We awoke this morning tendered off the coast of Mykonos as the announcements for which groups got to go first rang through the ship. Frank was deeply asleep and snoring to beat the band to I wandered up to the gym for an erg workout (a Friendly Canadian in case you were interested – 3×10 minutes with 2 minutes rest). then it was a quick shower and down to breakfast as the boarding group numbers continued to ring out. By the time we were finished with our meal and packed up to go ashore, they were giving out tickets for group 16 as the announcement came for group 15 to board. A few short minutes later, we were on the tender heading to shore.
And when we got there it was just like other days: 4 ships in port and 4 ships worth of tourists milling about trying to make the most of their 10 hours on shore. We didn’t book an excursion but we did have a plan: catch a local bus to one of the beaches and chill for a couple ofhours. I had looked up some information on beaches on Mykonos and had decided to head to Platys Gialos instead of Paradise Beach – the famous one where everyone else was headed. We needed to wander through Mykonos Town to get to a different bus stop and it was very fun trying to follow Google maps through another rabbit warren of small streets, through a Greek film crew and several restaurants. By the time we arrived at the bus station and bought our tickets (1.8 euro each, each way) we were melting.
Travel tip #11: no matter what your weather app says that the air temperature is, it doesn’t understand the strength of the Greek sun.
Before we left home, I had obsessive checked the weather forecast for the places we were stopping. I knew that we were going at the end of the season and I wasn’t sure that it would be warm enough to be able to do a beach day in on any of the islands. Frank’s weather app said it was 75 degrees which generally doesn’t scream “beach weather” to me but holy burnt to a crisp batman, was that sun hot!
The bus ride took about 20 minutes and walked onto a beach completely covered with sunbeds and umbrellas. And I mean completely. Nearly every inch of sand was covered with furniture awaiting bodies to occupy it. Every cafe on the beach had their own area and rented out the sunbeds for a variety of prices. We opted for the 10 euro each deal and settled in for a few hours of beach time. Given that we were so hot from walking through town and to the Yialo Yialo cafe where we rented our space, we couldn’t wait to jump into the sea.
And the water was FREEZING! It felt good but the juxtaposition of the sun’s heat and the water’s chill was mind boggling.
Travel tip #12: No matter how hot the sun is, the water will feel cold. And sometimes, it is cold.
We spent the next couple of hours lounging on the beach, mostly in the shade, reading and napping. Even though they would have brought us lunch on the beach, we wandered the few feet to the cafe to sit at a table and eat like real people. Frank opted for the chicken gyro and the local draft beer and I went with the Greek salad and white wine. And yum! Either this restaurant has an odd recipe or Greek salads in Greece don’t have lettuce. It was chunks of tomato, feta, peppers, cucumbers, olives, and capers. Absolutely delish!
When we had been fed and watered and were done napping and swimming, it was time to head back to town. We did the obligatory wander through various markets but nothing took our fancy so we opted to take an early boat back to the ship. We grabbed a drink, showered, and sat on our balcony and broke in the new backgammon board. Then cocktails while we watched the sun set and off to dinner. Tonight we vowed to stay awake long enough to catch the show in the theater and we made it! We enjoyed the aerial acrobatic show – at least until they decided to close the show with “Nights in White Satin” by the Moody Blues, a song I have detested
for decades possibly due to bad memories of it being the theme for my junior prom. But that’s a story for another day.
Today’s dubious data: 12,182 steps and 23 floors climbed. At least 7 glasses of white wine consumed. 1 Backgammon win and 1 loss.
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