Category: Greek Islands videos (page 17 of 20)

2012 Greek holiday: Mykonos visit winds down

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Mykonos Town panoramic view

The view from the hill: A panoramic view of Mykonos Town and its harbourfront and Old Port areas on May 21 2012. Click on the photo to view the image in a larger format.

 

 

Monday May 21 2012

 

Familiar patterns: Things weren’t looking very promising for my final full day on Mykonos. The weird up-and-down weather hit another “down” cycle, bringing overcast skies in the wake of a gorgeous sunny Sunday. Good thing I had not been planning another beach day, because I would have felt pretty bummed out by all the clouds and the threat of light rain. But I didn’t need more beach time and was content just to start walking and see where I would wind up.

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Overlooking Agios Ioannis on Mykonos

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Below is a brief video I shot from the main road leading into the Agios Ioannis beach resort area of Mykonos. Agios Ioannis is often called “the Shirley Valentine beach” because it is where many of the scenes from the 1989 movie were filmed. Agios Ioannis has great views of Delos and Rinia islands nearby. Descriptions and photos of the beach and area are included in Part 5 of my Mykonos 2012 trip report two posts below this one.

 

Videos of Agios Ioannis and Kapari beaches

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Below are four videoclips I shot showing views of Kapari and Agios Ioannis beaches and their surrounding areas on Mykonos. Descriptions and photos of both beaches are provided in my Mykonos 2012 trip report directly below this post.

 

Views of Kapari bay and beach, as seen from the beach access road

 

 

 Views of Kapari beach and bay from the middle of the beach

 

 

 Views from the section of Agios Ioannis beach below the Saint John Mykonos Resort

 

 

2012 Greek holiday trip report: Mykonos Part 5

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Windstar Wind Spirit cruise ship

Mighty masts: A view of the Windstar cruise yacht Wind Spirit anchored near the Mykonos Old Port on a clear, sunny morning May 20 2012. It was perfect weather for a day at the beach.

 

 

Sunday May 20 2012

 

Beach weather: May 20 brought us a beautiful bright and sunny morning and the promise of perfect weather for the beach. Since I had only two full days left on Mykonos, I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and spend my Sunday beach hopping. My destinations would be Kapari beach, which I had never been to before, followed by Agios Ioannis and Ornos beaches, which I had previously seen.

I walked from Hotel Tagoo to the Fabrica bus depot where I was one of only five people waiting to board the Ornos/Agios Ioannis bus. By comparison, there were at least two dozen people lined up for the bus to Paradise, and even more standing beside the one going to Platis Gialos. I took the lack of a similar lineup for my bus to indicate that the beaches I was about to visit might be exceptionally quiet. Maybe the limited bus service explained why more people weren’t going to the same places as me. At this time of May, there were only 8 return bus trips per day to Ornos/Agios Ioannis, with the last bus returning to Mykonos Town at 18:45. Although the last bus back to Town from Paradise was scheduled for 19:00, service from Platis Gialos continued until 21:00.

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2012 Greek holiday trip report: Mykonos Part 4

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stormclouds above Mykonos

A promising patch of blue sky appears above Rinia island on the morning of Friday May 18 2012, while thick grey and jet-black stormclouds gather ominously above Mykonos in this view from the Hotel Tagoo swimming pool deck. 

 

 

Little Venice Mykonos

After two hours of torrential morning downpours completely soaked the island, the rain stopped, letting tourists and passengers from the Celebrity Equinox (left) enjoy their sightseeing at the Little Venice area of Mykonos Town (above)

 

 

rainbow above Mykonos

A brief — but very light — afternoon rainshower gave way to a glorious evening rainbow that arced high in the sky above the island’s Tagoo district …

 

 

Mykonos sunset

… and soon after was followed by a colourful and dramatic sunset

 

 

Friday, May 18

 

Rain, rain, go away: Even a morning of heavy downpours didn’t dampen my spirits on Day 5 of my Mykonos holiday.

When I left my hotel room to go for breakfast, I was shocked by the drastic change in weather from the day before. Strong gusts of very chilly winds were blowing jet-black stormclouds above the Agean, and though there were sunny spots in the sky above Syros, Rinia and other nearby islands, the steadily thickening cloudcover suggested Mother Nature was getting ready to unleash her fury on Mykonos.

In the breakfast room, one of the other guests asked a question I’ve never had to answer before: “What do you recommend doing on a rainy day in Mykonos?” “Read, sleep, go shopping, visit the archaeological museum or just go sit in a coffee shop or taverna and wait for the rain to stop,” I said. I actually wasn’t quite sure what I would do myself.

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2012 Greek holiday trip report: Mykonos Part 3

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Remezzo area of Mykonos Town

All quiet on the northern front: Even though it was a gorgeous morning, very few people were out and about when I walked past the Remezzo area of Mykonos Town at 10 a.m.

 

 

[Editor’s Note: This is the latest instalment in a series of reports on my 2012 vacation. Those of you who have already read Part 1 and Part 2 may want to go back and take another look through those posts — I have added several videoclips to each part.]

 

 

Thursday May 17

 

Sounds of silence: My fourth day on Mykonos started off with brilliant sunshine and plenty of peace and quiet.

The breakfast room at Hotel Tagoo was almost empty, with just a handful of guests showing up during the time I was there. It seemed like most people were sleeping in to recover from either a late night on the town or too much fun at the beaches the day before.  Two guests who did make it down for breakfast told me that a friend of theirs from Mykonos would be taking them on an early afternoon driving tour around part of the island. They had room for a fourth person, and invited me to tag along. They planned to visit some beaches I had not seen in a few years, plus at least one I had never been to before, so I jumped at the opportunity to join them.

Since I had a few hours to fill before the island drive about, but didn’t feel like laying in the sun by the pool, I took a walk into town. The streets were surprisingly quiet and empty with practically no vehicular traffic and pedestrians. It was incredibly serene — and almost surreal  — hearing only birdsong and sound of my shoes on the pavement. I didn’t expect that, at 10 a.m., I would have most of the Tagoo area and much of Mykonos Town all to myself. A cruise ship was docked at Tourlos, so I fully expected to run into groups of tourists wandering around, but the parking area next to the Old Port (where the cruise ship shuttle buses drop passengers off) was eerily quiet. I passed fewer than a dozen people during my 10-minute walk between the port and Taxi Square.

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Solitude & scenery at Stelida beach on Naxos

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Hohlakas beach Naxos

A view of Stelida beach, also known as Hohlakas beach (right), and St George’s Bay (upper left) on Naxos

 

 

Hohlakas beach Naxos

This sweeping view from a slope on Stelida mountain takes in Hohlakas beach (right) and Naxos Town on the far side of St George’s Bay

 

 

 Stelida mountain

Naxos port quay view of 151-meter-tall Stelida mountain. Construction of the Dream View Hotel is visible halfway up the mountainside.

 

 

Hohlakas beach Naxos

This Google satellite image shows Hohlakas beach (circled) and the Stelida district of Naxos on the southwest side of St George’s Bay, directly opposite Naxos Town. The island’s popular Agios Prokopios beach stands out at lower left.

 

 

Scruffy and secluded: Greece is abundant in beaches, and many Greek islands are justifiably world-famous for their beautiful beaches and stunning coastal scenery.

One of them is Naxos, which boasts a variety of excellent beaches that cater to specific traveller tastes and needs. For instance, families enjoy St George’s beach next to Naxos Town as well as Agia Anna on the island’s southwest coast. Windsurfers flock to Mikri Vigla and to St George’s, which also attracts scores of sailboat and catamaran enthusiasts. The long sandy strand at Agios Prokopios and the grassy dunes at Plaka are popular with sunbathers — especially travellers who like to tan au naturel. And people who prefer secluded quiet coves or isolated coastal swimming spots can find those in spades.

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2012 Greek holiday trip report: Mykonos Part 2

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Tourlos new port area of Mykonos

Mid-morning view from Hotel Tagoo of the Mykonos New Port at Tourlos …

 

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Norwegian Jade cruise ship

… where  the 2,400-passenger Norwegian Jade is docked for the day

 

 

 

 Here’s a videoclip showing the morning views from Hotel Tagoo

 

 

Wednesday May 16

 

I awoke to an absolutely gorgeous Mykonos morning. Sunny skies and warm temperatures promised perfect weather for a beach day. From the terrace outside the hotel breakfast room, I could see four cruise ships including the Norwegian Jade docked at the New Port and the Azamara Quest, Windstar Wind Spirit, and Seabourn Quest, all anchored near the Old Port. I made plans to hit the beach for the afternoon then spend the evening in Mykonos Town where, I assumed, the streets would be lively and teeming with tourists from the cruise ships.

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