Mykonos - Friday 6 July, 2012

Happy Birthday Beccarah!

The birthplace of Apollo, Mykonos shines like a diamond in a Sapphire Sea.  Although the rocky soil at Mykonos looks austere, its cube-shaped white houses have a characteristic charm, contrasting as they do with the dazzling blue of the sky and the sea.  Myknonos belongs to the island group known as the Cyclades, since they form a rough circle around the sacred island of Delos, one of the religious centres of Ancient Greece.

Our ship docked at the Tourlos pier and we boarded a bus for a short trip downtown.  To see more of the island, hiring a vehicle was the recommended method of cheap transport.  So we walked over to the scooter/quad bike dealer and had a chat.   20 and we were off on quads to explore!  We drove out past the airport then down to Paradise Beach – Kez and David dipped their toes but the water was very cool.  Next, we drove to Kanalia, finding a delicious bakery for a snack before driving along the coast and back to the bike shop – a total of almost 3 hours!  We weren’t allowed to ride the quads into the downtown shopping district so we walked through Little Venice and Kastro. 

Walked to the windmills and the beautiful jewellery shop at the base.  Walked around Little Venice. 

Mykonos was always in danger of invasion by pirates, so the town and harbour are compactly built for defense.  You may hear that the tight, winding maze of streets was designed to confuse invaders, but it also does well to break the effects of the strong winds coming in from the Aegean Sea. 

The streets were very narrow and winding and it was a very windy afternoon!  Enjoyed a beer for  4.50 a pint and a huge pizza.  Shopped.  Managed to dip our toes in the Mediterranean on the walk back to the bus.  It was cold!