Day 10. Mykonos, Greece

We woke up well after the ship had arrived in Mykonos. Cory had slept for 11 hours!!! The beds are certainly very comfortable. He said he did not even hear me come in last night. I could hear him before I even walked in the door. His sinuses are still playing up and he was snoring like a steamtrain. LOL. Lucky I had ear plugs.

Mykonos was waiting for us! The ship provided a shuttle bus to the town of Mykonos. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining. The weather forecast had been for 20 degrees, but the Meditteranean sun was blasting down on us, and I think it was closer to 25 degrees. Wonder if our tans will last for the rest of the trip to chillier destinations? The town was quiet, with many of the shops closed, however it was really a wonderful opportunity to see this style of Greek island without huge crowds. We have decided that if we should ever do a Mediterannean cruise again, it would be at a similar time to this (start or end of season). We have had no crowds and the weather has been fine to perfect. We feel very lucky indeed and think this is the perfect time to travel.

Mykonos was only discovered for tourism in the 1950’s, however became popular in the 1980’s by the wealthy ship owners, royalty and there was a boom in building of holiday homes. It is famous for its white buildings, blue trimmed windows and awnings, and rocky and arid landscapes. It has a variety of beaches, some of which are sandy and others pebbly. There was a huge presence of cats. They are everywhere. All different types. They love it in the sun and were around every corner.  Apparently the tourists feed them up in the summer, and in winter, they have to fend for themselves.

One of the challenges with this type of travelling has been internet service. We have it on the ship, but it is patchy, so its always good to find a coffee shop with good internet so we can catch up on whats going on at home or make a quick skype call. It also gives me a chance to upload the videos which cannot be done on the ship internet. I don’t think youtube, skype, or any of those type of interactive internet programes are available as they use too much bandwidth. we seem to have managed well and have stayed in touch with all your mails and the bits and pieces from Aussie news etc.

Felicia's greek cousin (she's darker - LOL)

We enjoyed Mykonos town, and it was clear there is a very large gay presence during the summer season. There were bars and mens clothing stores everywhere. Apparently there are quite a few resorts here which specialize in this market, and there was a big festival here a few months ago too. We enjoyed the labyrinth of little streets and bright buildings. It felt very festive.

We also visited a beach and dipped our toes in the sea. There were people swimming and enjoying the last of the warm weather. The people here seemed to be more dark skinned and latin in appearance than those in Corfu, where most were fair and anglo in appearance.

It was back to the ship for our final night. When we returned, our stewardess told us there was a surprise waiting in our room. we opened the door to a very unpleasant sight. Our suitcases had been placed on our bed ready to be packed. This is never the highlight for me. I felt quite sad that we were packing our bags to get ready to leave. In order to alleviate the pain, we ended up having a big night at dinner and at the club later on. Fun, fun, fun, but very naughty and very late!!! Heading now for Athens!!!