Mykonos was our destination for our fourth day in Greece. Our mode of transportation was a ferry boat that regularly plied the inter-island route in the Cyclades group of islands. Mykonos’ location was 86 nautical miles (160 kilometers) in the southeasternly direction from Athens. It was 64 nautical miles (118 kilometers) north of the island of Santorini.

The chaotic departure.

Our departure time was not until early afternoon. It gave us time to sleep in and not hurriedly pack our belongings. We started heading for the hotel lobby earlier than usual to check out. People were already crowding the lobby. All of us were waiting for the same shuttle bus to transport us to Fira port.

At Fira port, we were not the only busload of people waiting to board the inter-island ferry. All of us were crowding a small pre-departure hallway! We were looking like a herd gradually working our way up the ferry ramp. There was a scramble to find luggage space to store our luggages. We then beehived to the upper deck to find our seats. Further chaos ensued when people started arguing over double-booked seats! One ferry went out of commission and another partially booked ferry took over the route to Mykonos.

The less chaotic arrival.

Our arrival was less chaotic than our departure but we still had to scramble. Everybody were grabbing luggages from the lower deck storage area. The apprehension was great for lost luggages and missed shuttle transport. Luckily, everything went smoothly and we settled in our hotel room.

Mykonos town

The island of Mykonos was only 33 sq. mi. (85 sq. km.) in land area – almost the same size as the island of Santorini. However, unlike Santorini, most restaurants and bars, shops, and popular destinations were located on the west side of the island. Our hotel was a 10-minute walk to the old port. That was where we were heading for the evening.

Sunset was also a big thing in Mykonos. The old port has a row of windmills that were providing a wonderful foreground for the setting sun. People were lining up at the breakwater waiting for the sunset.

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As darkness settled in, the bars and restaurants were coming to life. It was dinner time and happy hour time. We had our serving of Greek salad, anchovies, and lamb chops. The local beer tasted good too. We didn’t want to eat too much but, we can’t help it – it was too delicious!

The clothing and souvenir shops were still open for business. Even the high-end shops were waiting for the late shoppers. People kept walking up and down the alleyways searching and looking for bargain purchases. It didn’t stop until late in the evening when shops had to close down for the day.

Our introduction to the island of Mykonos was short and sweet. We enjoyed our self-guided foray into the west side of Mykonos.