Mykonos

Mykonos – Scenic Views, Stubborn Detours, and Paradise Beach Redemption

Our day in Mykonos started with a scenic tour that looked straight out of a postcard — whitewashed houses with blue domes, sparkling bays, and those picture-perfect windmills dotting the horizon. We cruised past Ornos Beach, where the yachts were lined up like a luxury car show, and made a quick stop at Kalafatis Beach for photos and a moment to breathe in the Aegean air.

Next up was Ano Mera village and the Monastery of Panayia Tourliani, a calm little escape from the crowds. Again we were reminded that in Greece our feline friends our “everyone’s cats” as we watched a beautiful calico nap in the monastery. Then came the ouzo tasting. Let’s just say… ouzo is not my drink. It tastes like Jägermeister’s distant Greek cousin, and it brought back way too many memories of poor choices and brutal hangovers from my younger days. Hard pass.

After the tour, everyone else was already heading straight for the beach — cocktails and lounge chairs calling their names. But me? No way. We had one day inMykonos, and I wasn’t about to waste it all sitting in the sand, no matter how pretty it was. My husband, on the other hand, looked like a man moments away from staging a coup. I could practically hear him thinking, “Please, for the love of Zeus, just let me sit down somewhere with a cold drink.”

Instead, I dragged him through the winding alleys of Mykonos Town window shopping, dodging tourists, and hunting down those famous windmills. When we finally made it, there was a man with a donkey offering rides — the perfect cherry on top of my jam-packed agenda.

By this point, I was really pushing my luck. Our recent anniversary might have been our last if I didn’t get this man out of the crowds and onto a beach chair ASAP. So, I called an Uber, we headed to Paradise Beach, and balance was restored. The water was cool and refreshing, the views were stunning, and my husband finally forgave me — at least until the next overly ambitious sightseeing plan.

Honestly, I could spend a week here just soaking it all in… preferably not during peak tourist season, when dodging tour groups feels like an Olympic sport.