Of Mykonos, Paradise and Age Appropriateness

The day after our visit to Mykonos, we woke up to find ourselves anchored off a small island opposite Delos, an uninhabited island that is the site of extensive ancient ruins. Mark and I had decided we'd had enough of ancient ruins, so we opted - as did others - to stay on the ship to swim, read and soak up the sun.

It was a delightful morning. The sky was almost cloudless. The water was warmish. It felt good to be alive. Mark and I borrowed the ship's kayak and paddled around the point of the island opposite Delos and found a tiny rocky beach, just big enough to secure the kayak and allow us to shuck our swim suits and go skinny dipping. The water, as usual, was crystal clear, and it was fun to experience it au natural out of sight of the ship.

After lunch, we motored the short distance to Mykonos where we (us passengers) would be on our own for the rest of the day. Mark and I wanted to go to the famous Paradise Beach or its neighbor, Super Paradise Beach. I guess both have a well-established reputation as gay beaches. We lucked into sharing a taxi with a couple from Argentina and headed to Super Paradise Beach. It was not what we had expected. Blaring music, a party atmosphere and people who were mainly of an age to be our children.

A aerial shot of Super Paradise Beach (from the Internet)

We were there less than five minutes before Mark said, "Let's go. This isn't our kind of place." I had to agree. However, as we walking back out of the huge taverna that serves as the gateway to the beach, three of the most gorgeous, muscled young men I have ever seen walked in. It was tempting to stay just for the eye candy, but we felt like spectators at a fraternity-sorority party. Though Mykonos has a reputation as being one of the "hottest gay holiday destinations that Europe has to offer," we are way too old for that scene.

Instead, we took a shuttle back to town and proceeded to wander around the tiny streets of an area of Mykonos town known as "Little Venice." The following pictures were taken as we strolled.

We came around a corner and saw this pelican waddling up the street.
I will write about him in my next post.

This guy was selling handmade bracelets down on the wharf. I bought one with blues and browns to remind me of the colors of the islands. I asked him if I could take his picture because of his incredible eyes. I never knew there are so many Greeks (he's from Athens) with blue eyes.

We were back at the ship by late afternoon. We sat out on the sun deck to read, write and watch the sunset. Most of the rest of the passengers headed into town for an evening of revelry, but we opted for a quiet evening on the ship. It ended up being an unexpectedly interesting evening, which I'll write about in my next post.