Chapter 2 - Vacation Memoirs

Chapter 2 - Going to Mykonos....The pic is actually a porch that we found in our hotel that I had saved as a desktop on my pc before the trip...We happened to find it when on Mykonos!

Friday – 9/12/08
Up early in the lobby, we waited for our 6:30 am pickup. I spied a public laptop & the clerk gave me a password without charging the usual 1 Eu/15 min since we’d checked out already. I dashed off a couple of emails to let our families know we were still among the living!

Our p/u came promptly & whisked us off in Grecian style navigating the emptier streets up to 110 km per hour! Even at that, cars & scooters flew past us.

The port where the ferry transfer would be was a cacophony of traffic, sound & organized chaos. The taxi stopped & a young woman directed us to the huge vessel. She suggested we not store our baggage since claim tickets aren’t given & someone may take the wrong bag amongst the thousands of bags. We got onboard to find an escalator that took us up to our level of seating. It was amazing to see how quickly everyone was boarded. We asked directions to our reserved seats. Thousands of passengers were distributed between 2 levels, with some people having purchased economy tickets. I called them “floaters” because they would take empty reserved seats and appear surprised when the real owner of the seat would show their tickets. They moved without real incident, though. We racked our suitcases.

There were a couple of food counters that provided us with provision. I also enjoyed the first of many “frappes”…unlike anything Starbucks offers. It was strong instant coffee that was whipped up, a tsp of sugar, served over ice and a splash of canned milk. It created a creamy froth on top that was very satisfying and good for a wakeup assist!

I wore my Seabands that I bought to help with motion sickness. The wristbands, worn to put pressure on points to minimize that queasy feeling, really worked for me! Even on later rides when the seas were rougher, I could depend on them to keep me feeling good. This first transfer to Mykonose was on calm sea, but I wasn’t taking any chances! No pills for me! The ferry boat launched on time @ 0740. We walked out to see the Athens port disappearing.

We returned to our seats to find a floater had landed! He left readily when we pulled out our tickets. The ride was relaxing & the people were interesting to watch. Flat screen TV’s played the typical Greek soap dramas one after another…We dozed a bit.

Later, I got up to stretch my legs and investigate the ship a bit more, finding a lovely business class section with lounging couches. There were tables and chairs on the dock outside where the economy ticket riders sat. A shop onboard held some Greek novels & souvenirs, although nothing grabbed my interest. We ate lunch after the 1st stop in Syros. The disembarking was quick & we were soon off to the 2nd stop, Tinos. Again, a quick stop & then to arrive at our stop in Mykonos.

As we pulled into port, the hillsides were covered with the white cubist structures with their pretty blue shutters…so picturesque. We hauled our suitcases down without the aid of the escalators which now served has stairs. We stopped onland & saw loads of hotel reps behind a designated barrier…all calling for the attention of the passengers to offer them lodging. We looked for our contact person and Dick spied him. He gathered our luggage up and we took off in a taxi.

Crazy driving is the continued norm here on Mykonos. We arrive quite breathless from the ride and dramatic surroundings. Check-in at the Hotel Adonis is quick & we are upgraded to a 1st floor suite. So huge compared to our Athens hotel. The white marble floor in the bathroom gave it a cool feel. The bedroom was huge & a seating area with a couch & couple of chairs rounded out our accommodations. A small patio was outside the French door & opened right onto the main street.

After organizing a bit, we set off to explore. We found a beach about 1/3 mile down the road. The water was cool and not many swimmers. We started back the opposite direction & found the narrow streets of hundreds of shops & and eateries in the form of the white cubist buildings all one on top of the other. Some of them were closed at 2pm and didn’t reopen until 6pm…not uncommon in the warm afternoons of summer in Greece. Many of the shops sell jewelry & there was a book in our hotel room regarding a famous Greek goldsmith by the name of Ilias Lalaounis. We stopped & enjoyed a drink and then off again.
We ended up at the water’s edge & the old windmills towered around us. We walked back, warm and tired from exploring. Back in the hotel, I rinsed my face and head off. We needed a nap and then woke to find some supper. We wanted a good gyro, but the search never availed us what we thought were gyros. We ended up at an outdoor tavern, enjoying our pork pita sandwich & then walked to find dessert. A gelato shop was so inviting with large glass cases full of so many unique flavors! We sat and enjoyed it in the air-conditioning…Back to the hotel porch to relax and journal!

Saturday – 9/13/08
Wow, slept so well!!! Even had to wake Dick at 8:30 am. He never sleeps that long. Went down to the Continental breakfast, and on our way found the exact spot that I had seen online & saved as a desktop pic on my pc that last couple of months! Had to take a pic! Breakfast was wonderful, always a full spread of hot & cold food. One thing, though, is not enough fresh fruits & veggies in the meals we’re having…Feeling good, though, especially with the walking and napping when we feel the need.

We find a lovely scent in the air and ask what the sweet-smelling flower bush is…Oleander. Then we head south toward the sea on a side road. Following the edge, we came upon an old concrete dock & rocks that we climb on. There’s a newer looking scooter that’s at the bottom of the clear water a ways out from the beach. We spy a rusty one on the shore that appeared to have been fished out long ago. We returned to the main road.

We start south on the road to the beach area of my desktop pic from the Internet. The distance is only about ½ mile. The farthest west end of it appears sandier & we make note of it for our swim later. The beach is called Megali Ammos.

We continue up a road on the hillside away from the beach, spying an Art studio near the top of the bluff…up, up, up we walk. The sun was hot & we worked up quite a sweat. We got there and find it closed!!!! So, we decided to head back north along the upper bluff road, enjoying the view of the sea and town below. Finally ending up at a familiar crossroad, we decide another gelato would satisfy us. Oh yum, it’s a good thing there aren’t any of these shops near our home!

Energized, we walk into the shopping district. Looking in shop windows and enjoying the scenery, we come upon 2 pelicans sunning themselves on a hillside!
Onward, we pass a bakery and bought some cheese-filled pastries for our supper and some biscuits for snacking. We could see the bakers in the side room removing the goods from the large ovens. Walking back to our room, we see unusual plants that are a canopy of cacti that rise 20-30 ft in the air. We enjoyed our bakery purchases, after rinsing off a bit! Dick said the cheese-filled bakery reminded him of the sauce from macaroni and cheese.

We prepare for our first beach outing and head out. Once there, we spied our first topless woman, about my age & size who really should have been wearing her top! As we got in the cool Aegean Sea, the coarse sand was hard to walk on. As it slid on our feet, it scraped…should have worn the water shoes. We edged out & could see sand bars that turned out to be shelves of a coral-like substance. Dick stepped on a sea urchin and let out a yelp! It left 5 prickers in his foot. I stubbed each of my big toes. Yep, we should have worn the water shoes…So, we floated to cool off a bit in the salt water. It still refreshed us, even with injuries! It was interesting to watch people, although averting our eyes when spying the chubby topless woman! We came out and laid in the sun to dry. Then, back to the hotel to rinse off the salt and dig out sea urchin prickers…
We ventured to see “Lana’s House”, a replica of life in Greece in the 19th century, but it was closed again even though the hours were posted. So we went to eat at Restaurant Alecfander, which sat right on the seaside veranda. The sun was setting & the air was finally cooling. A few cats strode between the table looking for scraps. As we ate, we witnessed one of the mini trucks fly down a ramp & abruptly stop short of a table. They moved the people & the table to allow the delivery truck through. Crazy Greek drivers…

Saw some lightening and a full moon. As we walked back, the lights of the streets & shops flashed off a few times. Suddenly, they were all out! We headed back to the hotel on the narrow streets with all the other people guided by the occasional flashlight & the full moon. All the white buildings helped us to see more clearly in the dark as well. Arriving at our hotel, the desk clerk said there was a problem at the power plant & that this didn’t happen often. As we sat in our room, the lights flashed a few more times, but we exhaustedly retreat to sleep. We will transfer to Paros in the morning.