Our last official day of the cruise was in Mykonos. When I planned for this cruise I noticed there weren’t as many excursion options offered by the cruise line as you find in the Caribbean or even Alaska. Given that, I reached outside of the traditional offerings and booked an excursion through Viator that was to include a 5 hour catamaran sailing with wine and lunch around the southern beaches of Mykonos. Unfortunately, I received a text the night before informing us that due to wind, our excursion had been cancelled. This meant that like Santorini, our day in Mykonos was left to our own devices. Unlike the other ships in port, our ship was able to utilize the docking area rather than tinders to the shore. Unfortunately this also meant we had to find transportation from the ship to the town. But Mykonos was ready for us in the form of the water taxi or bus. We were one of the first off the ship as we were trying to find an alternate plan for the day and opted for the first water taxi out of the harbor.

Mykonos on a quiet Sunday morning is almost mystical. It’s labyrinth of streets looks like something from a sci-fi tv show. Little stone stairways led to rooms on the second floor. Roads no wider than the hallways of our apartment traversed this maze of shops, restaurants, churches, hotels and homes. In Santorini, there were tour guide stalls throughout the city. We searched but could not find the same in Mykonos. Like Santorini we thought the an afternoon beach trip at Paradise Beach, the famous party beach would be fun. We headed across the harbor to the bus station, but realized we didn’t have enough cash. On our way to an ATM, we spotted another water taxi station that would take us to Paradise Beach so we purchased tickets for the 11:30 boat instead. Being only 9:30 we wandered back to explore the town and wait for the ferry. As the time drew near, many boats pulled up to the dock to take guests to the small local islands. When I asked about our boat, we were told it was cancelled due to the wind and should not have been sold the tickets. The man graciously escorted us back to the ticket booth and refunded our money in cash. Now we had money for the bus and did not have to pay the ATM fee, lemonade from lemons!!

The bus to Paradise beach revealed the barrenness of the island. One tends to forget that these islands are volcanic in their origins and it’s the beauty of the buildings that make them so attractive. We reached the beach and needed to select a club. We chose the Tropicana as it was right of the parking lot where we we caught the bus. Mykonos is a little more expensive than Santorini and the price for the 2 chairs with umbrella was $75 euros plus $35 euros/ea for food. While it seemed expensive, it was less money than our catamaran adventure so in the end we saved money!

While at the beach we enjoyed a wonderful tray traditional Greek food, way more than we could eat, and our favorite aperol spritz! The water was beautiful and the vibe was exciting. Music played in the background and everyone was having a great time. I could definitely stay here for a few days and really enjoy myself.

As with the other days, the time slips by and the bus has arrived to take us back to town and board the ship. This cruise officially ends tomorrow. I don’t know how anything could top what we’ve seen so far, but Athens is up next!