Mykonos is known as the party island of the Aegean Sea’s Cyclades Islands.  I didn’t do much partying, but the weather and the sightseeing was terrific.

Flight to Mykonos

To get to Mykonos, I purchased a one-way ticket from Athens (ATH) on Aegean Airlines (return via ferry).  My first time on this airline.  It reportedly has a good frequent flyer program that some see as an easy way to achieve and maintain Star Alliance elite status.

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Aegean A320-200 at ATH
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The distance between ATH and Mykonos (JMK) is only 84 miles. That’s a quick trip in an A320.  Nevertheless, the flight attendants managed to get in a quick service of beverages and packaged snacks even in coach.

Mykonos (Chora)

Mykonos has an area of only about 33 square miles.  The only municipality on Mykonos is — Mykonos.  Kind of like New York, New York I guess.

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Mykonos, or Chora (the town) to the locals

Side streets are narrow and charming but at times become choked with tourists.20180618_214725_resized20180622_115229_resized

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Shops line the narrow side streets.

Buildings are colorful.   Blue, red and green contrast the whitewashed plaster construction.

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The colors of the Greek flag, blue and white, are very popular.

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Little Venice

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Little Venice, a grouping of waterfront homes, stores and restaurants near the Theoxenia hotel, the first hotel I stayed at on Mykonos.

Little Venice is a great spot for dinning and viewing the sunset.

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Dinner at Sunset Restaurant in Little Venice.

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Stick around after diner to view the nearby Mykonos windmills as our friendly neighborhood star sinks below the horizon.

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These windmills are synonymous with Mykonos and the Cyclades. The windmills produced flour from about 1800 until the 1960s.

Chapels

There are many small chapels on Mykonos.  For a number of years,   building a house required first erecting a church on the property.

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Chapel at Myconian Kyma hotel, the other hotel I stayed at on Mykonos.

Armenistis Lighthouse

The Armenistis Lighthouse sits high above the Aegean Sea on Cape Armenistis.

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Cape Armenistis. Mykonos nickname is “the Island of the Winds.” If I lost my hat in the wind here… forget about it.

The lighthouse was built in 1891.  It remains in operation, but the original mechanism was removed in favor of a fully automated design.

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Armenistis lighthouse

The lighthouse and location reminds me of Cape Point and the Cape Point Lighthouse at the Cape of Good Hope.

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View of False Bay and the South Atlantic from the Cape Point lighthouse.  The photo does not do justice to the 75-story drop to the ocean.

Beaches

Santorini is more popular (and more expensive) compared to Mykonos, but the Myconians claim to have far better beaches.  There are many of them.20171008_163824_resized

I think the order of business for many is party past dawn, stumble over to beach, recover, repeat.

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Most of the beaches are not directly in front of hotels but require a drive or walk to get to them.20171008_153625_resized

Food

Seafood is always a good bet on Mykonos.

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Dinner at the Sunset restaurant in Little Venice. I used to think serving fish with the head and tail was gross. Now I prefer it that way.

Greek salad is another can’t miss choice.

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Delicious and healthy. Greek salads are best when washed down with tsipouro. It is 80 or 90 proof.

Other Sights

Streets are narrow, and there are not many sidewalks.  Still, just walking around without any particular goal in mind always produced unanticipated discoveries.

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This windmill was just beside the road.
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I couldn’t resist this photo opp.

Returning to my hotel one day, I encountered this pelican standing guard.

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I later learned that this is Petros II, the successor to the original pelican that became the mascot of Mykonos in 1958.

Overall Impression

The best way to sum up Mykonos is beautiful.  Everything about Mykonos is beautiful — weather, people, food, beaches and scenery.  It is a place everyone should make an effort to visit at least once.