MYKONOS MAGIC

THE CYCLADES

The islands in the Aegean Sea, south east of mainland Greece are known as Cyclades and the most popular amongst then are Mykonos and Santorini. There are 220 islands there and some of the other popular islands are Naxos, Delos, Paros, Amorgos etc. Though many people visit Rome, Venice, Athens etc, a very few from India actually manage to visit these islands. These islands are included in some of the Mediterranean cruises but in those trips you barely touch the islands. We decided to visit these islands as we wanted a few days of relaxation near the sea after hectic sightseeing. Nothing pleases the kids as much as the beach and swimming pool. A little more research told me that Mykonos and Santorini were the most popular islands and for totally different reasons from each other.
The Blue Star Ferry starts for Mykonos at 7.30 AM from the port town of Piraeus, which falls near Athens. We had booked the hotel near the port in advance and reaching there was simple from Athens airport. All we did was come out of the airport gate, buy tickets (around 2.30 euro each), sat in bus X96 which dropped us at the port after around an hour. The hotel was just a 5 minute walk from there. The travel agent in India had quoted Euro 55 per person for transportation from the airport!
In the morning we walked to the Ferry and it took just 10 minutes. Kunal (my cousin) and I had apparently been feeling very rich that we had booked business class on the Ferry. The pre-paid vouchers (booked on internet) were exchanged for the tickets at a kiosk just near the Ferry. The ferry was boarded, the luggage left in the lower section, and we were away to Mykonos. (The cost per person on Ferry is around Euro 50.00 from Piraeus to Mykonos).
The business class looked good. It was located on the bow of the Ferry. The ferry was reasonably big (bigger than I expected) so was quite stable. The seating was on chairs around round tables. The ferry had nice snack bars which served beer as well.Soon we realised that though these chairs were nice to sit in, they were most uncomfortable to sleep in and we all needed a nap on this 6 hour journey. So very soon all of us had shifted to economy class and were napping on the aircraft like reclining seats.
It is difficult to sleep when you can see such brilliant blue sea out of the window. You pass several small islands. The ferry stops at a couple of islands like Paros and Ios and we got some idea about what Greek Cyclades islands were all about. Most of the islands were peaks of submerged mountain terrains and this meant that the houses were located mostly on top of the mountain islands. As most of the houses are white in colour, they glisten in strong sunshine. On the conventional Ferry, which is not too fast and which carry vehicles etc, one could go out on the deck and admire these towns perched up on the high cliffs. One could go up from the sea level to the villages/towns either by cable cars, vehicles or as is very common- donkeys!!

ANDRONIKOS

I had a few days of SMS correspondence with Marcos, the owner of Andronikos hotel in Mykonos before leaving Delhi. Kunal & Jyoti’s friends had stayed at his place and were full of praises. The price quoted by him was still too steep so I made a request for a reasonable price. Marcos was kind enough to accommodate us at a price which was still pretty high but considerably lower than what he had quoted earlier. We were picked up at the new port by the hotels vehicle and were driven up the hill to Andronikos hotel. We fell in love with his boutique hotel the moment we entered it. It was sparkling white with each facility done up beautifully. The paintings, artifacts and the upholstery added special dimension to the place. The rooms were spacious and realising that we were a family of 4, Marcos had very kindly upgraded us to a suite with 2 bathrooms- each with a Jacuzzi.
Our balcony overlooked the swimming pool and also overlooked the sea. The pool had sea water which I quite enjoyed but the kids kept tasting the salt and making a face. The poolside did not just have deck chairs but also had 4 poster beds and lounge sofas. The music changed according to the time of the day. It would have been a waste not to spend considerable time near the pool and I am happy to say that I did spend 6-7 hours by the poolside in the 2 days we were there.

THE WINDMILLS



Marcos took out a map of Mykonos and explained each and every aspect of the town to us. His sister-in-law Elena and the entire staff of the hotel were extremely helpful in all aspects and made sure that our stay was comfortable. Marcos helped planning our 2 day itinerary; arranged a car on hire for us; got us dropped at the main town on day 1 evening; suggested us some good restaurants; and gave us a late check out facility.
While Marcos was explaining the nuances of the ‘town’ to us, we did not realise that what constituted of Mykonos town were alleys of cobbled lanes which crisscrossed each other making the entire town into a maze. The town is a labyrinth of narrow winding cobbled streets, lined by white cube like houses having blue wooden shutters and balconies. It is said that this is greece’s most glamourous and expensive destination and is visited by film stars, designers and gossip magazine celebrities during summer.


The narrow lanes had lively atmosphere with bars, cafes, restaurants, galleries and shops on the sides and some were in a sort of a cave. The shops sold colourful and interesting merchandise and were tourist oriented. The colours were bright and delightful and roaming around the lanes was a pleasure. The ladies decided that things were too expensive to buy so it was even more pleasurable to walk without having to spend money on shopping. Vehicles were not allowed in the town and the southern part and the eastern part of the town opened out towards the sea and the harbour.
On the eastern side you come out to the houses and buildings which were partly in the sea. No wonder it is called the ‘little Venice.’ Just above the little Venice, at Chora Village, on a hill stand proudly the trademark of Mykonos- ‘the windmills.’ Many of them were constructed in 17th century and were used for grinding wheat. They have similar shop which is best exhibited in the photograph. From where the windmills stand one can have a great view of the harbour. Little Venice and the windmills are thronged by tourists to watch the sunset and the restaurants do brisk business. As you saw the sun go down, there was an unmistakable sound of music reverberating through the air as Mykonos prepared for its well known nightlife.

PARTY TIME


Mykonos comes alive at night. Actually certain parts come alive during late afternoon. Mykonos has a legendary partying status. There are many bars and pubs in Mykonos town and ‘caprice bar’ near little Venice has a good reputation for living it up and all day partying. ‘The skandinavian bar-Disco’ is eminently popular and so are many other night spots, but for the real action many people head for the beaches of Paradise and Super Paradise.
To travel to a beach one has to drive down steeply as most of Mykonos is situated on hills. Driving a car in a country which drives on the different side of the road from ours was not an easy job. This discomfort in driving ruled out driving at night so we tried exploring places during the daylight. Lucky for us, the sun sets after 9 PM in these places in summer.
The Paradise beach wakes up groggily. It is one of the smallest beaches that I have seen. After being used to the miles of sand on Goa and Phuket beaches, this small beach comes as a surprise. Things start stirring a bit at around 1 PM. Around 2-3 PM, the DJ comes into action at ‘Tropicana’ open air restaurant. He starts softly and lets the momentum build up. The party is in full swing at around 4 PM with people getting on to the bar and tables. It is time for some ‘dirty dancing’ and boisterous partying. The beer flows and so do the cocktails. We realise that we are the only people with the kids. We had noticed written somewhere ‘full nudity allowed’ but had erroneously not taken it seriously. We whisk away the kids & ourselves to our waiting car. But this was after enjoying the atmosphere and dancing for a couple of hours. The shack owner informs us that this is just a trailer to what happens in July and August (touristy season). He asks us to come back at around 1 AM to the Paradise club for partying and informed us that it had a gigantic swimming pool in the middle and partying there is the real partying as it breaks up only after sun rise. The day at Mykonos beaches is not morning-afternoon and night. It works as afternoon-night and morning. The day for these revelers ends at 7 AM.
For the kids the beaches were the most entertaining aspect of Mykonos. Swimming in the dark blue cold sea water was just the right thing to refresh you once you got used to the chilly water. We did all the beaches of this island (thanks to the car we had hired) and went up to North beaches as well where not many people go. It is just as well that we did all this in the morning hours when the rowdy crowd was fast asleep.