Slow Boat to Mykonos

We had to get up very early on Monday March 27 to catch our 7:30 a.m. ferry to Mykonos.  Luckily, there was a taxi stand about five minutes from our apartment in Athens.  We took a cab at 6:30  a.m. and arrived at the Port of Piraeus at about 7:00 a.m., giving us plenty of time to board the Blue Star Naxos.  The boat was larger than the BC Ferries we used to take when we lived in Victoria.  It was a very comfortable 5 1/2 hour ride.  It was very windy out and the sea was choppy, however the boat ride was fine.

The sea

The Ferry made stops at two islands before Mykonos.  The first was Syros, one of the smallest islands of the Cyclades, but as it is the administrative centre of the entire archipelago, it has the largest population.  It looked very pretty from the boat.  The second stop was Tinos, known for its sacred Greek Orthodox pilgrimage site.  It apparently has more that 40 villages scattered through its countryside.

View of Syros

View of Tinos

We arrived at Mykonos at 1:00 p.m. at the New Port, a short distance from the Old Port which is located in the town.  We were met by Apostolos, the host of our AirBnB.  He drove us to "The Petite Boutique Suite" which is at the edge of the old town, on a height, which gives us an amazing view of the port.  It is a lovely small white-washed house with two apartments.  His parents live in a house just below our place.

Disembarking at Mykonos

The apartment has lots of light and a small deck area.

The bedroom- lots of light and great view  (bathroom is off bedroom)

Living room and dining area - lots of light

Kitchen area

The view is spectacular from the apartment.

View from our window

Another view from our deck

There are number of picturesque windmills overlooking the port.  This picture is also taken from our apartment with a zoom lens.

Some of the windmills of Mykonos

Entrance to the apartment

According to Greek mythology, Mykonos was named after its first ruler, Mykons, the son or grandson of the god Apollo and a local hero.  The island is also said to have been the location of a great battle between Zeus and Titans and where Hercules killed the giants, having lured them from the protection of Mount Olympus.  Mykonos' nickname is The island of the winds.  This makes total sense.  

The population is around 10,000 and most live in the Mykonos Town (also known as Chora, The Town in Greek, following the common practice in Greece when the name of the island itself is the same as the name of the principal town).  During the high season, Mykonos is known as a party town, but that is not evident in the off-season, when the locals regain control.   It is also a huge gay-friendly destination. 

We unpacked and headed down to the port.  We are just a few minutes from a boutique hotel called The Belvedere which we had read about. It had a great sign in front of the entrance.  One of the staff came out to chat and took our picture.

Loved the Holiday Sin sign: Welcome to the Legend of Belvedere

We saw some roosters on the way down to the port and also passed by a windmill higher up in the town.  The windmills in Mykonos were built by Venetians in the 16th century to mill flour and remained in use until the early 20th century. Many have been refurbished and restored to serve as homes to locals and vaults for numerous Mykonian heritage documents.

Big roosters

Windmill on high

View of city near the windmill--- other windmills can be seen near the port 

We managed to take a wrong street and ended up taking the road we had driven up, which was not pedestrian friendly.  Once we reached the port, we walked around and found a restaurant for a coffee and a late snack.  The prices in Mykonos are very inflated.  We had a dish of Greek fava beans with bread and coffee.  It also came with some olive tapenade.  The food was fine, but we paid far more than we ever had in Athens.  However, the waiter was helpful in orienting us.  He noted that the streets were constructed in a maze to detour pirates.  No doubt it worked!

Fava bean dish at Kadena restaurant

We took a picture of the port just in front of the restaurant.  It was extremely windy on Monday.  Apparently the sea had been calm all last week (the locals call it Olive Oil, when the water is calm), but then turned exceptionally windy.  This is normal as the weather can change quickly.  We were happy to have the blue sky and sun.

Mykonos old port

We asked where a bakery was so that we could get some bread and treats.  After a few more false starts we found the bakery that was open late in the afternoon.  People are very helpful, but Mykonos is a maze.  The other thing we are discovering is that about 90% of the shops are still not open for the season.  Some are being worked on, others are being stocked with merchandize, but most are still closed.  Off season travel has its benefits, but also its pitfalls.  Last year, when we were in Taormina, Sicily, there were some stores still closed when we there, but over 90% were open.  We think that with Easter being so late this year, the season hasn't started yet, so most stores are still closed.

Narrow streets

Church in centre of town

We found our way back to the apartment, and Alain made a wonderful tomato and cucumber salad with olives, and pasta.  We had a Fix Greek beer with dinner.  There was a beautiful sunset from our window.

Sunset as seen from our apartment

A long travel day, but a good start to our visit to Mykonos.