Mykonos

I was wrong when I said Turkey was next. It was really Mykonos.

We only had a half day in beautiful Mykonos. Still making up time for the lost engine!

Mykonos is too small for the ship to dock so it was our first port for tenders to be used. Tenders are just lifeboats which are used to transfer passengers and any crew ashore. I always like tender ports because you get a usually rough boat ride which I enjoy. Once in North America our tender became lost in thick fog. It was exhilarating wandering around in the whiteness.

But not so in Mykonos. It was a warm sunny day and the water was crystal clear and inviting. We'd gone dressed for swimming but first wanted to explore a little.

We came into a stone jetty with a tiny Greek Orthodox church built on the end. From there we had a wonderful view of the town. I fell in love with it at first glance. It is very picturesque with typical white rendered houses with blue painted doors and trims. It looks exactly like those prints of Greek villages you see in places like the Reject Shop. Come to think about it - the photos were probably taken in Mykonos which is why the prints look like it! Duh!!

Mykonos is where that movie about the English housewife and which stars Pauline Collins was made. Can't remember what it was called. The beach where most of the action took place is on the far side of the island. We hired a taxi (waited in line for the Mercedes rather than the Toyota) and set off to have a look. The beach was pretty but we didn't swim there as we wouldn't have been able to get back to the town if we'd let the taxi go.

There was also a beautiful little monastery on way which we visited and we then headed off back to the town. The waterfront is lined with bars, shops and market stalls selling freshly caught fish and colourful fruit, vegetables and flowers. The way is crowded with holiday makers and locals out to do their shopping while tiny trucks just wide enough to fit one big fat Greek workman in the cab wind their way through the throngs, beeping loudly whenever someone is too slow to move out of the way. Further around, the pebbly beach is home to overturned painted dinghies of every bright primary colour and then there is a beach for swimming. It's joyous, noisy and fun and I loved it.

Behind the waterfront are narrow streets where you can find beautiful (and expensive) jewellery. Much too expensive for us but Patricia and I ogled it anyway. Every little shop had something I wanted but I settled for a hand-painted olive dish for 15 Euros. Still expensive but a nice memento of one of my favourite ports so far.

Next stop was back to the waterfront way to one of the bars. Alan and I had a Greek coffee each and the others had beer. The drinks came with a plate of nibbles so we whiled away a little time watching the passing parade, sipping and nibbling.

Then it was time for a dip in the Mediterranean. It was COLD and a bit uncomfortable underfoot but still enjoyable!

Back along the stone jetty for a boat ride back to the ship.

I loooooooooooove Mykonos.

Off to Istanbul.