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Published: April 12th 2015
Sometimes you can’t do it all. I left Turkey with these thoughts as we waited for our flights out of Izmir. We had to be at the airport by 4:30am for our 6am flights to Mykonos, first flying into Athens then connecting an hour later. Touching down we got stuck in line for customs/passport control for an extended period of time. Because it was technically an international flight we had to pick up our bags in Athens and recheck them to Mykonos. By the time we were out of passport control, it was basically time to board. We ran with our bag to the bag drop off point and were struck with another huge line. After some flagging down of staff, Binnson was ushered to the front of the line and we took off running for security, making it through just in time to board the bus to the plane.
We had arranged for pick up by our hotel upon arrival but after waiting at the empty baggage carousel for our bag that never arrived, our ride also had gone. The Mykonos airport was basically closed. There was one window open for car rental but otherwise not a single other
person working there. We were stuck at a closed airport, missing a bag, without even a single euro to our name to take a cab. Luckily someone else was also missing their bag and somehow found a flight attendant who opened up a booth where we filled out a form for our bag and she called our hotel to send our ride back.
We were able to check in to our hotel about an hour later which was great considering we flew in at 9am. We headed to town shortly after to get something to eat and find an ATM. The town was pretty quiet with low season- the majority of people we saw were getting their business’s ready for the busy tourist season ahead, fresh coats of white and blue paint for everything! The day we arrived was beautifully sunny, still suffering from my Ephesus sunburn from the day before and without my lovely sunscreen in Binnson’s bag, I took advantage of shade wherever possible. We had a beautiful balcony view, with a giant lemon tree beside, that we sat on outside eating Tsoureki and soaking up the island life. It wasn’t long before we both fell asleep
in our chairs outside. Being up at 3:30am was catching up with us and we needed a serious power nap. By the time we woke up, our bag had arrived and we were ready to head back to town for dinner. The winds picked up fiercely that night and the rain came right behind it.
The next day it was rainy and wickedly windy. Ferries were being cancelled and there was lots of talk about people being stuck in Mykonos for a couple more days. I had never been so happy to have prebooked our flights between islands instead of relying on the ferries when we were on a limited time schedule. Because it was too cold to go to the beach and town wasn’t really a happening place, we decided to rent a car and drive around the island. The reception at the front desk arranged for a car rental place to pick us up and we chose off the menu which miniature car we would sardine ourselves into for the day. Binnson decided he wanted a MANual car because it would be much more manly, and I almost cried laughing when he stalled it immediately after turning
it on. He reminded me that it had been a while and I smiled and tried to keep my laughter on the inside from there on out. If you have been to Mykonos you know that the roads are tiny, there is a lot of uphill, there is no signalling, and no stopping – even when there is a stop sign. Once we got into that groove, we were golden.
As we took off in the general direction of away from town, we really had no idea where the hell we were going. I’m pretty sure we actually drove on every single road that exists on the island. The winds threatened to blow us off the road and many picture taking opportunities were either done through car windows or in record speed running back and forth from the car. Stopping in at a church in Ano Mera, welcomed in by two men in robes to take pictures- one stops Binnson and speaks Greek. Binnson looks at him, “Sorry, I don’t understand.” The man looks at him, “Aren’t you Greek?” “No.” “Italian?” Binnson laughs, “No, Canadian.” “Ohhhhh, welcome to Greece. Over here this is from Florence, Italy, and over there.....etc.”
There was no wonder as to why the ferries were being cancelled. At one point we were basically off roading on a crappy road in this little car that could fit in my pocket when the wind blew so hard it shook the car back and forth, we descended back down the hill to be at safer ground. The locals keep saying they haven’t seen anything like it, it’s highly unusual for this time of year, they say. It’s probably our fault, these things seem to happen where ever we go :-).
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Jeff & Bailey
non-member comment
Hey Cheryl & Binnson - it's so great to be reading your blogs and keeping updated! Hopefully your next journey is a little smoother but it sounds like you are still having a great time no matter what gets thrown your way. Happy adventuring!