Magical Mykonos

I have had a very busy few port days and have allowed myself to get behind in my blog - sorry to those who are reading it. I have promised myself that I will get up to date this afternoon, but the posts will probably be out of order.

We were up bright and early to catch the first tender from the ship to Mykonos, so that we could have the maximum time ashore - first off and last back to the ship - but what a magical day.

The postcards cannot do justice to the beauty that is Mykonos - we arrived before anything was open.... so we were privy to the early morning preparations as the village came to life - elderly ladies walking to church services, an old man riding his bike to the bakery, friends greeting each other as they opened their windows and leaned out, street sweepers, window cleaners, rubbish bins being emptied, baskets of vegetables being taken to restaurants, cats leisurely yawning and stretching.... and then suddenly .... the tourists descended from the four cruise ships in the harbour.... and the tempo increased dramatically.

We spent the day with Joanne and Garry - wandering along the winding cobble stones of the back streets - stopping for a coffee and typical greek custard pastry - shopping for souvenirs in quaint little shops with friendly owners, enjoying a fabulous lunch of calamari, mussels, souvlaki, fabulous greek salad with the tastiest most flavoursome rich red tomatoes I have tasted for many years - ice cold drinks.... followed up by a shot glass??? of ouzo..... (look at the photo to see the size of the shot glass beside a beer glass) ..... all under a clear blue warm sky with the Mediterranean Sea as the back drop.... magical. PS: An Ouzeri is a bar that serves ouzo!!

As we sat at the waterfront Mourayio Taverna enjoying our lunch, lots of people we have met on the ship or been on tours with stopped to chat ... Colin joined us for a beer, while Judy shopped..... many came in to the taverna to have lunch as well - the owner laughed and said we were great advertising for his restaurant .... we just enjoyed sitting there and absorbing the atmosphere.

Life on Mykonos is very communal for the locals - the houses are separated by very narrow winding laneways - conversations can be heard between houses - neighbours talk through open windows across the laneways, babies cries, raised voices - and even the laundry - nothing is private!!

Now we are back on the ship and have just lifted the anchor to head to Istanbul tomorrow. I can’t possibly describe the beauty of Mykonos, so I hope the photos can do the talking for me.

Cheers