Mykonos

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Mykonos 

The day was suppose to start with breakfast in the restaurant with Auntie and Grandma at 7: 30 a.m. but the decided to go before the designated time, leaving us in the dust, as usual.  We made them come up to the breakfast buffet while we ate since they blew us off again! We then headed for the shuttle to take us to town, but it really only took us a few block and we had to walk the rest of the way; next time no shuttle!  Once we got to the shuttle stop, we headed towards town with our first mission to find the post office.  That was an experience within itself!  It took us a long time to find it, first the map we had made no sense and was incorrect, plus it was in English, but the street signs were in Greek.  Try figuring out what street was what when you do not speak Greek and have an English only map-not too much fun let me tell you.  We eventually figured it out, got there, walked inside, and found a Western Union.  A little surprised, we glanced around, trying to figure things out, when one of the cashiers started talking to us.  We eventually learned we had to go underground to get to the actual post office.  Believe it or not, they sent us to the grocery store to get a box because they do not carry boxes for mailing.  Of course the grocery store told us they did not have a box, so off we went, back to the post office.  Underground we went, explained the situation and they gave us a box-weird that they didn’t have one earlier!  We eventually got everything in 2 envelopes and one box, taped everything, write the addresses on each package, and brought it to the counter.  The postmaster spoke a little English, not much, but was able to get across his directives.  He told us that he was going to send them all together, which meant he taped the three packages together.  I just hope they get home!  I got the receipt, bid farewell to my packages, and climbed the steps again to the light. We wandered around the streets for awhile, but most everything was either closed or was just starting to open, then Grandma found a jewelry store, which took her over half an hour to choose and purchase a few pieces.  We had a little distraction while waiting since we were across the street from the school. Ariel was surprised by what the teachers were wearing; thought they were a little skimpy.  I made note that the children were dressed pretty much the same as students in our Country and they appeared to be playing the same games during recess.  Once the purchases were made, we moved on, to find another jewelry store, so we sat around waiting for another half an hour.  They eventually decided to move on from the jewelry thank goodness, as I was getting extremely bored.  We wandered through the streets, making our way to the windmills.  These windmills are the few left from when this was the most important site for them, years ago.  The backdrop for these windmills is the beautiful ocean and many other islands!  From the Windmills we headed for Little Venice, a part of the town that was modeled after Venice, with the buildings adjacent to the water’s edge.  Legend has it that there was a lot of pirating so they built in this fashion for quick loading and unloading of goods to help ward against the pirates. We walked through many of the oceanfront cafés deciding which one to eat lunch at later in the day.  It was a gloriously sunny day, with the water glistening from shore to shore.  We continued our journey through the little pathways, stumbling upon shop after shop.  We found the cutest little shoe shop, all handmade leather sandles.  Everyone picked up a pair and off we went in search of more treasures.  We found all sorts of really interesting things, jewelry, shoes, perfect white cotton, art work, and such.   After spending some time strolling the streets and shops, we settled into one of the sweet little cafés for lunch.  We all ordered some type of Greek food, however what I thought I ordered was not what I had eaten previously.  Each part of Greece prepares the same dish a lot differently.  We chatted and ate for some time, rejuvenating our soles and bodies before continuing our journey. We found the most spectacular paintings in this little stole away shop, which we all ended up purchasing.  They were depictions of Mykonos, the village, the sunset, the buildings, the beaches, the whole experience captured in these paintings.  Of course, we continued our mission to purchase, purchase, purchase.  Everyone found great treasures of cotton clothing, more sandles, books, postcards, jewelry, and so forth.   

As we were moving towards the path to the ship, we walked along the harbor’s edge, a gorgeous view of the hillside villas and the opposite side of the island with the ocean between.  As we were walking a huge pelican flew and landed just a few feet away from us.  I have never seen a pelican so big in my entire life.  He stood almost as tall as I am.  He was one of the most amazing creatures I have ever seen.  His wings spanned over six feet, at least; his chest jutted out proudly; his feathers were a rich shade of pure white; and his beak had the most amazing shades of pink, blue, and yellow.  He cruised around the beach, then as if he knew we were watching him, stopped, stood up tall, looked directly at me, then turned his head to the right, and struck a pose for me.  I snapped off several pictures before he changed his mind, and as I was starting to walk away a local man approached the pelican.  From all the years experience with animals, I know you never approach an animal, especially a wild one.  But that did not stop the local man.  He went right up to the pelican, gave him a big hug, pet his beak, and kissed him, and the pelican returned the warm embrace.  I have never seen such a sight, a man and a bird hugging and kissing.  I cannot begin to tell you the feelings that washed over me.   We continued on our journey, searching through the little shops and enjoying the splendid view until it was time to get back to the ship.  We strolled along the seashore, passing through little cafés, and walked over the pier.  Mykonos was the most amazing place I have seen.  This is a spot to return to and spend some time-it is absolutely, without a doubt, the most fabulous place ever!  If I could find a job, I would move to Mykons!!!