I pretty much slept in after a night in Santorini and didn’t get up until boat drill was getting ready to begin. I prepared all my things the day before to get off in Mykonos AS SOON as I could after the drill. This week’s was a bit longer than usual and I was pulled to help the special care teams get the actor’s who play guests in wheelchairs throughout the ship. They put us in teams of 4 and we have to go run to the designated location and find the crewmember playing that role, put them in a chair and wheel them back to the reception area. It’s actually better than just standing on the deck at my assembly station for 40 minutes with nothing to do.
I got off the ship on one of the first tenders that I could and arrived in Mykonos’ town center about 11:30 am. I had no plans other than to write out my postcards that I bought the night before in Santorini. I figured a postcard from there and a postmark from Mykonos is about the best of both worlds! I started walking through the town, weaving through the labrynth of streets and found my way to the bus station. I was really curious about how much it was to rent a scooter/ATV for the day, so I walked a little further to the string of rental shops and found one I had a good feeling about. I walked in and Christo informed me it was only 15 Euros for a day rental. I only really had about 2 hours at that point to explore, but figured that for about $20, I could see much more of the island than I had or would have while I’m here. So on a whim, I decided to get a bright yellow ATV and hit the streets!!!!
Christo gave me a map and a tank of gas and took my license. He said if I only had a short time, to head towards the beaches side of the island, which I believe is the eastern side. This is where I was two weeks ago when we went to Paradise Beach. Next trip’s plan is to visit Super Paradise, the famous gay beach there, and I thought I might scope it out while I have some fast wheels to take me there! It was an overcast and fairly windy day…not really beach weather, but still hot once you’re outside for a while. I was happy like that driving out in the wide open air, flying and (literally) screaming through the windy roads, pretty much on my own. There were very few cars and a spotting of scooters as I traveled. Once I figured out how the parking brake worked, lol, I would pull over now and then and take pictures of the mountains, the houses and teeny tiny chapels I passed along the way. The road signs were clear and many and led me past the island’s airport to the beached. I followed the signs to Super Paradise and headed directly there, despite the dark cloud that hung above the beach. I climbed up quite and incline, came over the crest and saw the world-reknowned beach from high, high above. It looked pretty dead, but I could understand given the weather and it being a Tuesday. I came down into the valley and headed to the beach parking lot. I could tell it truly was a very popular destination as there were huge parking lots the entire way down the hill to the beach. I parked lil’ yella and hoped to goddess she would start up again when I returned, lol… I walked into the beach and through the pavilion where they have parties and big DJ’s come to spin. There were lots of circuit party-type ads up all over for various DJ’s, full moon parties, etc., etc…. There were a few restaurants along the beach and the main beach club. It looked pretty similar to Paradise Beach, just maybe a tad smaller. The few people who were there were definitely a mix of straight and gay, which also matched what I had ready. Apparently, it’s been a hugely popular gay destination for years and we made it so fabulous that now the straights want to party there because it’s trendy and chic. Same old story as everywhere…
I took off my shoes and walked along the length of the water, which was pretty cold. The sand would go back and forth between being pebbly (like Paradise) and sandy (like east coast beaches in the U.S.). One part of the water’s edge also lined this huge rock formation underwater. It was like a giant rock shelf that came up almost to the furthest point of the tide. I was walking on sinking sand in the water and then all of a sudden came to a solid rock surface to walk on. It was very strange and of course I instantly thought of the danger that could be after a few cocktails…I could just see some ambitious queen who wanted to take a dip after one too many vodka/red bulls… aye……
Since there wasn’t much going on there, I decided to head out and hope for nicer weather in two weeks. I managed to do some self-portraiture with lil’ yella and figured out that it took me about 25 minutes to drive there from the bus depot. This would totally be the way to go next time if we decide to do the beach. No more waiting on a bus for me! I made it back by 1 pm and drove past the rental shop towards the northwestern tip of the island to see what I could see. I drove for another twenty minutes, seeing more residential and commercial areas and fell upon a Natural Foods Store!!! YAY! My rice milk has been SUCH a treat this week and I thought I’d pick some more of that up for sure. The clerk in the shop hardly spoke English, but we were able to manage just fine and I got some rice milk and granola for the week. YEAH! Happier than ever and convinced I could live here and be totally satisfied, I hopped back on my trusty steed and zipped back to the port town.
I dropped off lil’ yella and walked back into the maze, where I promptly got lost. It was a bit disheartening, but I made it out after just a couple backtracks. I decided to sit at the waterfront café with the most gays at it (hey, we’re only in a gay area once every two weeks… gotta be with my people when I can…!) and wrote out my postcards from Santorini over a DELICIOUS cheese omelette and coffee! It was the perfect end to the short, but really amazing afternoon. The icing on the cake was when a couple next to me got up from their table and approached me on their way out of the café. They were American and the husband said how much they really enjoyed my backstage tour yesterday – how interesting it was and how I did a great job. I thanked them for such an outstanding compliment and felt so good after that. Especially working backstage in a show, not much of one’s work gets noticed by the masses, so again, it made me feel awesome about volunteering to conduct these tours. Since the beginning of doing them, I’ve felt like they’re one of the most important tasks I do each week and after getting that simple, but touching comment, I’m even more confident in their effect on our guests.
Anyway…back on the floating resort, I had dinner with Eric and Pieter and we set out for a night of shows! First, we went to see the new acrobats’ – Illya and Valerie- show in the Stardust Theater. They’ve been on the ship this week and backstage rehearsing a bit, so I was excited to see two former Cirque acrobats. Their show was really great and they’re both amazingly strong and graceful. After their show, we scooted down the alley to the Atrium, where the singers’ Cabaret show was set to take place. It was so chaotic there, with guests doing a million different things. Pieter commented it was like trying to hold a show in a Turkish bazaar….and after being in one…. I can say from experience this is accurate! Still, it went well and the singers changed the content to all Broadway music. The most exciting part was Andrew’s rendition of “Corner of the Sky” from Pippen. YAY! Right after this, Pieter and I joined the white heads in the Spinnaker Lounge for the tribute to the Glen Miller Orchestra. The showband played his music while the Cruise Director, Gary, sang and narrated with stories about Glen Miller and his career. It was so interesting and also such amazing music. I really loved it! It was soooo time for “Late Lounge on Deluxe Music and bedtime after such a packed day!
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