When I traveled to Athens last year, I liked the city so much that I had promised myself that I would make a trip out to some of the Greek Islands soon. Sure enough, fifteen months and a few trips to other destinations later, I took a number of connecting flights out of JFK International Airport and ended up on the famous island of Mykonos. I met up with my childhood friend Irene and her beau Dave there.
Mykonos is known by the locals as the "Jewel" of the Aegean Sea. It is perhaps the most famous of the islands in Greece and one of the world's most popular holiday resorts. The island is a grand example of unique cycladic architecture set around a picturesque fishing-village bay. Totally whitewashed organic cube-like buildings fit closely together to form a kind of haphazard maze of narrow alley- ways and streets. Interestingly, these streets and alleys were built this way to fool the German pirates in the olden days. The earthen colors of the bare hills which surround the town's gleaming whiteness is set between the aura of an incredibly blue sky and even deeper blue sparkling sea, creating such a breathtaking sight for passengers aboard a ship approaching the island.
Mykonos is also an island famous among the Italians. Every year from early August to early September, you will see Italians on every corner of this island. This would help explain why besides Greek foods, you will find a great variety of pasta dishes and pizzas offered by the restaurants on this island. Because of its widespread popularity, Mykonos is more costly to visit than other Greek islands. But there is also more to do here than other islands. From the beautiful beaches to the bustling nightlife, Mykonos is an island not to be missed if you want to take a vacation on the many islands of the Aegean Sea.
The beaches in Mykonos are beautiful and lively. Among the beaches on the island, the prominent ones (at least with the tourists) are Paradise Beach, Elia Beach and Super Paradise Beach. I witnessed a long stretch of bars and restaurants located along these beaches and most bars blasted club music every afternoon while patrons danced on the bar. But since nothing is ever perfect, I also witnessed an eyesore - an 80 years old grandpa with a semi see-through leopard- print sarong wrapped around his waist dancing on one of the bars as he wrapped his arms around girls of his granddaughter’s age!
Close to Mykonos is an island called Delos. A twenty minutes- boat ride from Mykonos will take you to this island filled with ancient Greek buildings and sanctuaries. According to mythology, Delos was the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. We took a half-day trip there, took a lot of pictures and came back just in time for lunch.
After spending four days in Mykonos, we boarded a five-hour ferry to Santorini. While Dave and Irene were busy reading their novels, I was busy chatting with this couple from Sydney who was coming to New York for their first time after their trip to Santorini. After we exhausted all of our conversation topics (including aboriginal tribes in Australia and the pesky roaches in my apartment), I took some time to enjoy the view of the deep blue Aegean water and the various islands that we passed by. The view of Santorini as we approached the island was most impressive- villages with whitewashed cube like buildings sitting on the cliffs of the mountains. Frankly, the island offers one of the most breathtaking landscapes in the world. It actually sits on the rim of a volcano that exploded about 1600 BC.
Santorini offers the most beautiful views (its sunset views are definitely a must-see), it also offers some interesting beaches, such as the black sandy beaches like Perissa Beach and Kamari Beach or the red sandy beach like Red Beach. While you will find restaurants and bars along some of the beaches here, Santorini does not seem to offer a nightlife as lively as that of Mykonos. It is a vacation spot that is more suitable for couples such as Dave and Irene than for a single guy like myself (by the way, you cannot even find a gay bar on this island!).
Three books, a couple of sunburns, a few embarrassing incidents (experienced by either Irene or myself – these I will save for great conversation topics at Parties) and forty- something bottles of Mythos (a famous Greek beer) as well as Heineken later, it was time to go home. Leaving with a heavy heart, I knew I would miss the beautiful weather and the fun times I had with Irene and Dave. I also would miss the great people that I met on this trip, including this Italian couple who stayed at the same guest- house that I was staying at in Mykonos. If you have not been to the Greek islands before, consider going to one of them soon. Be it Mykonos, Santorini, Peros, Naxos, Ios or any other Cyclades islands, I am sure you will have a great and relaxing time there. I believe these islands were once where the Greek gods let their hairs down and frolicked with joy. With such beautiful weather and scenery, who could blame them?
