Mykonos, Friday

Traffic continues to amaze and amuse me as we tour Mykonos. Greek drivers seem to have a keen awareness of all the other drivers and obstacles in their path... and are so courteous. Why? Because, unlike Americans they pay attention to their driving! What a concept! Clearly these drivers feel safe, as I even noticed a kid texting while speeding through the narrow streets on a scooter.

We visited the island of Delos on Thursday, which made for a fun discovery of the island. The ancients really did have quite a development on the entire island, and the view from the highest point was pretty amazing. We achieved our goals of finding the birthplace of Apollo and the lions heads, which were quite cool. However, I must admit I’m not much of a museum person. Occasionally an artistic piece will hold my interest and I’ll just look and look, but otherwise I just take everything in at a normal walking speed. Sadly, the museum on Delos was largely closed off... so there wasn’t much to see. The best mosaic tile work remained on the site.

There is a Thai restaurant here, and I hope to get my fix... but Mykonos isn’t the simplest island to get around. I might be better off with a taxi. For the first time on this trip, I’m beginning to feel weary of the many steps and hills. Perhaps the other islands won’t be as bad. The hotel/villas with five levels and so many stairs are responsible for the calves of steel!

Unfortunately, I’m finding I don’t have enough energy to enjoy the Mykonos nightlife. A group of us planned to hit the Paradise Beach after Delos, but the heat got to S and the group finally dwindled to three. A couple of others and I shared a cab and enjoyed the roller coaster ride to the beach... all agreeing it made us happy we did not walk.

I was amazed that the beach scenario played out very much like the movie Euro Trip. Sure, there were a lot of sun worshippers, both male and female... but towards the “nude” end of the beach, it was mostly people that not everyone wants to see naked. No surprises there, but it was amusing.

After playing in the frigid water and enduring the gravel beach, I happened upon a couple of lovely brunettes, and sat down. They were a pair of New Zealanders working in London, but in Greece on holiday. After talking with them, my next Greek holiday will follow their example. They were staying in flats for as little as 10€ a night, basically going from beach/hotspot to beach/hotspot. If only I could have stayed on the beach and enjoyed the Ministry of Sound show that was playing later that night.

If not for that unfortunate jellyfish, a bit of hypothermia and a pissed taxicab driver, it might have been an ok beach adventure.

Now, we’ll see how the ferry to Crete goes.

Flickr: Mykonos | Greece