Mykonos, Greece: Scenes from a visit in April 2023 - Part II

I mention in my first post about visiting Mykonos that I really didn't know much about the island beyond its reputation as a 'party island', or a place for luxury vacations. While our tour did include some of the more typically glamourous aspects of a visit to Mykonos -- the catamaran cruise, visiting 5* hotels with spectaculuar pools and common areas -- we also spent a good 1/2 day seeing some elements of 'the other side' of Mykonos.

One partner we work with operates a multi-faceted business that offers (1) mountain bike tours around parts of the 'inland' areas of the island and (2) organic food and wine experiences. The base is Mykonos Vioma Organic Farm. When you look at its position on the island you can see it is about as far from the town (west coast) and the party beaches (southern coast) as possible.

Our day started with a pick up at the hotel and then a little visit to the farm while they got our bikes ready for the ride. We spent some time saying hello to the animals.

I did not snap any pics during the ride. Our guide, though, was taking pictures every 30 seconds. She did not love my 'no pictures' policy. Hard for her to understand that I could enjoy an experience without taking a selfie every 100m. My colleagues had no issues with her paparazzi mindset. And while dodging her lens I enjoyed the ride through little village back lanes and a stop in Ano Mera for a quick view of a semi-famous monastery. I thought I had some pics from that stop but cannot find them. We had a little snack in Ano Mera before the more challenging leg of the tour, which was to ride up to Fokos Beach in the northeast of the island. Again, we were there in late April, so pre-season. But there was virtually no traffic of any kind. A couple of SUVs maybe passed us in either direction. And another family on bikes, I think. Otherwise we had the landscape to ourselves.

Just a natural, chill little beach still undeveloped. Our guide told us one of the homes up on the hill belongs to a famous Greek singer. I forgot the name. Apparently this part of the island is not as desirable as others because the northerly winds can be fierce. But on a calm day like when we visited it was pretty tranquil. Spent maybe 30-45 minutes resting there and taking it all in before heading back to the farm. We wrapped things up trying some local products and wine ... which I failed to capture very well.

All in all a nice day getting a different, less common view of the Mykonos experience.

Some shots from two days of site visits in Mykonos, Greece (April 2023)

Working my way through pictures and notes of semi-recent trips I am posting about and today's entry will be brief but very visual. Part of what we do on our market trips is to get to know the various properties we partner with (or, might partner with, in some cases when we're checking out a new hotel). Accommodations are a very important part of one's experience in Mykonos. So we spent a good chunk of two days visiting a number of partners. Had some beautiful weather for it. As with most of my posts from this Greece trip, my camera instincts were inconsistent. But I have enough to give a good flavor of the exercise.

First stop was Harmony Boutique Hotel. Very solid option. Walkable to town. Nice rooms. Decent pool area.

Apparently I only have this one shot from our stop at Ilio Maris. Pool area with strong scenery off in the background.

Similarly, just one shot from the Myconian Korali, which if I remember correctly was still very much in the process of getting ready to open for the season. So we were trailing the manager and taking in a lot of info rather than stopping and snapping. And it's part of a compound with Myconian Kyma and Myconian Naia. Felt big.

Grabbed a few from Bill & Coo, which I remember being very sharp and polished.

Up until this point all of the hotels we had visited were beautiful. I'd be quite happy staying at any of them. But Anax was a wow to walk around. Just oozed contemporary luxury with every detail.

Next in my photoroll was Mykonos Grand. I remember the sales director who walked us around here. She was a hoot. Old pro. Very nice. And the property is cool. Winning combination of contemporary and retro chic. Some big villa-esque options there if you're traveling with extended family or friends. Resorty with some old school charm.

Last one in my photos was Mykonos No5. This one was an outlier in terms of location. Seems like the area is still developing as there was evidence of construction off in a few directions. Couldn't quite say if it was just getting started or had been abandoned. Maybe some of both.

Staff was very nice. Rooms are great. Strong pool area. And they fixed us a nice drink while we waited for a taxi. One thing I noted, though, was given its position the sunset would be going down behind you. Felt the chill of being in the shade during out visit in late April. Very nice, but would be lower down my personal list of places to stay just based on its location.

Mykonos, Greece: Scenes from a visit in April 2023 - Part I

Next in our tour through the Cyclades after Naxos and Paros was Mykonos. Prior to visiting I did not know much beyond its reputation for parties and beach clubs. I learned that there is definitely more to experience than Super Paradise.

We stayed at the Elena Hotel, which is an easy walk from the center of town. Once again I took too few pictures. It's a nice little 3* hotel. They were (maybe still are) renovating in stages. The newer rooms are terrific value in a nice spot that offers easy access to the shops and restaurants of downtown while still being set just far enough away to be very chill. The two pics I did take are one view of my more basic older room (with the modern interpretation of a chicken/rooster painting) and the outdoor area where you can eat breakfast, sit with a glass of wine, or take a picture of your sneakers.

(Borrowed this next shot from my colleagues who posted it to the group chat. Think you can tell those aren't my fingers on the keyboard.)

Eventually I got up and walked around a bit. Managed to take a few shots of the surrounding area generally before meandering down to get a view of Little Venice.

At some point we set off on a catamaran cruise over to Delos and Rineia. This was generally pleasant. However, as Mykonos is known as the Island of the Winds and it was late April, it was honestly a bit chilly despite the brilliant sunshine. I mostly curled up trying to stay warm. Snapped a couple of shots of the sheep on Rineia, which is uninhabited aside from the shepherds.

Last pic for this post because it doesn't really fit anywhere else is a beer I ordered during dinner at m-eating, where we had a lovely meal. Trust me. And the beer was pleasant, too.

An Assortment of Experiences in Santorini, Greece (May 2023)

After Naxos, Paros, Mykonos, and Milos, our next stop was Santorini. We had some relatively bad luck with the weather. The guides told us Santorini gets a handful of rainy days per year and we seemed to be there for all of them. Apparently mid April was beautiful - sunny, 70s - but early May decided to bring the clouds. Fortunately it didn't rain all day. Mostly at night at I recall. The last night in particular was a rainout. But we made the most of the hours when we could roam around the island.

Our base was Caldera Premium Villas in Oia. This was a nice spot in a good location offering pretty good value for Oia. Cliffside, rooms with views, the typical steps cascading down to your room. Which is nicer on the way down than the way up. 85 steps to the street. First time I forgot my phone in the room was the last time I forgot my phone in the room.

Room itself was solid and basic. I wasn't on my honeymoon. Didn't need a private infinity pool. Cave-style room with some nice views out the window.

And some nice views as you make your way up some of the stairs to breakfast and the pools.

We did a highlights tour around some of the villages, starting conveniently in Oia. As you expect, something picture-worthy every which way you turn.

I did give in to the urge to buy one of the Yellow Donkey beer shirts. Nice soft blue one in my closet right now.

Of course the pottery caught my eye. Attractive, but nothing I was going to carry around with me for the next week through Crete and Barcelona.

At first glance this might look like a picture of people enjoying a nice coffe with a view. But it's really about that dog lounging on top of the ledge oblivous to the view. What's his deal?

And while there were a fair amount of fellow tourists around, it wasn't bad. There are advantages to visiting in early May. Just might want to give yourself an extra night or two in to minimize the likelihood of rain spoiling too much of your time.

Our excursion also included some time walking through Pyrgos, which I enjoyed. If I were to go back to Santorini I'd look to spend a bit more time around Pyrgos and Megalochori. Just a free day walking / wandering / eating. Seemed pretty relaxed.

If you do pass through Pyrgos, stop by E-sterna Handmade Creations. Very nice little shop with a variety of things that looked / felt both unique and of higher quality than a lot of other shops I saw walking around the island. Pics below from its google maps listing, as I didn't take any.

The next day was spent visiting a range of hotel partners getting a sense of the locations, property characteristics, etc. Snapped a few shots of the views as we went around.

Also snagged a couple at Mythical Blue. Nice place for a shorter visit. Could work for longers stays as well if you're very specific about what room you get.

Across from Mythical Blue is Volkan on the Rocks, which is a great spot for a casual meal / drink with some views.

At this stage of our market tour my younger colleagues were still perplexed by my insistence to receive payment for using my likeness in their photos. This was a creative response posted to the group chat, indicating how a 'normal' person would have participated in the selfie.