Travelin' Fullers Blog: Mykonos - a Greek Island Jewel

I was actually on the Island of Mykanos around 1965 with my parents. I remembered where we had lunch on the coast of the main harbor where we tendered in. I rounded a corner and knew it was where we had lunch about 50 years ago!

We met our excellent guide, Christa Meixner, as we began a beautiful early morning walking tour through this lovely village. The Island now depends almost entirely on tourism to survive. There is no agriculture to speak of. Fruits and vegetables are imported from nearby islands.

There are over 600 churches on the Island. Year round residents number around 7000, but the population swells considerably during the summer months and is almost deserted in the bitter cold of January and February. Mykanos is known as a party island for young visitors. There is a particular beach, which on any given night, can have 4000 young people partying late into the night! The islands biggest day, however, is August 15, which is the Ascencion. They have 60,000 (!!!) people who come for this religious celebration. Easter is the 2nd most important holiday for the Greek Orthodox Church, but Ascencion is the first. Most of the visitors come from Italy! Our guide thinks 80% are Italian. The locals don't like it very much because there are a LOT of people who have had too much to drink driving all over the island on scooters. The locals don't go on the roads unless they have to..

One of the reasons there are so many churches on the island is because these small, privately built chapels, become "bone" houses for those that have died. Custom has it that after four years of burial, the oldest lady in the family has the person dug up and she "washes" the bones. They are then put in a large wooden box and placed in the family church.

The houses all look the same on the Island. This is not just because the inhabitants like white and blue! It's because back in the 1950's, the Minister of Culture proclaimed that one day, the island would depend solely on tourism. Thus, a law was made that all houses must be cubical, no more than 2 stories high, painted white, windows and doors are a standard size (single door, no picture windows) and all windows must have painted shutters. You are allowed to use the natural stone in the building so it can be a combination of natural stone and smooth white washed walls. You are allowed a choice in paint, but everyone seems to prefer the same blue! (Occasionally you will see a "rebel" who has painted shutters and their door pale green or even red!). It has given the island a distinctly beautiful uniformity.

One interesting side story. We went to visit the small, but exquisite Monastery of Ano Mera. Inside are beautiful icons and magnificent wood carvings. The church owned a great deal of the land on the far side of the island. Many years ago, the Fathers granted permission to the local fisherman to use part of their land to house their boats and nets. Slowly, over time, a small fishing village grew up with its own Tavernas and homes and stores. But, these fisherman never owned the land or had a permit to build there. They did pay water and sewer fees and taxes to the government , but still they were not the owners! Recently, the Church sold a large portion of this land (that houses the fishermans' village) to a very wealthy American. Even though everyone knows EVERYTHING on this small island, no one has found out how much the seaside land sold for! But, to the surprise of the fisherman, bulldozers showed up one day to start to clear the land. The local bulldozer drivers then refused to tear down the village, so they brought in outside people to drive the machines. When they showed up a few weeks ago, the fisherman used guns to shoot at the machines (not the operators) but they destroyed at least one bulldozer with gunfire! Thirty policeman came and the clearing of the structures was temporarily stopped. However, they are due to come back next week. It is rumored that The American who bought the land is going to build an all inclusive resort.

One other interesting note. We met the charming "Petros" today---the mascot of the island, a Pelican. Petros was rescued by a fisherman 30 years ago and has remained with him ever since. Usually Pelicans starve to death when they get old because they go blind and can no longer see to hunt for fish. This is because of the many years of abuse to their eyes as they dive for fish. Petros eyes are great since he has not had to "fish for himself" . His eyes are still good!

This is our last Greek stop. Tomorrow we arrive in Kusadasi, Turkey..