STORMY SEPTEMBER, A PUBLIC ORGY & OTHER GREEK ISLAND SURPRISES
Mykonos is the perfect Greek Island gateway, or so says the brochure. My wife and I went there with another couple to celebrate our joint 10th marriage anniversary. Spending four days on the small Aegean Island, we found a bit of what we looked for and a lot of what we didn’t. Some of it, I must admit, was quite memorable. Was it something worth remembering? You’ll be the judge of that. All I can say is that the following year we decided to re-celebrate our 10th anniversary, only this time in Tuscany.
So, Without further due, here are four Mykonos lessons,
learned the hard way…
Lesson #1 – Beware of September
We got married on the 9th of September, which is full summer in our Israeli hometown. Hot, sunny and dry. The first drizzles don’t really arrive in before mid-October. It made only sense that climate in dry Mykonos – just a short haul from Tel Aviv – will be similar.
We got this one wrong.
Early September in Mykonos wasn’t just rainy. It was stormy with gusts, thunders, and deluge – the whole “Shebang.” Instead of suncream, we scrambled for umbrellas. On the upside, the downpour did produce some comical moments. One of the cloudbursts caught us riding a scooter on the outskirts of Mykonos town (The Island and its central town shares the same name). It took us only a minute to rush into the nearest tavern. By that time the rain was hard enough to get us completely drenched. We had a laugh and a warm cup of coffee and continued on once the storm had passed away.
It also produced some dramatic storm photos, though I’m not sure these sort of pictures were the reason we came to the island in the first place.
At first, we thought this was just another freak weather occurrence. Global warming, etc. Only it wasn’t. Had we checked the actual annual climate in Mykonos we would have discovered that September is actually quite rainy with high chances of thunderstorms.
Oh, well. Lesson #1 learned. The hard way.
Lesson #2 – Don’t bring your kids to an early morning walk. You just never know what you’ll find
Mykonos loves to party and often go to sleep late. Sometimes very late. The place is also a prime destination for the LGBT community which adds the energy and zest so synonymous with Island. Early mornings find the streets of the town deserted – ideal for photo aficionados like me. Walking the empty streets, I snapped a picture of a local couple on a motorcycle, photographed the first rays of light illuminating the clear white alleys, and shot a few tired fisherman drinking strong black coffee.
I also encountered a full-on gay orgy in the middle of one of the empty alleys. I did not stop to take a photo of that one. Sorry.
It all started with what looked like a slightly drunk guy getting out from one of the alleys while buckling up his pink pants. He looked at me obviously startled and quickly rushed into another back alley and out of sight. Being the curious person I am, I went and had a look at the alley the guy came from. What I saw there I’ll keep to myself.
Before moving on let me make this one clear. I’m proud to live in greater Tel Aviv, which is one of the most gay-friendly towns in the world. Still, COME-ON! Why conduct a drunken F***fest at sunrise in public?
Lesson number #2 learned. The weird way.
Lesson #3 – Authentic had moved to another location
In so many ways, Mykonos is the victim of its own success. It has become too successful, polished, clean and organized. On the way, it lost most of its grit and much of its soul. The place has become a destination of the rich & famous and attracts the masses of their wannabes – yours included.
We checked into the Belvedere, which hosts – among others – a Nobu restaurant (for those not familiar, the high end Japanese new style cuisine chain of restaurants named after its celebrity chef). Whatever relevance there is between Nobu and a Greek island is lost on me. It is, however, very much connected to the crowd that flocks in there every night. Yes, I went there too.
I’m also a bit ashamed to quote the price we paid for our complete white room. I can say that it was not a great value even at half the price. We unpacked our suitcase and went to the Nammos Beach, to hobnob with the young and the beautiful and their entourage. We walked the perfectly preserved streets of Mykonos town, where Asian brides posed for their official wedding photos. Resting on the porch we could get a clear view of the town and some parts of the bay – the ones not obstructed by two huge Carnival mega cruise ships anchored just off the shore.
Please don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against people who wants to throw their money away. I admit of behaving much the same. I’m part of the problem. It’s just that in a way I kinda hoped to visit the home of Zorba the Greek only to find myself smack in the middle of James Bond’s playground.
Lesson #3 learned. The expensive way.
Lesson #4 – Get out of Mykonos. All you need is a scooter
The cheapest thing my wife and I did on the island was to rent a scooter. The shop was dodgy, the little Honda was beaten up and the owner only had a single much-used helmet for the both of us. It was the best think we did in Mykonos. Riding out and away of Mykonos town, we could put the glitz, the presumptuous, and the obnoxious away and discover “real” Mykonos – a beautiful, tranquil Aegean Island. The place is not very big. It takes just a short ride on twisty, narrow roads to discover some real gems.
I liked the Northern side in particular with its view on the Island of Tinos and it towering 750 meter-high peak. Ftelia Beach is nice, and Kalafa is pretty basic in the good sense of the word. You can find many more nice tiny spots to lay down your towel and your head if you give some time and a bit of energy. Of course, you need the weather to cooperate, which in our case – it didn’t (see lesson #1).
Conclusion
To put everything back into context, we came originally to celebrate an anniversary, not to research an island. When our time was up, three rainy days later, we packed our bag, paid the hefty bill and went home – feeling a bit unfulfilled.
If you’re looking for a fashionable destination – like the one you see on “Lifestyle” Channel – Mykonos is for you. Otherwise, Rhodes, Kos, Crete and a host of other islands in the area would do a much better job.
The following year my wife and I decided to redo our tenth anniversary, this time in Tuscany. For what we saw, and what we learned over there – follow us in a future post.
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