Why Mykonos?
Mykonos has obtained some notoriety; a reputation of euro-excess from a constant parade of tanned and gorgeous, straight and gay visitors heading towards the riotous clubs and shameless nude beaches. But in all honesty, although this may have been the case back in the swingin’ 60’s, today the island has learnt a little restraint and switched from the riotous to the chic and the hedonistic to the cosmopolitan.
Money still talks on the island though, so in the same way as St. Tropez will never be a cheap getaway, Mykonos done properly won’t be either. There are certain places to be seen at, regardless of whether you want to be there or not, and certain hotels that you should be staying at. Mykonian etiquette demands that the day is for the beach or your hotel and the night is for dressing fabulously and getting yourselves seen across town.
It’s almost unbelievable that the residents accept this lifestyle too, but they do, and they do so with aplomb. Their attitude, the character of the architecture and the absence of anything resembling a skyscraper, motorway or some government funded ‘modern art’ in a scruffy park, gives Mykonos a wonderful village-like feeling of community; a damn-the-world, live-and-let-live ethos that permeates every shop, bar, club and house and probably every person too.
If you are wanting a quiet getaway where solitude rules and anything above a whisper is considered too loud, then Mykonos is not for you. If you want to see amazing beaches, bodies and sunsets, party all night and stay in a truly luxurious hotel, then Mykonos could be just what you need. Careful though, it’s all too easy to get caught in its spell and end up like Petros and his friends: permanent, happy residents. |
