Saturday, August 26, 2017

Here's A Mykonos You May Not Know


Jeff—Saturday

A dear friend of mine—who also happens to be a reviewer—sent me a message, “More Mykonos photos, please!”

That’s a fair request, though hopefully not raised as a subtle criticism of the prose I’ve been posting of late.

That got me to wrestling with the question of what sort of photographs should I post? I’ve already posted photos of brilliant white Cycladic structures, Aegean blue seas and skies, hillside flowers, scantily clad partying bodies, and garbage dumping exposés. So what’s left?

That’s when it hit me.  Answer the question, “What’s left?”

Some on the island would say very little.  They’d point to how the island is now in service to rejoicing celebrities, as reported in a new Travel & Leisure article, titled appropriately, “The Greek Island that Celebs are Flocking to This Year.”  Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, picked Mykonos to celebrate his birthday and emancipation from the rigors of training, something our island is very good at doing.




Others see the island’s most distinctive feature—its architectural signature—as threatened by buildings allowed to adopt the passing fashions of foreign styles. They point to a just erected upscale mall utilizing non-indigenous plantings, sculptures far from Cycladic, and an underground parking garage, as establishing a foothold on the island for construction perfectly suited for LaJolla or Palm Springs California, but very much out of keeping with the island’s past.





But I didn’t want to focus on any of that. Instead I wanted to share a bit of timeless Mykonos that still exists today—if you know where to look.  So, I jumped into my trusty Jimny and headed off to places I treasure.  And here they are, but I shall not reveal their locations.  Because I want them to remain as they are, indomitable optimist that I am.

























­—Jeff

12 comments:

  1. I'm happy there are still parts of the island that remain that touch your heart. We all need those places for our roots to be nourished.

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  2. Those last few pics do look like the Baleach Na Ba - except here you can't see it for the rain!

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  3. How beautiful it is without the drunks and the nudists!

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    1. Well that cut right to my core. Being drunk and sunbathing without clothes on being lumped into the same cicle of hell! I would hope that despite all the changes to the island the one thing that never changes is the freedom to enjoy a beach anyway one wishes. As long as we have family beaches, party beaches, quiet beaches, naked beaches, deserted beaches and every one can enjoy as they wish then that is and always has been Mykonos in my opinion. Our problem at the moment is all beaches are in danger of becoming party beaches. Surely you don't feel that nudists are taking over? I am finding it harder and harder to find a beach to get an all over tan.

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    2. I certainly don't want to see the nudists go. In fact, I'm just as much up in arms at all the efforts on the part of certain beach licensees to please their new, more conservative (and free spending) clientele by literally forcing nudists off the beaches.

      As for the drunks, I don't mind them either, as I've gotten used to them at writers' conventions... thankfully fully clothed.

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  4. I am sending this to friends who are visiting Mykonos this fall - I want them to see both sides of Mykonos.

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    1. That will certainly be a calmer time to August madness.

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  5. Wow. Seeing these spectacular photos shows me why Mykonos is so close to your heart. What a beautiful island. May it always retain its beauty (ancient and modern).

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  6. From your lips to the politicians' ears, Susan.

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