Back to Mykonos

I was unsure how I felt about the itinerary change that had us arriving in Mykonos on our second day at sea. For some strange reason, Mykonos seems to punctuate the chapters of my and John’s life. I was hoping to have some time to build up to our return and to prepare for the possibility of new beginnings.

Our first visit to Mykonos in 1996 served as an end to my innocent, small town, young adult life and ushered in the next chapter that has been filled with career successes as well as fun and travel. John and I both return to the island as well adjusted adults with careers we love and lives we enjoy, buoyed by the love we share for friends, partners, and family. We are no longer the wide-eyed children of 12 years ago, but we are also not the angry, cynical adults that we could have become with the passing of the years. In many ways, we have both been blessed by our experiences and our friendship of the past 20 years. Perhaps it was my trepidation of this happy chapter coming to an end that caused me to be nervous about returning, or maybe it was the anticipation of a life that could be even better, but would require more effort. Either way, we woke up in a magical place. The next chapter of our lives had commenced.

Since we had previously spent five days in Mykonos, our plan was to have a quick walk about the town to show Jay around and then head over to Super Paradise Beach for some relaxation. We immediately noticed that there were quite a few more discos and t-shirt shops than we remembered. The island seems to have succumbed to the giant cruise ship curse. But we were undaunted. So a few pictures and a few questions later, we headed to the taxi stand. You should know that there are only 30 legal taxis on the entire island, so we settled in for a wait. After about 20 minutes, we decided to have a bit of an adventure and rent some scooters or four-wheelers and head to the beach on our own.

Mykonos from the Harbor

Chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas: Patron Saint of Sailors

Yes, the sky is really that blue....

The Mykonos Wind Mills

Mykonos: Little Venice

The Harbor

On a previous trip to the Bahamas, Jay had an accident on a scooter, so he was leaning more towards the four-wheeler option. I was all for hopping on the back of a scooter and heading out of town. Fortunately for us, all the four-wheelers were already rented, but a very nice man offered to take us to the beach in his Suzuki Sidekick for 10 Euros each. Once we were on the road, we realized that scooters would have been a disaster. The roads are all single lane, the curves are all blind, and the hills are as close to vertical as you can get and still keep your wheels on the ground.

The beach was stunning. We found three lounge chairs together, ordered a few drinks and settled in to watch the world go by. We had a swim in the chilly crystal blue waters and were attacked by those little fish that give pedicures. Apparently they really liked the scabs that Jay and I were sporting from minor scrapes as they continually dive bombed those areas. But a fish has got to eat…. The place was so stunning, that John, who is not known for relaxing, was in no hurry to return to the hustle and bustle of the city. We stayed until the very last minute before catching a public shuttle back to the harbor and back to the ship.

Our view on Super Paradise Beach

A small boat bringing more visitors to the beach

Cruise ships must all be in....

Homes overlooking the beach

After dinner we planned to return to the island for a bit of bar hopping, but instead we got sucked into Bishop Gene Robinson’s documentary Love Free of Die. I may have failed to mention that the Bishop was also a passenger on our ship. He introduced the film and stuck around for a Q&A session when it completed. (Best lines from the movie - When asked about how the church felt about his smoking, Robinson replied: “I have given people so many other things to talk about that my smoking seems to be of little consequence these days.” During a sermon about the responsibilities of parishioners to their fellow humans, he says “It is not enough to pull drowning people from the river. As Christians, it is our duty to go up river and find out who is pushing them in.”)

Needless to say, we were not in the mood for a disco outing after watching this heart wrenching, but nevertheless uplifting film. So, we hung around the bar and welcomed our fellow passengers back from their island adventures, drank a few too many shots and beers, then headed off to bed.

Throughout the evening, there were a few tears shed as John and I remembered our last visit and looked forward to the next chapters of our lives. I was happy to have returned to Mykonos to re-experience the magic. Mykonos may make men cry, but I am eager to continue my life's journey.


Next stop Patmos: The Jerusalem of the Mediterranean