Mykonos (Pop 10,134) is 160km or 2.5hrs by fast ferry from Athens and only 45min from my last island of Paros. The island is 7km long by 12km wide with highest point at 341m.
Mykonos is famous for its 16 windmills, the place where Hercules killed several giants and for the archaeological site of Delos, an ancient religious city started in 500BC.
“Mykonos” might as well be called “Micky Mouse” – it is the Aegean Disneyland for young people wanting to dip, drink, dance, dine, doze, dump and do it all again !!! The only thing louder than the DJ music I heard blaring from the popular inner-town beaches were the sounds of construction – not only are existing pubs and clubs finishing renovations for this summer season but many Athenians and foreigners are building houses and mansions. The place is covered in dwellings and there is an abundance of foreign workers, mainly from the “Stans” that are here to work in the construction industry.
“Mykonos” might also be called the “Aegean Monaco” since it is also the playground of the very rich. I counted two private jets landing or taking off each day and the harbour was already host to several multi-million dollar powered ocean craft, some with helipads on them !!! This island is a favourite for Sheiks and Russians.
The island itself is nothing special – it has no trees or green, very rocky, no mountains – just hills BUT the beaches are to die for – easily the best I have seen to date !!! I swam at Agios Sostis and enjoyed the isolated beaches of the north – I visited 19 beaches in all !!! The water here was the coldest so far at only 15-16C but absolutely crystal clear.
The interior is covered in white-washed houses with plenty of fields around them. Local council rules say they must only be painted white. There are also many small churches in between these interior houses and I am told that these churches are there to store the bones of deceased relatives, 12 years after initial burial in the island cemetery since it is not big enough to hold bodies indefinitely.
Mykonos has bad roads, most are narrow with stone fencing on both sides since this is what separates properties – most can only fit one vehicle each way so you must really have your wits about you when driving here – it was easily the most stressful driving I did so far so I figured if I can drive here without incident then I can drive anywhere in the Balkans !!!
Finally, Mykonos is 50-100% more expensive than any of the 6 previous islands I visited – this is because the cost of living here and local taxes are much higher. Many locals told me that that after they get their pension they will sell up and move to smaller cheaper islands.
Delos was worth the visit. Only 30min by boat from Mykonos Port, this place was set up to honour the Greek Gods and allow the rich and famous to come and worship, make sacrfices to maintain their wealth and buy rare and precious goods. The temples were established from 500BC but the town attracted many residents (peaked at 30,000) and by 250BC, even the Romans came here to enjoy the upper class food and drink. Delos became very famous for its fine food and arts, crafts and jewellery. It was also a place to advance the politics of ancient Greece and for athletes to train for the Olympic Games.
In this regard, Mykonos is
NOT your typical Greek island any more. It is crowded, overrun and way too
busy. Around 8am and 4pm each week day there is a 1-2km queue of vehicles trying
to get into and out of the main port town of Chora. Ridiculous when you
consider that this is supposed to be an island !!! I would not like to be here in the middle of summer !!!
My accommodation on Mykonos was the best so far with a small apartment set away from all the noise and crowds. Beautifully furnished by the artistic owner it featured a fully equipped kitchen so I cooked my own food for all three nights I was here to balance my diet with lean mean tucker including fresh local fish and meats at a fraction of the cost and full of flavour.
Suffice to say, Mykonos was not my favourite island but it does have the best beaches so far. There were also more tourists here than in any previous island and it is not even the season yet. The big night clubs are still renovating so the best I could do is sip beers in the beach deck chairs to the sounds of piped DJ music as the sun set.
Enjoy the beaches of Mykonos…
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