Off on our quad bike again this morning straight after some breaky. Had about two and a half hours before bike needed to be back so headed off to centre of the island to Ano Mera. Here is a very tiny village and a monastery. At this time of morning particularly quiet so perfect to see the ornate and quite opulent little church inside the monastery. The charming square that virtually was the village was quite peaceful - before the first bus load of tourists arrived - evidently from one of the three cruise ships now in port. As we departed spotted the third and fourth bus load arriving. Decided we had plenty of time to explore in another direction so rode along more winding roads, every corner revealing yet another lone church, beautiful villa or a magnificent view of the ocean set before those rugged barren hills jigsawed with meandering stone fences. Passed yards of goats, and occasional horses and donkeys, through Marathi and its reservoir. Wound our way up and back down to Panormos beach. Wow! Very quiet with staff obviously cleaning up in preparation of an afternoon onslaught - but never seen anything like it! The entire restaurant and bar were on the sand! And the beach was covered in cushions and bean bags with places to erect umbrellas. Could easily envisage spending some time here! Moved on to the next (and last) beach - Agari Sostis. Talk about the opposite end of the scale! The expanse of beach itself was totally bare except for literally a few lone beach goers. A few villas and other dwellings were located overlooking the beach, accessed by foot only, with a couple of evidently quite exclusive resorts nearby. In essence, every beach area seemed to have its own element of uniqueness.
Finished off our escapade via Mykonos Hora (town) with the three massive cruise ships strategically looming in port and along the coastal road past Megali Amos (pleasant open beach with an impressive hotel and taverna) and on to Ornos - the Korfus beach (very open) always amassed with kite surfers and wind surfers. Stopped at the scrumptious bakery for some lunch delicacies plus some refreshments from the supermarket. Returned the bike to Casa Bianca and relaxed by the pool for a few hours before wandering down to Ornos beach later in the afternoon.
Dinner tonight was at Porto Ornos - on the further end of the beach. Souvlaki and fish cooked in the oven - really delicious! Lovely last night on Mykonos!