Greece Travel Blog

Ten minutes in Santorini restored a sense of spirituality that years of catholic schooling and forced church attendance had long since beaten out of me. I could’ve sworn I caught a glimpse of God in the Greek Isles. Refracted light shimmering across the Aegean, nestled within Santorini’s glorious caldera. Oh man. It’s beyond majestic. In Santorini, you don’t see the sunset. You feel it. You are bowled over by it. It makes an imprint on your soul that stays with you as long as you walk this planet. Think I’m being overdramatic? Try it. And then you’ll know.

At the Astra Apartments, located in the Imerovigli section of Santorini, my travel buddy and I were surrounded by American honeymooners. And why not. I can’t imagine a more romantic spot in the world. Santorini is a wonderful place to be in love. Or to fall in love. With a woman, a man, the island, or just life itself. My buddy and I, we dined in an outdoor restaurant under a warm summer sky on the edge of the sea. Diagonally across from us were two lovely young girls from Toronto. How do I know they were from Toronto? Because we sent them over a bottle of fine Greek red. They didn’t smile at us, or nod politely. They picked up the damn bottle, brought it over to our table, sat down, and drank it with us. And we all fell in love. In Santorini.

If the wonder of Santorini is that it can make an agnostic see God, then the wonder of Mykonos is that it can make a stiff white guy dance. And I mean dance all night long. Dance and party. That’s what you do in Mykonos. And recover under the sun. Here’s how it works…You wake up around noon and head down to Paradise Beach. Or Super Paradise Beach.

Running along the length of the beach, directly behind you, you’ll notice a long series of bars. Side by side. Perfect for a little hair of the dog. If you’re lucky, as I was, you’ll find a group of Swedish girls nearby wrestling with a vodka-filled watermelon. If they offer you some, by all means say yes. You might just find yourself frolicking in the ocean with some Sexy Swedes while Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” wafts gently in from the speakers of a nearby establishment. This is what happened when I was in Mykonos.

Keep in mind, this is just the beginning of your day.

Around four or five o’clock everyone starts to migrate to a particular bar at the end of the beach. This is where the first real party of the day begins. Full on rocking. Everyone boozing and dancing as the sun sets. In bathing suits. It’s an outdoor nightclub. On the beach. In Mykonos. This beach party will generally go till about 8:00 or 9:00. At this point you’ll want to make your way back to town, crawl into bed, and sleep for a good three hours. Around midnight you head out to the clubs where you’ll drink. And dance. All night. Towards the morning you’ll scuttle back down to the beach for the nightclub that opens at 4:00 AM. It’s an open sky club, directly on the ocean. There you’ll dance some more, and party some more, and watch the sun come up. With a little bit of luck you’ll make it back to your bed by about 8:00 AM. Sleep till about noon. Rinse. Repeat. For as long as you’re on the island. That’s the way it works in Mykonos.

Have I mentioned the tomatoes? And the cucumbers? In Greece you will eat the freshest, plumpest juiciest tomatoes and the most glorious cucumbers the world has to offer. By the bowlfull. Big chunks of tomatoes and cucumbers with nice Greek olive oil drizzled all over them. In Greece I lived off the tomatoes and cucumbers, mixing in a few pork chops (cooked in that same wonderful olive oil) and Greek pizzas as well. Don’t sleep on the Greek pizzas. It’s a unique style of pie, and you’ll miss it when you leave.

Then again, you’ll miss it all when you leave. The sunset, the sunrise, the girl you fell in love with in Santorini, the Swedish girls with their vodka-filled watermelons, the partying, the dancing, the cool dudes from Australia you befriended and rolled with, the cucumbers and tomatoes, the whole damn thing. The Greek Islands. Nothing less than a life-changing experience. If you’re lucky, you’ll make it back it again someday. God-willing, of course.

By Chris Marakovitz; excerpts, edited by Greece Travel Blog

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