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May 2023 (Part 15)

Greece/Spain Trip - Day 8-9, May 20-21 - Mykonos

The final crossing to Mykonos (MEE-kon-nohs) was rather short and calmer.  We sailed for a bit, but the steering tensioner was broken, making steering harder, so Captain Marek soon switched to motor only to have a bit more control.  He also decided to skip a planned swimming stop and managed to convince the harbor master to let us arrive early. 

We docked in the Old Harbor, which is north of the Old Town and near the cruise ship terminal (but most of the larger cruise ships anchor offshore and use a tender).

After lunch across the road (gryros for Andy yet again), we took the water taxi to Old Town.

Once off the water taxi, the small crescent moon shape of the Old Town was stunning.  This is clearly the image of a Greek island many tourists have, which may be why there were three to four cruise ships in the harbor during our time here.  That money likely helped fund all of the paint needed to keep this so white.  The white is clearly decorative now, even painting the seams between paving stones, but originally it was practical as the lime used was a natural disinfectant, helping combat the unhygienic living conditions with so many people in close proximity, often living on top of each other and emptying chamber pots in the street (from a tiny toilet often located under the exterior stairs which lead up to the main floor).  The roofs were also painted to help channel fresh water into cisterns.

Really liked that they kept the sand entrance to the sea in the harbor, rather than continuing a steep concrete embankment all the way around, so much nicer and provided a nice contrast with the bustle of the town.  It was also practical, providing an easy way to maintain some of the smaller fishing boats.

Our plan was simply to wander through the Old Town area and hopefully not get too lost.  Like many Greek islands, the streets are intentionally laid out almost as a labyrinth, to discourage invaders and pirates, and to help buffer the howling winds.  We kept finding churches amidst all of the stores.  It turned out there are about 90 small churches scattered within the Old Town.  Each was built, and are often still maintained, by a private local family often to honor a namesake saint.  As a matter of pride, the family will invite the local priest and often the entire community to come and celebrate the Saint's feast; there are often dueling parties for popular saints.  Many often provided a way to give thanks for the safe return of the fishing fleet (or offerings and prayers hoping for a safe return and decent catch).  The church on the left below, located right at the harbor is dedicated to a Agios (St) Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors and fishermen (as is another large church nearby).

We eventually made our way to the coast beyond the town where there are five stunning windmills along the shore.

 The windmills faced towards the North where the island has its strongest winds over the largest part of the year. There are currently 16 windmills on Mykonos of which seven are positioned on the landmark hill in Chora (which translates to "Country" in Greek, but refers to an island's "Town") (there were only five, but it looked like the parking lot construction may have caused them to move two). Most of them were built by the Venetians in the 16th century, but their construction continued into the early 20th century. They were primarily used to mill wheat. They were an important source of income for the inhabitants. Their use gradually declined until they ceased production in the middle of the 20th century. The architecture of each of them is similar, all have a round shape, white color and a pointed roof and very small windows. Such windmills are found in almost all Cyclades islands.   This ridge is positioned to catch both northerly and southerly winds, which blow nine days out of ten.  They are located near the water to make it easier to load ships to trade in the grain milled there.

We apparently timed our arrival at the windmills perfectly, as the crowd really wasn't bad. It was clear two of the cruise ships were soon leaving, and the passengers had all gone back, while another which had recently arrived, hadn't disgorged passengers yet.  We happened to walk by later and realized how lucky we had been.  Even then, it was still a challenge to get a good angle with the people, a small museum on the end, and a small food truck.

Nancy and the kids went past the windmills and down toward the water a bit.  Not only did this provide a nice image, it got rid of the crowd.

Steve finally caught up with them.

Must go all the way around.

Andy walked down a bit toward the water on a path leading from the parking lot.

As we headed back into the town, there is a bronze bust of the Greek writer Melpo Axiotis (1903-1973).  This is near the Church of Agios Nikolaos in Little Venice, which is the colloquial term for the southern part of the Old Town (dating back to when Venice ruled the area).  We randomly found several more churches wandering around the town.

This square is also home to the three public water wells (now covered with iron but still retaining the wheels to raise and lower buckets), leading it to be a major public gathering space until plumbing was installed in the 1950s.

You can walk along the shore a bit here, passing through the outdoor seating areas of a couple restaurants.  This is the Venetian Quarter (often called Little Venice), and was fortified by the Venetians under their rule after the Fourth Crusade (early 14th century).  They enclosed the entire peninsula with a stout fortress (long gone) containing 4,000 people.  These houses were actually built into the fortified outer seawall of the fortress.

An amazingly beautiful and photogenic place.

Lexi decided she'd had enough walking and headed to find a spot to rest by the harbor, while the three of us eyed a windmill situated on a point above the town.  There turned out to be two windmills right above the Old Town.  The first had clearly been damaged and was in disrepair.  With no thatching on the roof, you could see the huge wooden gears, which actually made it more interesting.

The second one, Boni's Windmill, was a bit down the road and in much better shape, and also had a much better view looking over the town and harbor.

There was a water wheel on the backside of the area.

This windmill really stood out and overlooked the whole area.

You could see the small rocky outcrop of Mpaos just offshore and the island of Rinia beyond that.  It was also a pretty nice view over the town to the windmills along the shore.

We weren't quite ready to head back down and realized there was yet another windmill above us.  It took a bit, but we figured out how to get there.  It turned out to be part of the wall for the Sunset Bar, a rather posh cocktail bar with an €80 minimum if you wanted a table.  Uggh.  No thanks.  We did decide to go in after hiking all the way there, with Steve and Andy getting a beer from the far end of the bar where we were allowed to order from.  We then walked around a bit, only to be shooed away from a couple areas which were "reserved" for people with table reservations.  We were also clearly underdressed and had just walked in off the street.  This essentially encapsulated our opinion of Mykonos.  It was stunningly beautiful, but with a large cruise ship terminal and an airport, it was over-crowded and expensive.  Worse, there was a clear vibe from the tourists that many were there to party and be seen, especially in front of all of the expensive, name brand stores hidden around the streets.  There were numerous souvenirs implying this was the best "party" island in the Mediterranean.  This was clearly a place people came to on cruise-ships or private jets.  Glad we were able to visit, but not a place we need to return to.

The Sunset Bar did have a nice stone arch with a view back over the harbor, with a line for pictures.

The windmill wasn't even that nice, and wasn't in a spot for a good picture.

Admittedly, the view back over the Chora was pretty spectacular. 

Had to laugh at the peacock and rooster in the next yard as we made our way back down.  We met up with Lexi along the harbor, then walked around to the other side to meet everyone for dinner.

Dinner was at the Oniro Sunset Bar, which overlooked the Old Town from a stunning location, with a much friendlier atmosphere.

It was time to say goodbye to everyone the next morning, as Captain Marek needed us off the boat around 10 so he could clean and get ready for the next crew arriving that evening.  We took the water taxi with out bags back toward Old Town, getting off at the bus station stop where there was a restaurant where we could store our bags.  Andy wanted to eat at a gyro/souvlaki place we saw yesterday, and get one of their T-shirts, so off we went.  He actually found Sakis pretty quickly, despite the maze of streets.

We eventually had to head to the airport and fly out, headed to Athens, then Zurich, then Barcelona.  Steve took a couple pictures out the window as he flew out over the harbor.