Today I have a bit of a sleep in and do one last walk up to the bakery in Santorini to get something for breakfast. Then I make my way to the bus depot so I can get down to the ferry port, and it’s a bit stressful. Again, it’s not easy to figure out which bus to take and everyone is clamoring around and trying to push onto the buses. I’m surprised they haven’t come up with a better system by now. Haha.
I manage to get on the bus, and the ferry is late and there are TONS of people here. The lineup to get on the boat is massive and it is now early afternoon and that sun is HOT again. I can feel my skin starting to sizzle. Luckily the ferry ride is only a couple of hours and it goes by fast since I spend half the ride in the lineup just to get up to the cabins.
When I arrive into Mykonos, I haul ass over to the sea bus station and get on for a short ride over to the Old Port of Mykonos town, or Chora as it’s called. To get to my hotel, I have to walk through the narrow alleyways of the old town and I’m kind of regretting this decision. It’s not easy to roll a suitcase on the stone pathways, and I’m getting dirty looks of disgust as I try to maneuver around people. Like give me a break, they’ve NEVER carried a suitcase through a busy area? Just kindly move out of my way and we’ll all be good. Haha. It’s hot, I’m walking up a gradual incline with a giant suitcase and I just want this to be over. Once I get out of the crowded area, I’m now going past the bus depot and up another challenging hill on a busy road. I end up going past the hotel because it’s not visible from the street, and I have to backtrack. When I finally figure out where it is, I see I have to lug my suitcase up 15ish steps and I’m just done. I get halfway up to take a physical and mental health break and a guy from the other hotel I’m in front of comes out to help me up the remainder of the stairs. He assures me Angela’s Rooms is just a few steps further.
I let myself in through the gate and head up to check in and meet…. THE Angela! She has a big bottle of water ready for me thank god and we sit and chat while she gets all my info and payments. This lady is quite the character…. she is an American woman in her 80’s who married a Greek man and stayed in Mykonos to raise a family. She has built rooms on her property and runs the hotel with her daughter. She is an artist, and her apartment is full of her paintings…and all of the rooms are decorated with her paintings too.
I make my way to the room, and thankfully there are no stairs to get to it. Haha. It’s very clean and spacious with air con and a giant fan. Perfect!
I relax and unpack and then walk back into town for dinner. I find a place called Niko’s Taverna, and sit outside to enjoy the fresh air and some people watching.
There is a tourist scam that is practiced by some restaurants in Mykonos and luckily, I have done my research so I know which places to avoid. They don’t provide a menu with pricing, and then charge you an absurd amount when the bill comes. Yeah, no thanks! Anyway, Niko’s is a great place and the staff are really nice. I order a pasta carbonara and a glass of wine and I’m so beyond hungry at this point since I didn’t have lunch.
I’m pretty tired after this meal, so I head back to Angela’s to relax for the evening after catching the sunset.
Mykonos is a relatively small island in the Aegean Sea, and one of the most popular among tourists.
I was here back in 1997 and I don’t remember too much about it so I’m excited to really explore the island this time.
The island is usually windy, so expect messy hair and your dress to blow up over your head. Exercise caution. First stop of the day is breakfast, and I choose a nice restaurant right in the Old Port called Raya, and order a yummy Greek omelette on toast.
After, I walk along the shoreline to get some pics and then wander to explore more of Chora.
I stop at the old castle ruins and the Church of Panagia Paraportiani, the oldest on the island.
It’s actually 5 joined churches; I have a passerby offer to snap a few shots of me in front of it…and the wind makes for some funny ones.
Then I continue on to an area called Little Venice, which consists of rows of fishing houses along the waterfront with their balconies hanging over the sea.
It’s considered a romantic area and a popular spot for watching the sunset. Because of the wind, the waves crash up onto the small walkways that wind along the shore and in and out of restaurants. Makes it really slippery for walking. Just past Little Venice are the Mykonos windmills, a really popular spot for that perfect Instagram pic.
At this point, I need to find a washroom so I decide to pop into a restaurant that’s on my list and enjoy a glass of wine. It’s called Katerina’s. I can’t get a seat out on the balcony so I sit at a large table by the window that overlooks the balcony. Haha.
A group of 4 walks in shortly after, so I offer to move to a smaller table on the opposite side, still overlooking the balcony. Seated below me on the balcony is a solo female traveller and she’s trying to take a selfie of her with the windmills in the background. Knowing the struggle, I offer to take a pic of her and she agrees. Her name is Helen and we end up chatting for close to an hour and make plans to meet up tomorrow for some exploring. If I hadn’t switched tables, I never would have met her…funny how the world works sometimes! And spoiler alert…she’s a cool chick and I end up meeting up with her a few more times! After my wine, I’m a little tipsy so I zigzag back through the old town and check out some shops along the way.
I stop at a famous waterfront bar/resto called Jackie O’s and enquire about their nightly drag shows. The guy working there tells me they start at 12am. Ok, a little bit late to go out after a long day but I’ll keep it in mind. I head back towards the hotel and stop at a street food place called Bambao, that serves up big cups of noodles and bao buns. I grab a to-go box of noodles to take with me and it is soooo tasty. Just before I get to the hotel, I have a kitty friend follow me back to my room and sit outside the door…she probably wanted some noodles but we don’t feed strange kitties on Angela’s property. Haha.
I settle in and relax for the evening and have a little nap before I get dolled up again to go check out what Mykonos is also famous for…it’s nightlife. I get to Jackie O’s for around 1130, just in time for the drag show. Or so I think…I ask the guy and he kind of laughs and says, oh no the show doesn’t start until around 130am. OMG that’s way too late for me to stay out tonight. I got stuff to see tomorrow! I head back to the hotel, but I walk past Skandinavian Bar…a super popular spot to party the night away. It’s just getting busy so I figure I’ll have a drink and see if maybe I can meet some cool people. I am informed by the bartender that I can only pay cash or start a bar tab with a minimum 30 euro spend. I didn’t bring much cash out with me and I’m not spending 30 euros so I leave and hit up a convenience shop and grab a takeaway beer, sipping it on my sad walk back to the hotel. But I have a really fun final 2 days in Mykonos coming up!
Everywhere On Earth With Erin 