Mykonos

Chug chug chug we are off to Mykonos.

Well, my cabin is on the 7th deck, and you can only really appreciate the chugging when you're down near the waterline. Up here it's more a discrete hum and a gentle vibration. Most of the time the guests don't notice it at all. Probably the employees housed down on decks with no Windows go chug-crazy by the end of their stint underway.

 

We are not the only cruise in town today. Our rival (or colleague) across the way is much smaller than we are. In Venice and in Katakolon we were not the biggest duck in the pond: there are some serious behemoths on the water. It's kind of fun though when you're on a big ship to be on the biggest ship around. No matter what you think of the pollution we put out, or the working conditions of the lowest crew -let alone their living conditions when they're not on duty - or the damage these ships do to the environment when passing through shallower areas; there's a sense of exhilaration to be so high up, to be so powerful.

Oh, and look at all the little shuttles coming and going like bumblebees to our twin flowers on deck 1. Today we have a whole variety of lauches, since the deal with the port of Mykonos is that we use the local launch services. In other ports where we were too embarassingly large to come all the way to the dock, we lowered our own launches.

I'm all for using the local services.

Today is our only full-day stop. Not just the morning. Not just the afternoon. Off the ship after breakfast, and on again for dinner. Finally: lunch using the local services! (oh, is this telling how much my life revolves around my stomach? I must admit...)

 

Our dining-table companions sign up for one of the organized excursions at every stop, and this time I can see the interest, but we considered too late to join in. They've gone for the 4x4 excursion where you drive your own vehicle in a rally to some private beach where lunch will be waiting, and around to some of the hinterlands. I'd like to get out of town, but no matter; with the whole day we'll have plenty to see on foot.

Besides, to go jeeping, as fun as that might be, you need to present yourself at the launch at some ungodly hour when it's probably barely light out. I am all for sleeping until the sun is properly up, and often much later than that (depending on the latitude and time of year, naturally). I'm on vacation here!

Eventually we do get going for a preliminary walk around the town. Very cute, not open just yet - I see they are not early-risers here.

The windmills mark the edge of town, and I'd like to go farther on, kind of get away from the tourist-mill town. 

We go just to the other side of this little spit of land, and there's the water all nice and blue and inviting. We pick our way through the rocks down to it. Oohhh, it's so nice and warm. Time for a swim!

But we didn't bring our towels & stuff...

No matter! The sea is calling, and my travelling companion (TC for short) is down to skivvies and out in the drink in a blink.

Ohhhh, that's good.

We stop for a coffee on the way back to the boat to get our bathing gear. The heck with going for a walk: the water is the thing here. Let's go for a swim.

While we're sitting, TC has a first experience with Bears. It's amusing to be here in Mykonos, the Mecca of Gay tourism in Greece, watching the groups of men go by. They're all so alike - white, middle aged, a bit of a paunch but not too much, new tans or perhaps some sunburn, shorts and t-shirts like a uniform, always with a smile and a wink. This evening the nightclubs will be rocking.

Lunch is okay. I liked a place on the water, and we were definitely there for the view, because the food was eh. Fresh enough, but bland and ordinary. How to pick, though? There are so many restaurants, every one of them catering to tourists that will likely not every come around again.

In the afternoon, a swim and some sun on the tiny, pebbly beach, then a look around the shops for something interesting on this last stop in Greece. The swim is interesting; there's not a sandy bottom, and the rocks are all slick with algae and seaweed so you really have to Watch how you move around in the shallows, until you can actually swim.
It may be September, but the water is deliciously warm, and the sun on the beach is not bad either. In the late afternoon, a bit of windowshopping, then it's back on the boat, y'all, time to head north again.