Thursday, June 14, 2018: Port of Call – Mykonos, Greece

I was awakened at 4:40 AM by a phone call. I just clicked ignore and it rang right back again. I could see that there were a ton of numbers so just clicked ignore again. I was not able to get back to sleep but did stay in bed and dozed a bit. When I did get up I saw that the first call was from Germany and the second from Romania. The funny thing was that I had my cellular off, so not sure how the calls got through.

I went down to get some breakfast and Don and Frankie were there so I joined them. They had already eaten but sat with me while I ate my eggs Benedict. We then went ashore and took a bus to a drop off point a half mile or so from the town.

It was sunny and hot again but only in the low 80s so it seemed more pleasant, but that could be because we were on our own and not on an excursion.

We meandered around the town which consists of narrow, winding little alleys surrounded by white walls with some colorful shutters, balconies, and shops. We got to a dead end area and Frankie climbed a hill to take pictures of the windmills. He ran into Barb and PK and talked with them while Don and I people watched.

Narrow walkway in Mykonos

When Frankie returned, we walked along the breakwater where many little restaurants are located and sat at one for a beer. Barb and PK, came along and sat with us. We talked and took photos then moved on back through the town. I stopped at one store and bought something, then we started heading back towards the pick up point for the buses.

We all wanted to eat lunch in town and I had seen a nice little fish restaurant. We stopped there and got a table next to the water. I ordered a saganaki (fried cheese) and pita bread for the table and an octopus salad. Barb and PK shared a Greek salad and grilled calamari. Don got a kabob and fries. Frankie ordered a Greek salad and fried sardines.

Everything was excellent and we all enjoyed the meal. Very light and refreshing.

We headed back to the ship agreeing that it had been a most pleasant time not being herded around like cattle.

Mykonos

Frankie at the beer stop

Kavos RestaurantSardines

Octopus SaladCalamari and Greek Salad – the tomatoes were excellent!Kebab

I went to my room and had a lay down for a couple hours. Then I took a shower and went down to Gatsby’s for a drink. After that I went up to the pool deck and found Rob, Krysti, Don and Frankie. We sat for a while chatting then they left to get ready for dinner just as PK and Ann showed up. I sat with them for a while then went to dress for dinner.

There was a White Hot party that night so most people were dressing in white. I had brought a white shirt and capris so put those on and went down to the Aqua Restaurant for dinner.

It is a smaller restaurant than the Versailles and darker, but the menus are basically the same. I sat at a table with Mike and Linda whom I had not talked a lot with and Rob and Krysti joined us. It was nice getting to know them better.

I ordered fried calamari, cauliflower soup, and the veal special of the night. It was veal and mushrooms in a light cream sauce over egg noodles. It was all very tasty.

The seas were supposed to be a little lumpy during the evening and you could feel it pick up as we sat and ate. Both Barb and Krysti had their wristbands on but were starting to feel a little peaked towards the end of dinner.

The entertainment before the party was a magician, but I decided not to go. I planned on a fairly early evening. I went back to Gatsby’s and sat at the bar. Shortly after a couple of men sat next to me. There was a jazz band playing and they were loud but not nearly as loud as the piano man.

Staff’s white night shirtsJazz Band

Turns out the men were from Santiago, Chile. I was a little hesitant to talk with them because I didn’t want to be seen as being on the prowl for a man. Turns out they were gay so we got along great after that!

Not sure exactly what their full names were but Chris was next to me and Petra was his partner. Turns out Chris had owned a restaurant (#18 on TripAdvisor) in Santiago and had recently sold it. He said he hadn’t been looking to sell but was made an offer he couldn’t refuse.

He is now getting into catering and teaching cooking and has a YouTube channel with a cooking demonstration and something else. I can’t stream onboard so haven’t had a chance to check it out.

He did say he has a beautiful apartment and has people there to teach cooking after going to the markets together to buy the food. Sounds like my kind of heaven.

He also was a good representative of his country and pretty much has me convinced to go there.

I ended up staying talking with him until after midnight. Never made it to the party, just went to bed.

It was my favorite day of the cruise and Friday is a travel day so will be a good one for relaxing and taking it easy.

So we said goodbye to beautiful Greece and will say hello to Croatia soon.