Mykonos to Athens

Tuesday Sept 27^th

Little Venice- Mykonos

Monday was basically a lazy day at the beach with little excitement until 4pm when we hopped a bus into town for a look around at the various sights for which Mykonos is known. A series of old windmills and an area called Little Venice usually make interesting photo ops. However a cold north wind with some fairly high gusts made walking and even standing a little difficult. Waves were crashing onto the patios of various bars and restaurants in Little Venice area.

  Seeking shelter a few streets in, the walk became a lot more pleasant. By 5pm stores were beginning to re-open from their afternoon “siesta” however as Mykonos is primarily a cruise destination, prices tend to be higher than Rhodes and Crete.

 Settling on an early supper, we chose a seafood tavern in one of the smaller squares.

Two crazy birds-Mykonos

  A large platter of grilled fish, shrimp, calamari and smelt was adequately filling and quite tasty. An extra for the evening was a visit by two local celebrities, a pair of large pelicans who serve as the islands mascots. With their appearance the restaurant was suddenly surrounded by several tourists snapping photos of the birds, who seemed oblivious to the attention. After a while one wandered away while the other walked through the restaurant and positioned himself at the kitchen door patiently awaiting a meal of raw fish.

Windmills of Mykonos

  Walking back towards the bus stop we visited a store selling a local “toy” known as a kombeloy. Made of various materials, they are similar to prayer beads, but with no religious significance. After some discussion and a bit of bartering with the store owner we selected a few as souvenirs.

Typical street- Mykonos

  3pm Tuesday

  The trip back to Athens today is by way of a rather large 4 deck ferry, 2 for vehicles and 2 for passengers. Transat actually spent the additional funds to allow access to the business lounge with comfortable seats and a view from the front of the vessel.

  With two stops before reaching Piraeus ( the dock at Athens) the trip is expected to take 5 and ½ hours.

The hungry mans platter!!!

  The trip actually ends tomorrow for most people with a flight back to Canada at noon, giving most people only an hour or so this evening to explore the city. Having added two extra nights to the trip, we will have 2 full days to explore the city, enough to cover a few sights and maybe one museum.

Athens 12:30am

 The ferry arrived in port at 7:45. The trip from Piraeus to our hotel took until 9:30pm. Normally a 30 minute trip, a demonstration in front of the parliament buildings resulted in the need for a significant detour through streets jammed with traffic. Traffic lights had little meaning, as vehicles jockeyed for position while bikes maneuvered in and around larger vehicles.

 On the advice of the hotel front desk staff we abandoned a planned dinner near the protest zone, opting instead for a small Taverna near the hotel.

 With all public transport on strike, any exploration of the city will be limited to sites within walking distance- it night be a fun two days!