Advertisement
Published: March 19th 2023
A thousand people cannot undress a naked person… ~ Greek Proverb
HE SAID... Today we were travelling east to
Mykonos– by ferry!
It was still dark when we woke on our final morning in Syros. We headed down to a tiny bakery store on one side of the bustling roundabout outside Hotel Archontissa and picked up some
bougatsa (custard phyllo pie) and
tiropitas (feta pies), which we enjoyed with a cup of tea on the small balcony of our third-floor room – which overlooked the roundabout below.
We loved our time on Syros. For a start, our hotel was in a very local part of town (about 700 metres from the island’s main ferry quay), which allowed us to witness the everyday life of Syriots. We loved the remote hills; the parched earth; the friendly locals; the extraordinary food; the rembetika music; the cooling wine; the neoclassical architecture; the melting sunsets; the warm waters of the Aegean Sea; the comforting sea breeze that engulfed us as we walked the wide streets and narrow lanes. We had completely fallen for the charms of this small island in the Cyclades, yet it was time to leave. Already!
We checked out of Hotel Archontissa, donned our packs and walked to
the main ferry quay. When our ferry arrived, the boarding process was crowded and chaotic. We all waited in an open air (but covered) holding pen for several trucks to reverse onto the ferry, then we were released. As the gates to the holding pen were opened, we rushed across the hot bitumen of the quay, clambered up the wide metal boarding platform – which the trucks had just used – and frantically stored our packs in open metal shelves in the cavernous bowels of the ferry. We’d boarded many ferries since arriving in Greece, and the process wasn’t getting any easier. If anything, it was getting trickier. However, we were travelling to Mykonos, one of the most glamorous islands in the Cyclades, so the tourist hordes were increasing exponentially.
With our packs buried under the weight of other tourist’s luggage on the open metal shelves, we made our way upstairs via two escalators, then climbed to a covered section at the bow (front) of the ferry and settled at a table. We’d managed to survive the ferry boarding, so the morning had been a success. If our packs managed to survive the ferry crossing, then all would be
well.
We left Syros at 11:30am, stopped briefly at the port of Tinos at 12:30pm, and arrived at the bustling port of Mykonos in the early afternoon. The disembarkation process was unruly, hectic and frenzied. Far more so than the boarding process earlier in the day at Syros. The tourist crowds at the New Port area of Mykonos were beyond belief. We walked off the ferry with packs in tow like a herd of sheep. Literally! We could have done with a few energetic kelpies to bark at our heels and keep us together. 😊
Having gathered our senses, we clambered into a waiting minibus and drove a short distance along the waterfront (roughly two kilometres) to the Aegean Hotel Mykonos, our accommodation for the next two nights. The sprawling complex was currently under renovation, and it was far from the madding crowd. Possibly a touch too far, to be honest. We were about one kilometre (a 15-minute walk) from Hora, the capital of Mykonos.
We had a magnificent view of the Aegean Sea from our hotel terrace, but it was slightly marred by a gargantuan cruise ship anchored directly in front of us. This was, of
course, not the fault of the hotel. Mykonos attracts multitudes of cruise ships, and we were looking over the harbour where they were all anchored. It was becoming evident that Mykonos offered a somewhat different island experience to Syros.
The hotel itself was basic but comfortable. Our ground floor room was small, but our terrace offered fabulous views – if you were prepared to look beyond the cruise ship flotilla. The hotel’s breakfast room was under renovation, so we were given a basket of interesting breakfast provisions that were more than ample for our needs. There was also a pool with deckchairs and panoramic views of the Aegean Sea. The ever-present ground-keeper was a little abrupt and suspicious of my constant requests for more teabags, but she was approachable enough. So all-in-all, we were very happy.
We dropped our packs in our room and walked into Hora, which is also known as Mykonos Town. On arrival, I wrote
absolute madness in my notebook. It’s remarkable how a simple two-word entry can portray so much! Agia Anna, a tiny beach on the heaving Polikandrioti thoroughfare, was so crowded it beggared belief. The waterfront promenade was crowded. The waterfront restaurants
were crowded. We were walking shoulder-to-shoulder with tourist hordes, the majority of whom had been ‘taxied’ in from the cruise ship flotilla anchored in the harbour. Every nook and cranny of Hora was teeming with visitors, ourselves among them. The contrast with Ermoupoli, the main town centre of Syros, was so brutally stark.
I was in shock. I hadn’t seen crowds like this since we visited the Acropolis in Athens. But I decided to take a long hard look at myself. I was contributing to the touristic occupation of Hora as much as any other person, so who was I to complain? Every tourist in Hora had as much right to be here as me, so I needed to suck it up and deal with it. Which I did.
We set out to explore the labyrinth of Hora’s narrow lanes and whitewashed (asymmetric) buildings on foot, and the beauty and splendour of Mykonos slowly began to emerge. Give a place time, and it will begin to reveal itself. The further we got from the waterfront, the less crowds we encountered. We stopped at Sakis Grill House in the mid-afternoon for a late lunch, where we ordered a pork
and a chicken
souvlaki (grilled meat wrapped in a pita with hot chips, tomatoes, onion and yoghurt sauce). It was
absolute madness inside this hole-in-the-wall souvlaki shop, yet the service was incredibly quick – we had our order in no time at all! We found a table outside (which was very hard to source due to the popularity of the grill house) and devoured the souvlakis. We were so hungry, having only had a few pastries for breakfast seven hours earlier.
The
souvlakis were great, and they gave us some much-needed energy. Were they as good as Kostas in Athens? Possibly not, but it mattered little. We were beginning to warm to Mykonos, and our first food experience on the island was good. Really good, in fact. Especially with a local Alfa beer.
We continued our exploration of Hora on foot, negotiating the wash of small waves across the stone promenade of Little Venice, navigating the tourist throngs at the picturesque windmills that overlook the harbour, watching people contort themselves in unnaturally awkward postures for social media posts… Ah Mykonos, you have been captured momentarily by those who care little for your future.
We walked back through
Hora’s labyrinthine network of narrow lanes (which are very atmospheric), then continued along the hilly harbourfront to our hotel. The streets outside the old port area were laden with hooning tourists on rentable quad bikes. One of the hire places was on our walking route, and it had a small shop that sold beer, water, tea bags and long-life milk – essential provisions for us. I was amazed by the popularity of quad bike hire on the island, and how effortless the hire process was. In the time I purchased our provisions, a group of four tourists secured a quad bike each.
It was a relief to get back to the hotel. We settled poolside and enjoyed a swim, with our gaze continually drawn to the shimmering harbour in front of us. The Aegean Sea was on our doorstep. We just needed to visualise it free of cruise ships. Having cooled in the pool, we relaxed on our small terrace for a while, then walked back into Hora for dinner in the early evening. We had decided on To Maerio, an intimate and local family-run restaurant in the very heart of Hora.
After settling at a long table
inside the busy restaurant, we ordered:
> Greek salad
> Chicken with leeks, yellow peppers and
xynotiro (traditional Mykonian cheese).
The place was buzzing! We could see the chef in the kitchen through an opening in the wall (which may have been used for serving in the past), and he was working at a feverish pace. We ordered a half-litre carafe of house white wine, and I couldn’t believe what arrived at the table. The restaurant had a very loose definition of volume, because this was far more than a half-litre. It was closer to a litre, and it was fantastic.
We loved this dining experience. The food was amazing; the wine was amazing; the atmosphere was amazing; the company of our travel companions was amazing. As an added bonus, the tourist hordes had emptied from Hora’s narrow lanes. The cruise ship travellers had returned to their floating boats for dinner, leaving the streets free for us to roam. Pure happiness! 😄
We left the bustling To Maerio and walked a short distance to Lola, a very friendly LGBTIQ+ bar that welcomed us all with open arms. The place was fantastic, and we immediately felt at home.
Ren had a couple of Espresso Martinis, while I had an
ouzo (an aniseed flavoured spirit). The night was getting better and better, thanks in part to our increased state of inebriation. We were loving Mykonos, big time!
We left Lola and walked the narrow (and near empty) lanes to Galleraki Cocktail Bar in Little Venice. After settling at an upstairs balcony overlooking the Aegean Sea, we ordered a couple of
ouzos. The price was astronomical compared to
ouzo in Athens, but the location was extraordinary – as was the atmosphere. We talked into the late evening with our travel companions, then staggered back to our hotel – arriving just after midnight. We may have baulked at the overtly touristic nature of Mykonos when we arrived earlier in the day, but we had seen a completely different facet of the island in the late afternoon and evening, and we loved it.
SHE SAID... I didn’t have time to dwell on the fact that I was quite sad to be leaving Syros. We were catching the morning ferry to
Mykonos (pronounced Me-KO-nos), and we had to get ready.
Hotel Archontissa didn’t offer breakfast, so we wandered
over to the small local bakery on the other side of our square. Our mission was a success and we happily marched back up to our balcony with fresh
bougatsa (custard phyllo pie) and a few
tiropitas (feta pies). We didn’t have long, but we enjoyed our pastries and cups of tea with a beautiful view of the hills of Syros… which were just starting to gleam white in the rising sun.
When we checked out of our hotel, the hotel staff gave us cute little fridge magnets to remind us of our enjoyable time in their lovely city. It took us 10 minutes to reach the port, and I loved that Nasos (our group leader) knew that we could shelter from the sun in the ferry office – rather than standing outside in the mid-morning sun.
While we waited for our ferry to arrive, Nasos used the time very efficiently with a briefing on Mykonos. He outlined all our options for food, walking and the different beaches (both good and bad). Mykonos is a much bigger island than Syros, but given we didn’t have much time there, neither of us wanted to rush around trying to do
too much. I loved how Nasos used this sort of downtime to conduct these briefings. It’s definitely a tip he could pass onto to other group leaders.
The crowds had started building on the pier, so after using the clean toilets in the ferry office one last time, we traipsed across the road. There were two options – sit in the sun or stand in the shade. We all chose the shade and managed to squeeze into an undercover area and stand cheek-to-cheek with what felt like hundreds of other travellers. On looking around, I recognised a few faces from our Athens to Syros ferry trip two days earlier… and here we were, all enduring the same stressful, sweaty and congested passenger ferry experience again.
When the Blue Star Ferry arrived, it was fascinating to watch the disembarking passengers tumble out before all of the commercial trucks lurched out after them. There were also loads of containers that were transferred onto waiting semi-trailers. When there are no bridges connecting an island, I suppose ferries are the SOLE means of transport.
It was only after all the waiting Mykonos-bound commercial trucks had disappeared into the bowels of the
ferry that the gates of the corral we were being held in were thrown open. The human crush was inevitable and it was a massive struggle to keep together as a group. Nasos had skilfully darted to the front of the pack and was directing us towards a spot to leave our luggage. Thankfully we had five group members of above-average height, and it was easy enough for them to keep sight of the rest of us, and for us to spot them over the seething mass of heads too.
After stashing our luggage in the metal shelves, it took us a while to extricate ourselves from the chaos around the luggage area and make our way upstairs via the bottleneck at the escalators. Then the hunt was on to find an area that we could fit the whole group. All the sort-after front and back decks were already full, but between Jesse and myself, we managed to get a couple of tables and chairs on a side deck towards the front of the boat. The ferry left at 11:30am and it was equal parts beautiful and sad watching the waterfront of Syros pass by us as we slowly
picked up speed and headed into open water.
It was a two-hour trip, and the time passed very quickly while chatting to everyone. I have a general theory that the more solo travellers there are in a group, the longer it takes for the group to become a cohesive unit. However, this group was the exception to that theory – there were five solo travellers and only two twin sharers (Sharon and Jesse (aunty and nephew), and Andrew and myself). On the other hand, one of my other theories about group travel was definitely holding very true – if most of the group is open-minded, the sense of adventure can be contagious and it usually entices the more reluctant members out of their shells. The majority of our group had just about clicked from the first day in Syros, and it was really lovely to hang out with fellow travellers who had a shared excitement about our travels. 😊
Before long we were approaching the island of Mykonos. As with Syros, the first view of the island showed a stark brown landmass punctuated with small white villages and the occasional church on a hill. As we chugged along
the pristine coastline towards the New Port, we saw a sight we’d been dreading – two mega-storey cruise ships. At least it wasn’t a surprise.
Even the briefest of research on Mykonos will show that it’s a darling of the cruise industry and it hosts countless cruise liners a day in summer. Luckily, we were moving into shoulder-season, and therefore hoped we would be spared the worst of the crowds.
Mykonos is a weird blend of a glamourous party-destination and a beautiful Greek island experience. There are dedicated beaches and beach resorts frequented by the big-spending jet-setting crowds, but the island also has very local communities outside of these super tourist areas. We were going to be based near Hora (also called Mykonos Town), the island’s capital.
We disembarked amid the usual scrum, and shuffled along towards a minibus sent by our hotel. The Aegean Hotel wasn’t far from the New Port, and we were being shown to our fabulous rooms shortly afterwards. I loved our ground floor room with a terrace overlooking the sea, but unfortunately the location of our hotel (being between the Old Port and the New Port) meant that cruise ships anchored in
the harbour between the two. There was a hulking big ship directly in front of our room when we arrived, and I got very fixated about when it would leave. Spoiler Alert: my vigil was futile. 😞
We regrouped at 2pm and started an orientation walk. It was a 15-minute walk into the main town of Hora. This doesn’t sound long, but it was a steep narrow road, with no pavement and no shade. The cars were usually considerate of pedestrians, but the tourists on the quad bikes (ATVs) treated the road like a race track. It didn’t help that there was a quad bike hire place on that road.
The old town of Hora is thankfully a traffic-free zone, but the waterfront area still has a few commercial vehicles that share the pedestrian walkway. They drove extremely slowly through the crowds, but we still needed to be mindful of them. We walked past a tiny sand and pebble beach on the entry into the town, and even though it looked like a hideous place for swimming and sunbathing – this arced strip of narrow beach was absolutely packed! 😲
Our orientation walk took us
into the heaving thick of things. We reached a marble statue of Manto Mavrogenous (a heroine of the Greek War of Independence) in a small square named after her, and Nasos pointed out that this was going to be our designated meeting point in Hora.
We then fought our way through the lunchtime crowds all along the waterfront, and ducked into the narrow-tangled lanes of the old town. Nasos warned us that it was a very disorientating place and advised that should we ever get lost, it would be best to make our way towards the water and get our bearings out in the open streets or squares before heading back in. 😄
We were all starving by now, so we headed straight to Sakis Grill House for
souvlakis (grilled meat wrapped in a pita with hot chips, tomatoes, onion and yoghurt sauce). It was an extremely popular
souvlaki joint, but the service was super quick… and they didn’t have patience for people who didn’t know what they wanted. Andrew and I seem to have fallen into a routine with our
souvlaki orders – we get one pork (the traditional option) and one chicken with the intention of
sharing, but I end up preferring the chicken and Andrew always prefers the pork. They were double the price of
souvlakis in Athens, but they were excellent, and we made short work of them! 😊
Mykonos has a reputation for being a very expensive island, and I can understand this to a point – given everything has to be shipped in from elsewhere. However, from what I could see, the prices have been mostly driven up by the type of tourism it has decided to pursue – the high-end brand market. Judging from the couple of clothing boutiques we had walked past, neither the fashion nor the price tags on this island were going to appeal to me.
After lunch we kept walking through the old town, then made our way to the waterfront on the other side of Hora. This small area is the famous Little Venice, which is often depicted by the tavernas with tables and coloured chairs right at water level. When we walked through, I think the tide was coming in and the stone walkway (with no safety railings) was wet and slippery. It wasn’t an ideal time to try and navigate through the
crowds moving in both directions; and there were also frustrated waiters trying to serve their customers. I hugged the inside lane, and sometimes had to clutch at the tables and chairs to steady myself. I definitely didn’t feel secure enough to whip out my camera to record the scene. 😞
We were on our way to look at the iconic line of seven windmills on top of a small hill just past Little Venice. These 16th century windmills were built by the Venetians, who took advantage of the gusty winds moving across the island – the ‘meltemi’ wind that blows through in summer, and the ‘sirocco’ in the winter. Nasos reminded us that Mykonos is called ‘the island of the winds’!
From the vantage point of the hill, we could look back into Little Venice and see a row of old warehouses with large low windows that hung over the water. They once stored the flour from the wheat and barley ground in the mills, and apparently the boats transporting the flour could be loaded directly through the windows without docking.
While Nasos had been explaining the history of the area, I misheard a word that caused
me much amusement. He’d said ‘this area was the old docks and those building were the warehouses’… and I thought he’d said those buildings were the ‘whorehouses’! I considered this to be a very strange thing to point out; but then my brain tried to make sense of his next sentence that the sailors got direct access to the buildings without even having to dock! Those filthy old seadogs, I thought in disgust. But alas, it was just my dodgy hearing playing tricks on me. 😄
The windmills are understandably a major attraction. Thankfully the hilly area is relatively spacious, so there wasn’t as much of a crowd crush as in the alleys of the old town. Regardless, I eventually started getting pretty sick of the jostling to take photos. I have to admit that despite finding the Instagram and TikTok brigades extremely annoying, I also find them hilarious. On a few occasions, I found that I was spending more time watching the antics of the posers in front of the windmills than looking at the windmills themselves. 😄
With our orientation walk over, the group split up. Some stayed to do some shopping, while the rest of
us fought our way back through the crowds of the old town and walked back to our hotel.
Before this trip, I’d been a bit shocked when I read about the astronomically high tourism numbers streaming into Greece in their post-COVID summer. However, apart from the Acropolis, we hadn’t experienced truly crushing crowds… but now here we were, getting a first-hand experience of how popular this island really is. I also remembered reading that there were many tourists who fly into Athens and make their way directly to the Cyclades islands without so much as sneaking a peak at other parts of the country.
Back in the sanctuary of our hotel room, we tried to relax on our terrace with a cup of tea. We found out the hard way that the tap water in Mykonos is salty and thus makes an unspeakably hideous cup of tea! Nasos may have mentioned something to this effect at some point, but clearly neither Andrew nor I had been paying attention. It now made sense why the hotel had given us a larger than normal quantity of bottled water. Apparently, the bigger hotels and resorts have their own desalination plants.
Suitably calmed down from the assault on our senses that was Hora, we made our way to the hotel pool. Not surprisingly, most of the group were already there, or trickled in while we were there. It was a lovely pool to hang out at, especially given the superb western outlook towards the Aegean Sea and the descending afternoon sun. Even the cruise ship marring the view didn’t bother me... I must be getting used to seeing them! Eventually only Jesse and I were left from our group, and we tore ourselves away from the warm (but salty) pool and returned to our rooms to get ready for dinner.
Those of us interested in heading into Hora that evening met outside our room at 6:30pm. On approaching Hora in golden hour light, I would have been forgiven for thinking this was a whole different town to the one we’d experienced earlier that day. The tiny pebbly beach was now empty, the only occupant was a local cat stretched out on a low wall, basking in the warm sun. The waterfront area was positively lustrous, with all the white buildings glowing in the golden light. There was a palpable peacefulness,
as if the town itself was breathing a sigh of relief after a hectic day at work. Sharon pointed out that everyone had returned to their ships for dinner! Ah. Now I understood.
Nasos had given us a few possible options for dinner, and we’d decided on To Maereio – a very local and intimate taverna. The signage was only in Greek, and its entrance on a narrow lane was so unassuming that I’d never have stepped inside without a recommendation. Unfortunately, or possibly fortunately, they didn’t take reservations, so we had to get there just after they opened at 7pm (to have any chance of getting a table for eight people).
To Maereio was smack bang in the middle of the rabbit warren of Hora, and I had been mildly concerned about whether we’d be able to remember our way to it. I needn’t have worried, because Vu had spent some time that afternoon familiarising himself with the most direct route to and from the taverna. I love travelling with people who pull their weight in groups. 😄
We were very lucky that the taverna had space for us, and we were seated in a kind
of private area between the main dining room and the kitchen. It was an awesome dinner! Andrew and I shared a Greek Salad and a casserole type dish of chicken with leeks, yellow peppers and
xynotiro (a traditional Mykonos hard whey cheese)… and it was delicious. Everyone else seemed to love their meals too. I have to admit that our enjoyment of dinner was also helped by the generous serves of wine by the very affable staff. Our shared jug of white wine made me very merry. 😊
Nasos had arranged to meet us after dinner and take us to his favourite bar for drinks. Lola is a lively gay bar with an eclectic crowd… and drinks here turned into one of my unexpected highlights of Mykonos. They were playing excellent lounge music, and judging by the decor of old film icons and tasselled red lampshades adding a touch of old-world allure, I guessed the bar was loosely themed on the play / film / song of the same name. We sat in a cosy back room, and on the recommendation of our amazing waiter, I ordered their signature cocktail – an Espresso Martini, while Andrew had an
ouzo (an aniseed flavoured spirit).
It was a very enjoyable night with engaging discussions and hysterical conversations. Nasos, ever the entertainer, got each of us to put our own spin on the bar’s catch phrase ‘Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets’. I went for a very assertive ‘you better give Lola what she wants!’ air, while Andrew opted for a nasal ocker (stereotypically Australian) accent that was hilarious. I loved the film noir ‘conspiratorial’ whisper from Nasos; but it was Jesse who stole the show with an over-the-top theatrical performance with so much attitude that we demanded an encore performance! 😊
By the ‘two cocktails in’ stage we were starting to get slightly raucous, and I felt a bit bad for the intimate tables of two trying to have romantic drinks next us. Some members of the group returned to the hotel at this point, while a few of us decided to head out to another bar.
With great directions from Nasos, five of us miraculously found Galleraki and squeezed into a small upstairs balcony that overhung the waterfront of Little Venice. Andrew and I had
ouzos, which seemed like the perfect drink for a jaunty evening on a
Greek island. The setting couldn’t have screamed ‘Mykonos’ any more if it tried – the warehouses of Little Venice were crammed in on one side of us, and the beautifully lit windmills sat on the hill across an arc of water on the other. 😊
It felt very late, but I realised (much later) that it was only just past midnight when Andrew and I had said our goodnights to Shaun, Vu and Jesse. The walk back to the hotel in the cool night air was just the thing I needed to clear my head. We got a glimpse of why Mykonos is called ‘the island of the winds’, with a noticeable increase in the breeze and a marked decrease in the temperature as the evening worn on.
Andrew and I sat out on our room’s terrace with a cup of tea… the perfect antidote to an evening of wine, Espresso Martinis and
ouzo! The night time hillside around us was lovely, with far away local houses twinkling in the sea-misty breeze. And even the distant cruise ship that seemed to have some sort of loud party and disco lighting on board didn’t look so monstrous under the
cover of darkness. At some point in the evening another cruise ship had snuck in and joined the one directly in front of us, but thankfully all was quiet aboard both of them.
Just after 1am we decided that it might be best if we showered and headed to bed in order to get the most out of the following day. Just as we were preparing to go inside, the guy in the room across the walkway from us came home. Our shared steps were close to our terrace, and it was only after Andrew said ‘good evening’ to him that I realised that he was absolutely blind drunk… he looked up in utter shock, then stumbled on a step and only just managed to not hit the floor. He staggered towards his room, fumbled with the door, yelled out a slurred ‘good night’ to us, and stumbled inside. We could hear him crashing around his room before he threw his terrace door open and fell into a lounger. We wondered if he’d still be comatosed on the lounger the next morning. 😄
Well, Mykonos. I have to admit that I arrived on the island with a few
negative preconceived ideas; and while some of them turned out to be spot-on, not all of it was that bad. Even though we’d been on the island for less than a day, we’d caught glimpses of the special charm that has made Mykonos so very popular and propelled it to celebrity heights. Despite the insidious crowds and top layer of glitz and glamour, I managed to see pockets of absolute loveliness in quiet corners of Hora – potted bougainvillea reaching for the sky against white houses with bright coloured trim, small churches with locals saying a hasty prayer, and local tavernas full to the brim serving traditional dishes uncompromised for the tourist palate.
It has given me hope, and I am looking forward to exploring more of that quieter beautiful side of Mykonos tomorrow.
See you around Mykonos!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.183s; Tpl: 0.022s; cc: 14; qc: 30; dbt: 0.072s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
Jasmin Baker
non-member comment
So beautiful!
Like a postcard!