After we said our goodbyes to our new friends: Nikos, his friend, and the ants, Jessie and I were looking forward to arriving in Mykonos at the great resort that we booked! As we get off the ferry, we find the van labeled “Paradise” and quickly load our bags and get on. This van was much less personal than the Villa Rena one in Santorini. We recounted the experience, saying we were herded as if we were being taken as slaves or to a concentration camp. We arrived at the resort and were told to line up outside of the lobby; apparently there is limited space in that scarcely furnished, large area referred to as reception. After we were checked in, we had to wait on benches outside of the lobby so that everyone could be informed of the rules at the same time. Then we were led to our rooms. We passed shared bathrooms and an area for camping. Then we came to the beach bungalows, what Jessie and I had rented.
I was picturing something along the lines of a room with sliding glass doors and linen curtains blowing in the calm, refreshing breeze of the ocean 50 feet from the room. I mean, it isn’t necessarily a bad image when “Paradise Beach Resort’s Beach Bungalow” is stuck in your mind. My mental image was crushed, no, smothered, when the Paradise Nazi pointed to our 6 ½ by 12 ft white box complete with two white beds, a white nightstand, and a mirror. Our door facing outside was blue, so that is a plus. I think if I were 7 again and this box was up in a tree, I would have thought it was great, ochie… awesome, but I like to think that because I have such a great imagination I was disappointed to say the least. There was a breeze, but it was actually just the constant, heavy, wind that blows through the island all the time. Our curtains were made of chicken wire and mini wooden door.
After the initial disappointment wore off, our box was quite cozy. Plus because of it’s forgiving dimensions, it kept us outside and that was nice because we were basically on the beach, which made topless tanning very accessible. (Just kidding! There were some nudists but neither Jessie nor I could have been listed under that title. I was unaware of the “nakey” section of the beach until our last day.) Because of the breeze, we tried to stay on the beach as long as possible. I was freezing and tried wrapping myself in this long skirt/dress I had worn for over 48 hours, but it didn’t keep out the wind. The second day was great because the sun was strong and the wind died down a little so we were able to keep warm and get our tan on. The third day was a bit too much for me to handle, the sun wasn’t out and the wind was fierce. We ended up going into town for the day and it was perfect! We got lost on windy cobblestone roads and I had found my picture perfect, blue and white Greece I had been searching for!
We had a good time in Mykonos. We made some friends who were in our neighboring boxes and we all took the bus in for a night on the town. I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, but people in Greece and especially in Mykonos don’t go out the bars until about eleven or midnight. If you are hardcore, you go out at one in the morning and dance to raging techno until six. Not us! Jess and I took the last bus in at 9:15. We followed everyone to see where the bars were and then we went to eat dinner. After dinner, we found our new hostel friends and danced with them until about 2 and then took a cab back to our “home sweet box”.
Dinner was at a fancy little restaurant that served both Italian and Greek meals. We opted for pasta because we had been consuming large amounts fried Greek food. The food came fast and we devoured it… well, most of it. I had about 6 pesto covered bow-tie noodles left on my plate when our waiter (who looked like a troll sans the neon orange hair… not sure about the gemmed belly button) came by to clear our table. He looked at me and asked if I had finished and told him that I had. Then he questioningly looked at me and then my plate and again, back at me. Then, he basically told me I was wrong and stood there staring at me. I stared back, laughed, said “okay DAD” and then stabbed the rest of my noodles and put them in my mouth. He laughed and then took our plates. We waited for about 30 minuets for our bill but instead of the bill, we get some type of pine tasting liquor with shot glasses shaped like mini beer steins. Our waiter walked toward his friend, another coworker, puts his hand on his friends back and while rubbing his friends back says, “What is wrong baby?” To which his friend answers, “nothing”. And our waiter almost mocks him and sings back “nothing” to his friend all while shaking his butt.
I turned my attention back to Jessie and our mini beer steins. Jessie informed me that I made the strangest face. I explained the odd interaction I had just witnessed. A little while later, our waiter came back and asked if we were ready for the bill. Then he looked at me, “I am not gay. I saw the way you looked at me when I call my friend baby. But I am not gay.” At this point Jessie and I were laughing and I was BEAT red… BUSTED. Another 20 minuets for the bill and then we went out dancing.
The third day, when we went into town. I am so glad that we did because I feel like I found the Greece I was looking for with winding streets and blue and white everywhere. We found the cutest café with cushions in shades of pink and purple lining the steps on either side of the entry way with red tables in front of those. (Putchy, this would have been your heaven! I have a few pictures of it for you.) The owner came from Switzerland to Greece on a vacation, met her husband, and the rest is history. Later that night, we drank a bit with our hostel friends, danced to techno on some tables at the beach.
Jessie and I got up early the next morning to take the 9 am bus to the port for our ferry at 12. Turned out our ferry was at 2... but we figured that out before we got on the bus, which was nice. So we sat on the beach chairs and just hung out on the windy beach until the noon bus went down to the port.
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