Week Break – Mykonos (Part 3 of 3)

When I found my assigned seat on the Flyingcat 4 I was alone. An aisle seat in the front of the boat gave me plenty of leg room and I looked around wondering if anyone would be sitting in the two seats next to me. A minute or two passed before a couple came by and claimed them. In general when I see people who I know are American I ask where they are from. I wasn’t at all expecting the answer this time though. The guy (Michael) was from Grants Pass, Oregon! To make things even crazier he actually graduated from Oregon State in 2002! We talked for a while about Oregon and his trip to the islands so far with Iza who is from the Philippines. They had spent some time in Ios before going to Santorini and now on their way to Mykonos for two nights. The conversation eventually dissolved as they took a nap and I read my book. The ferry was a quick one (and expensive) and we parted ways at the port.

After almost getting ditched by the guy picking people up at the port our little bus arrived at Paradise Beach Resort. The place is literally on the beach about 10 minutes away from the main town. I was shown to my little shack in a corner of the resort consisting of three walls up against the bed and about 3 ft of space between the door and the bed. I took it as motivation to not spend time in the “room”. I set down my things and set out to explore. The beach was beautiful and the restaurants along it looked wonderful but I decided it wasn’t a beach day. I went back to my shack to get some things and then got on the local bus into the city. Some of my friends had arrived the day before and some that day but I wasn’t sure where any of them were staying and no one was picking up their cell phone. I decided that wandering around town would be the only way to find them other than maybe Facebook. When the bus got to town I noticed a souvlaki place next to the station that had free wifi. About 10 seconds after exiting the bus and 3 steps toward the restaurant I noticed Michael and Iza walking towards the same place! I waved at them and they looked just as surprized to see me. I asked if they were coming there to eat and they asked if I wanted to join them for gyros. “Sure!” I said, not having any place better to be.

The traditional windmills in Little Venice, Mykonos. Click for the rest of my picture of Mykonos!

After we sat and talked over delicious gyros Iza asked if I wanted to then join them for coffee at a cafe somewhere. I agreed and we walked through the winding city eventually popping out in front of the famous windmills of the city. It was incredibly windy that Saturday and yet the windmills weren’t turning at all! They had no sails on them for some reason like they do in the postcards and I’m not quite sure why. I would have thought they could still be useful to the city in providing green power but I guess they are just for display now. Walking away from the windmills in search of coffee we were trying not to get blown over into the sea on our left and fending off cafe employees trying to get us into their cafes on the right. I spotted a window with people sitting having coffee over the water and decided that would be our destination, as soon as we could find it. The Rhapsody Cafe was exactly what we were looking for. As soon as we got them to close the windows to keep us out of the wind we had a beautiful and cozy view of the sea and the windmills. I told Michael and Iza that the area reminded me of Venice since the shops were right up against the water without any shore and Iza said, “Well that might be why they call this area Little Venice then!” I learned a lot more about Iza and Michael and how he took a trip to the Philippines and then just never left. He never even officially moved out, he just didn’t come back. I could see myself doing the same thing if I hadn’t gotten the internship in Maryland for the next 6 months. I think getting the job was a way of grounding myself in the US and keeping my head in school.

I wanted to wander around the city in search for my friends and Iza and Michael were more than happy to accompany me so the three of us ended up spending the whole night together in the city. We went shopping, we took each others pictures, and we explored together. I have never had so much fun with people who 12 hours earlier had been total strangers. At the end of the night I still hadn’t found my friends, and I was totally ok with that. I made my way back to my shack and had my first night of solid sleep in 9 days. So my lesson in Mykonos was this: Even if you start off alone, life can keep you company in unexpected ways.

The next morning I woke up with a nice breakfast on the beach and laid out to soak up the sun. My ferry didn’t leave until 2 pm so I had time to explore the area around the beach as well. Paradise Beach is surrounded by a cove with two cliffs on the sides so I hiked up one side and took pictures from up there like the one below. From what I saw of the island it was a really beautiful place that wasn’t too crowded just yet. It isn’t quite tourist season yet and I thank God every day for that fact since it’s late enough in the year for everything to be open, but not time for the masses of people to arrive yet. I felt bad that I didn’t spend more time in Mykonos to really give it a chance at being my favorite island over Santorini. I ended up finding my friends on the ferry back to Athens and we begrudgingly started school again on Monday.

Paradise Beach, Mykonos. Click for the rest of my pictures of Mykonos!