Day 13 – May 12, 2010 – Mykonos and Get Down Tonight

Today I got to go ashore to the famous gay destination, the island of Mykonos. The weather was perfect – hot and sunny and clear. Pieter and I decided to just tour around the town and save a trip to the beaches for next time. We tendered today and got over to the island with plenty of time to take in the sights.

We decided to hit the famous windmills first and walked through the iconic white, cubic-style buildings – restaurants, boutique hotels, specialty shops – along the waterfront towards the massive old structures. The style of architecture was very similar to Santorini. The stores were just a bit more modern and chic and clearly catering to a young, jet-setting type of tourist – celebrities, gays, fashion-forward travelers who are looking for an exciting atmosphere and vibrant nightlife. It was my kind of vibe for sure!

The next things I noticed were rainbow flag stickers all over the place – in the windows and doors of many of the businesses on the island. It was a sort of welcoming committee of stickers…very nice. Ship life in that respect has been interesting. I haven’t personally felt any sort of hostility, per se, but it’s definitely a very straight world and especially amongst the crew, a macho attitude prevails. I’ve met lots of great people though, of course most of the gays and also a bunch of open straight people. No worries here!

Anyway, the layout of the town in Mykonos was designed to confuse the pirates who would regularly ransack the town. The streets are narrow walkways that twist and turn and basically form a really complicated labrynth. It makes for a tough time trying to find specific places! Then again, it allows for all these completely unique alleyways and mini-blocks and corners and pockets filled with all sorts of treasures.

The windmills were stunning – really huge and the thatched roofs were giant bird nests with some pretty loud residents! The view of the town from the windmills was perfect – the water was sooo blue and all the cafés along it looked so lovely.

We turned inwards to explore all the side roads and more of the residential areas, which I am always way more interested in than the tourist areas. We found more and more beautiful Greek gays, gay bars and restaurants and it made me want to stay the night to party with them all so badly! I know I will one day soon I’m sure!

I took lots of pictures and stared at the brilliant bougainvillea climbing all over the buildings here, thinking I can’t wait to show Mom! Pieter and I got to bond some more, talking about our lives, loves, and dreams while meandering through the maze of Mykonos. The afternoon sun was beating down and baking us, so we leisurely made our way back to the tender, making note of the bus depot in the town center. That’s where you take a shuttle to the beaches.

After getting back on the ship, we had tech run for “Get Down Tonight” and I spent the rest of the afternoon in the dressing room, doing repairs and getting ready for the show. The show went well tonight, but two of the boys forgot their wigs upstairs in the dressing room and didn’t realize until right before going on for that number, so I had to run up, grab them and get them to the dancers with about 3 seconds to spare. Whew!

After so many days of packed schedules, I was just done after the show! I came back to my tent (the bed in my cabin has like a wrap-around privacy curtain, so I feel like it’s a tent, lol) and passed out!