Islands here we come!

Island time kind of got away from me this week as we started the relaxing part of our Grecian vacation.

We started the Greek isles by going to Mykonos, but just for the day. Unlike the rest of this vacation, BK and I had to wake up before the crack of dawn (5am) to get to Rafina Port in Athens to catch a speed boat to Mykonos. You can take all kinds of different types of boats when you're island hoping, but if you take the slow ferries it takes much longer to get between them- 6 hours from Athens to Mykonos versus 2.5 on the speed boat we took. I think you can also go by plane, but I'm not familiar with that option either. For me, any of the options mean sleep because I will no doubt be taking motion sickness medicine for the journey.

A note on the ferries: they are a disaster and complete chaos when it comes to boarding and unloading. First of all, when you board, the boat may or may not even be on time. Our first one that left on time, but my impression is that's only because we were the first journey of the day. Our ferry from Mykonos to Santorini was about two hours late and the one from Santorini to Crete was about an hour late. The worst thing about this is that apparently they're "always late". Why not just change the timetable if you can't make the time? When you unload, people are trying to push their way out, your luggage is not anywhere close to where you are sitting so you have to go against the flow of traffic and the boat staff is typically yelling at everyone. Not the greatest customer experience, but still an efficient and affordable way to get around. I would highly recommend pre-booking your tickets online so you don't miss out on the boat you want to take, as they are generally pretty crowded. 

Fishing boats in Mykonos Old Port

Now onto Mykonos...I honestly have to say, overall I was not that impressed. We arrived into the new port, which seems to be just around the cove from the old port, so you're not out in the middle of no where or anything. The thing that struck me most is that it's really dirty. I got off the ferry hoping to step out and smell the fresh ocean air, but instead was hit in the face with the overwhelming smell of exhaust from all of the ferries, ships, buses, taxis and cars idling in the port area. There is also a lot of trash everywhere, which is disappointing for such a beautiful place to be disrespected by its residents and visitors.



Mykonos coastline

We only had six hours or so in Mykonos, which really isn't enough time to do the island justice (take that into consideration when I say I was a little underwhelmed). We didn't venture too far out of the Old Town, simply due to the fact that we were unsure about how long things would take and also know that we would want to explore around Old Town some. We walked around the ports first then headed up the hill a little bit to check out the windmills that Mykonos is somewhat known for. We explored the coast and a couple of beaches a bit then headed back to Old Town. The coastline and water was beautiful- the water is vivid shades of blue and the coastline is extremely rocky. 

The Mykonos Old Town is really nice, with lots of narrow, twisting cobblestone streets lined with small shops selling everything from random touristy stuff to high-end handbags. We did a little bit of shopping, stopped at a couple of churches, then pretty much just hung out at a cafe reading, people watching and enjoying fresh seafood for lunch. It was actually a really relaxing afternoon.



Our view during lunch

After a bit of waiting, we boarded our second high speed ferry of the day and headed to Santorini, where we would relax for the next three days. If we come back to Greece, I'm not sure that I would put Mykonos on the list again, but mostly because I really enjoyed the other islands we visited. I've also heard that if you're looking for a wilder nightlife, Mykonos is a great place. Santorini on the other hand, I would go back there in a heartbeat, but more about that coming up soon.