mykonos” - is set to star both Nick Giannopoulos& Vince Colosimo (Vince also starred in Underbelly) and is set for a 2010 release. The sequel will be filmed on location in both Melbourne and Greece, and will involve Frank (Vince Colosimo) following Steve (Nick Giannopoulos) to Mykonos in order to collect a family inheritance. It was pretty exciting and we even had a word to Vince.

22 September 2009
This morning we slept in (after having to get up at 5.30 the previous morning) and then went to the beach. Unfortunately for us we caught the wrong bus and this beach wasn’t as good so we jumped back on another bus and headed to Paradise Beach. In peak season this beach would be packed but it was quietening down so wasn’t that bad for us, we managed to secure two chairs right near the edge of the water and spent the afternoon reading, sitting in the sun and just generally relaxing.

That night we decided to get dressed up and see what the Mykonian night life had to offer. We had a few drinks at home and headed in around 9.30ish. When we got there we were told it was far too early for dancing and that midnight was the time to go out. Ok then, so we went to a busy restaurant called Nikos for dinner. We were seated close to a local man and ended up chatting to him through

dinner. He grew up in Mykonos but now lived in San Francisco. He was really nice and chatted to us about growing up on the island, helped us with some Greek letters, shared his wine and even paid for our dinner! After dinner he took us to his brother’s bar that had amazing views of the windmills, where we had some drinks, listened to some traditional Greek music and watched some Greek dancing – I even got dragged up for a bit of a dance. We then headed to the Downunder bar for a shot before heading to Scandinavia Bar where we spent the rest of the night dancing and chatting to Syros who told us he was a male Gigolo!

When it was time to go we decided to try and walk home, now imagine the streets of Mykonos in the day time like the labyrinth, how’s about in the dark with two semi fully intoxicated girls. I was convinced we could find the way home, but after we ended up in sooooo the wrong direction, I agreed to get a taxi home.

- being a bit silly on the way home!