Mykonos

We arrived at the port of Mykonos around mid-day. We had a driver waiting for us to take us and our bags to our hotel. It was a relatively quick drive from the port to Ornos. Ornos is a small town on the island of Mykonos. Our hotel was located on a hill that was close enough to walk to the beach with little trouble while also being high enough on the hill to overlook the beaches and the town of Ornos. After getting set up in our hotel we made our way down to the beach. Local restaurants, bars and cabanas were aligned up and down the beach. That first night we spent exploring Ornos, enjoying the beach, some wine and food.

 

 The weather was perfect on the island of Mykonos. It was low 90s with a breeze. Everyone walked, used 4-wheelers and scooters to get everywhere. The local attire, swim suits. We went to a mom and pop car rental place with the intent to rent a scooter, unfortunately if you are a U.S. citizen you need a motorcycle license to rent scooters in Greece. If you are from pretty much any other country you just need a driver license (apparently too many Americans were involved in accidents), so we did the next best thing and rented a 4 wheeler. We used this 4 wheeler to explore the island while visiting different towns and beaches. We also used the 4 wheeler to get to our scuba diving site.

While I have my scuba license, Paige does not. So the first dive was a “discover scuba dive” where an instructor went through the ins and outs of scuba diving with Paige. She familiarized herself with the equipment, ascents, descents and safety procedures. After this brief intro Paige and I, along with the instructor, headed out to the beach where Paige took her first breath underwater, learned to clear her goggles of water when submerged and practiced removing/finding the regulator. We then took off and dove around the island enjoying the underwater life and scenery. Paige did incredible on her first ever dive. Even the instructor was impressed with how quickly she learned the ways of diving. After we returned, I went back out and did a dive that took me deeper and farther into the Aegean Sea. It was incredible diving Mykonos. I think I have convinced Paige to get her license too!

 

Later on Paige and were laying out on the beach when a group of girls who worked for a local club walked by selling tickets for a beach party. We decided to purchase some tickets as it was rated one of the best beach clubs in the world. Purchasing the tickets from these girls included a significant discount. They informed us the only things is “we are required to show up to the club before 1:30am.” We knew clubs here (and in most countries) are open long after 2am but showing up before 1:30am seemed late even by European standards. So we didn't think much of this comment. We ended up showing up to the beach club around mid-night. As we were walking in another American couple was walking out commenting, “don’t waste your money, it is dead.” Sure enough we walk in and there is only a scattered amount of people.

 We decided we would give the club until 3am to get going. Over the next 45 minutes people began to fill the club. Around 3am it was pretty full with more still arriving. After spending several hours dancing around this absolutely gorgeous beach club with a full moon over head and filled to capacity with individuals from all walks of life we decided to call it quits around 5:30am. The Greeks had officially out lasted us. We took off on our 4-wheeler and drove to the other end of the island through the dark of night. We found a perfect little turnout where we had a fantastic view of the moon setting. This was breathtaking watching the "largest moon of the year" disappear behind the mountains of Mykonos. Shortly after the moon had set, we turned our attention to the Aegean Sea and watch one the most spectacular sunrises we had ever seen. To say it was picture perfect would be an understatement.

We spent several days on Mykonos. The remainder of the time was spent on the beach, swimming, eating and just plain relaxing. Paige read through several books while relaxing in the sun (she is probably the fastest reader I know) and I did a couple runs around the island. Paige and I both highly recommend Mykonos to anyone traveling to Greece. It was beautiful, exciting and very hospitable with plenty of entertainment and food.