Cruising the Aegean Sea: Mykonos

We checked out of Athenais Hotel on a bright, sunny morning bound for Piraeus where we would be boarding our ship. We booked this cruise with Louis Hellenic Cruises months before. The itinerary includes: Mykonos, Kusadaci (in Turkey), Patmos, Rhodes, Heraclion (in Crete), Santorini and back to Piraeus, Athens. All of 5 days. Out Monday and back Friday. I know......it could have been a lot better to choose just one or a couple of islands rather than island hop in the next 5 days. But then again, we can always go back and this should serve as a good preview.

After "exploring" our cabin , checking out the buffet, Shelly and I were so happy to be unpacking and packing just once in the next 5 days. The cabin is small, but it is clean and functional. The Aquamarine is not like any of the boats of the Princess line nor the Star Cruises, but we were happy with it. More so since we got a good third off the regular rate! I love cruising.......especially towards the end of a trip. Here, it is like "being home" before really "going home". No worries over what and where to eat, what bus or train to take to get from here to there, and most especially no problem about crawling "drunk" back to your cabin after some productive happy hours. Not that we actually drink to high heavens. But you'd never know, and this "prospect" is a welcome option.

Now , about Mykonos. Thing about cruising is that they never give you enough time. So one really has to condition his or her mind that "this is just a preview" and one can always go back to whichever island he or she fancies. If Mykonos is world-famous, it must be because it is truly some party-island. Very cosmopolitan. You can almost feel the "rhythm" of this quaint island as you walk along its narrow cobbled streets, passing many chic boutiques, meeting the party characters in their skimpy outfits, and elegant nightclubs. From where we disembarked from our boat, we passed this promenade and walked towards a place called Alefkandra. A most charming corner of Mykonos. There were houses complete with wooden balconies jutting out to the sea. Such white-washed houses, built from the mid 18th century , must have cost a fortune. As they were originally homes to wealthy merchants and sea captains in olden days, there must have been a substantial goodwill attached to the history of the place, and thus to its real estate value. The place thus evokes memories of Venice. Funny that there is almost always a "little Venice" or "little Paris" in many places around the world.

Weaving through the streets (be warned, it is easy to get lost here........just like in Venice), and steeling ourselves from taking the merchandise on display rather seriously, we finally reached another corner swarming with tourists. A good look around reminded us that we were the only boat docked in this port. Ergo, all these tourists must have come from OUR boat. Except for a few, maybe. But we did see a lot of familiar faces. Fortunately, the cruising season has just begun and we were actually the first boat to reach the island for this "season". Anyway, we can't help but notice the Greek taverns and al fresco eateries we passed. This time, we were reminded of the movie "Zorba, the Greek" . At least until we grew deaf with the Zorba music blaring from the taverns. With that, we strode off to that corner where one finds those postcard-pretty windmills. But it was so hard to get a good shot without including the many tourists. In the end, Shelly and I gave in and decided that this blog will feature us (rather than them) in the photos . Indulge us!

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Part of trip: Turkish and Greek Delights 2009

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