Mykonos - what Ibiza never was

Let me create a scene in your mind:

First, get a non-stop techno beat going in the background of you mind. It varies based on the time of day, but never fully ceases. You should be so accustomed to this beat that if ever by chance there is complete silence you feel suddenly uneasy, and must rush back to the safety of paradise beach.

Next, clutter the scene with tanned/burned beach-goers. If it's early in the day (aka, noon-4) they will be lazing on the beach, wearing some variable level of clothing trying to tan off the hangover from the night before. Later in the afternoon, they will migrate to the bars (that are directly on the beach of course) and proceed to party, get drunk, and dance on the bars. I have never seen such a cool beach party vibe, everyone was having a great time moving to the beat, enjoying the late afternoon sun! The highlight of the party will either be the gang of big-spender guys buying bottle after bottle of champagne for their girls of the day, or the elephant-thong clad dj dancing at the center of attention.

In the early night, the beach will be deserted except for a few party-goers trying to predrink for the bar. Everyone else will be at home resting and getting dolled up for the clubs, which get going around 1. On our last night there we went to a foam party, haha, it was sweet! And nicely complemented by the dip in the club swimming pool right after.

Depending on what club you are at, things will end sometime in the morning. We went to a party at Cavo Paradisio, which is a super popular afterhours club near paradise beach. The location is awesome, the big openair venue overlooks the sea, and there are various areas to dance and lounge and you watch the sun rise. Things ended around 7-8am, and we wandered back down the road for some breakfast, and to crash in our beach hut.

Oh ya, the beach huts. They deserve their own paragraph. We decided to stay right on paradise beach where all the action is. You can rent beach huts for only 12 euro a night, and that buys you a little canvas-covered wooden frame with a couple beds. It was actually really sweet, despite the supre ghettoness of it. If only we could split the cost of rent with all the various insects sharing the tent with us. Our first day we invested in a fan, which was the best idea ever, since it kept the stifelling morning heat to a minimum, and we were even able to sell it on our last day (had somewhat of an auction at dinner, haha). The shared bathrooms and showers were pretty decent, and it was only a minute away from the beach and all the main partying!

One of the most interesting stories was on our way to Cavo Paradiso...we're walking down a dark dirt road, and pass a guy saying weird things on the street. Adrienn and I turn on our defensive skills and walk quickly past, but Evan, being a less dangered tall threatening guy, stops to ask the guy if he is ok. Turns out it's an American military guy who was drunk, and had cut his foot and needed some assistance. We help him to the bar, where the bouncers are jerks and won't even give us basic medical supplies to clean off the guy's foot. A few drinks and military secrets later, we make do with some gauze and tape from the nearby resturant. Trig (the guy) is doing a lot better, and we don't see much of him for the rest of the night.

Fast forward to the next day. We're at the foam party, and I notice a familiar looking guy (actually, I recognized his sandals). We ask him if he hurt his foot the night before...and it's the same guy! He's totally greatful for our help, which he called the appearance of gaurdian angels, haha. We met his friends and partied with them a bunch.

So that was Mykonos, our days filled with beaching, partying, and more partying (though Evan actually made it to the ancient island of Delos one day, kudos dude). It was an awesome way to wind up the trip for me, and we met lots of fun people. The trip home after that wasn't too eventful... we all took a ferry back to Athens and then I bid farewell too Adrienn and Evan and they continued on to Turkey. I flew to Berlin, and after a nice, familiar sleep in the Berlin airport, returned back to Switzerland!

This trip was the best possible way I could wrap up my year in Europe. I had such a great time, and can't wait to see the pics from Adrienn and Evan's camera, which I will post some of.

Jacqui :)

P.S. Our final day in Santorini we ended up getting quads instead of scooters, based on some drivers licence difficulties. Was a wicked time though, we cruised all over the island and explored all the corners and peaks, it was a thrill! And I still named mine Sasha ;)