Arrived in Mykonos a couple of days ago. I’d be more specific but unemployment + vacation = having no idea what day of the week it is, which is quite nice I must say. I went on a tour, which confirmed my opinion that it’s no Santorini. Plus, plus we found out that 15 years ago or so, much of what we saw on the island wasn’t there. In many sections of “Old Town,” cobblestone is painted onto the streets and the electrical wiring is actually inside the white stucco walls (as opposed to wild configurations of wiring and cable strewn everywhere like in Santorini). They do have an interesting mascot — the pelican. They are down to two after one got hit by a car last summer. Not surprising. The drivers here are terrifying.
What Mykonos has to offer is nightclubs. Lots of nightclubs. Plus, storefronts selling t-shirts with wacky messages about being in nightclubs and picking up your evening hook-up in nightclubs. Offering opportunities for drinking, partying, and exposing one’s self to a variety of international STDs appears to be it’s most lucrative industry. That being said — good times. At least until you have to find a taxi at 4 a.m. because the buses stop running at 2 but the party goes all night. Literally, all night.
Yesterday, we took a ferry to Dalos, an old island that was the original point of commerce into Europe. There are ruins, and it’s incredibly hot. There is also some pretty hardcore brush with brambles, which you don’t notice until you take a wrong turn and have to scramble up and down ancient ruins with stickers in your pants. But it was fun, and we made it back without incident.
Arrived back in Athens today by boat. Tour of the city and Acropolis tomorrow. Then we are heading down to Crete for a few days. We have organised a rental car (a simple Google search for ‘car hire Chania Crete‘ will find you the best companies) and we intend to drive ourselves around the island, exploring as we go. Further updates to come!