Cruise Buzz

Port musings: Mykonos, Greece for cruise passengers

The first thing that struck me when I visited the rocky island of Mykonos, which is part of the Crcyclades, a Greek archipelago in the Aegean Sea, was the landscape.

 

 

 

I like how Architectural Digest described Mykonos (read more here)

Mykonos is among the most fabled of all the Greek isles.. it’s easy to share (architect) Javier Barba’s enthusiasm from the moment you land there, slap in the middle of the Aegean. Nowhere else, it seems, has the water ever looked this deeply mysterious (the “wine-dark sea,” as Homer famously called it), not least because it contrasts so sharply In all this brightness, it takes a while to realize how unusual these traditional houses are, built like a series of fat white cubes piled one on top of the other, with their windows and doors picked out in vivid colors. Flat-roofed and huddled together to resist the gale-force winds that hit the island, they are painted a perfect, uniform white for the very good reason that it deflects the scorching rays of the sun.

Although the day I was in port we did not have gale-force winds, I could see the effect the winds had on the landscape. Making a trek out to the windmills located in the western part of Mykonos town is a must for those that are agile enough to find their way to the point.

 

I overheard that the homes on Mykonos had to be painted white. Upon further investigation, I found an article addressing the whitewashed dwellings on  Trip Advisor, “Since 1974,all new houses have had to be painted white. This was a common obligation, by law, but sometimes light ochre, pink, and some other light colors have been allowed. Last year, a big debate was re-opened between the Ministry of Culture and other authorities about re-allowing the use of other vivid colors, as in Santorini. This conversation is still in progress.” (read all of it here)

Little Venice in the most western part of Mykonos Town is famous for its 18th century two and three story houses.

 

 

 

Logisitcs: Cruise ships either dock in in Tourlos, which is 2 miles north of Mykonos town or ships will tender passengers to a pier close to shops and  restaurants.

Resources:

• Cruise Buzz Mykonos port guide
• Tripelligent Mykonos review
• Toms Port Guide: Mykonos