As we
were at anchor, Penny, Richard and I took the tender into the pretty little
town of Mykonos, the island's principal village, which is frequently called the
Chora (which translates to "Country" in Greek, but refers to an
island's "Town").
As we
arrived on the Island the first thing we saw was a man and young boy carrying
lobsters! Everyone was wanting to photograph
them all. I guess they were still alive,
but I couldn’t see them actually moving.
We wanted
to explore the little lanes and find the iconic windmills. These were the first three photos I took.
We then
moved into the area called Little Venice where there are bars, bistros, cafés,
and houses and is so called because it (very mildly) resembles the Italian city
of Venice. Most people recognize the
resemblance to Venice in the colourful two-story Venetian-style buildings with
wooden balconies. During the
14th-century, Mykonos lay under the direct rule of the Venetians. This carried
on right up until the 18th-century when the island fell into the hands of the Ottoman
Empire. Many of the buildings within Little Venice were actually built during
the Middle Ages and were once the preserve of wealthy merchants and sea
captains.
We wanted
coffee and there were masses of coffee stops but we were picky as we wanted
waterside and shade – we had to make do with just shade in the end. These steps were opposite where we sat.
We walked
on and when I looked back, I could see Discovery – I love this photo.
We found
the windmills! The seven windmills that
grace the port town are the most famous but Mykonos actually has 16 of them,
mostly erected by the Venetians in the 16th century when Mykonos lay on the
important trade route between the great city state of Venice and the eastern
Mediterranean. Today they are little
more than a tourist attraction but they were once vital to the island's
economy. Ships carrying grain would unload their cargo here for the windmills
to turn the grain into flour. The inland
windmills of Mykonos at Ano Mera mainly served the needs of Mykonos
islanders. The cone straw roofs on top
of the triple storied buildings were rotated to catch the wind and stand alone
as housebuilding nearby was banned. Nearby buildings might have disturbed the
airflow around the delicate cloth sails that drove the windmill and slowed down
the grinding process.
Why do I stand with my toes turned in??
You could
pay to have your photo taken with this poor donkey, needless to say I just took
a photo of the donkey on its own – well if that woman hadn’t photo bombed
it! We did see if having a drink of
water, so it wasn’t all bad.
I’ve seen
some dirty cars in the past, but this car park seemed to be full of them!
We
started walking back towards the harbour and discovered a great many small
chapels – this one was quite big in comparison.
We passed
this shop.
I wanted
to find Church of Panagia Paraportiani.
Construction of this church started in 1425 and was not completed until
the 17th century. It actually consists of five separate churches which are
joined: the four churches (dedicated to Saint Eustathios, Saint Sozon, Saints
Anargyroi and Saint Anastasia) are at ground level and constitute the base of
the fifth church that has been built above them. The five churches were not constructed at
once, but gradually along centuries. The oldest church is Agios Anargyros,
which was built in the late 14th century. The other churches were built in the
16th and the 17th century, while there were renovations till 1920.
Penny
decided to take the tender back to the ship while Richard and I went to look
for somewhere for lunch. I think we made
a good choice – Richard actually had a Greek salad!!!
We found
this bin – there were others. Me being
me have had to look up Bigbelly and discovered that it senses and communicates
fullness and even has on-board GPS for geolocation! I guess that’s what it uses its solar power
for.
We had a
meander along the harbour looking in the shops then made our way back to the
ship.
These
photos were taken as we sailed away.
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