Two rocky points on the coastline of Paros, a short hike from Parasporas beach
Category: Cyclades islands
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On the waterfront: The Mykonos marina project
May 16 2011: The new Mykonos Town marina has come a long way since …
… May 28 2009, when the parking lot & small boat facility was still taking shape …
… and the seaside infrastructure project was a big, unsightly mess even when viewed from a distance, like this hillside near the Fine Arts District of Mykonos …
… but as of May 17 2011, the project looks closer to completion
End in sight?: First-time visitors ask what it is. Returning regulars wonder if it will ever get finished. People considering hotels in the area want to know if it will spoil their views and ruin their poolside relaxation. And local residents have become bored and weary from discussing it. The “it” is a new waterfront marina that has been under construction next to the Mykonos Town Old Port for what seems like forever … and the project completion date seems like it will take forever to arrive, too. But work crews are gradually getting there.
The new marina is actually an extensive mixed-use marine infrastructure project being built on more than 4 hectares of land reclaimed from the Mykonos seafront. Costing millions of Euros, the project was intended to help ease congestion at the overcrowded Old Port area, where ferry traffic was steadily increasing. The Old Port facility could not adequately cope with the crowds that kept queuing up for ferry boarding, let alone with all the taxis, hotel shuttle vans and buses and other vehicles that were constantly dropping off and picking up passengers in a very small and extremely congested area. Besides providing more breathing room for ferry travellers, as well as a new terminal for the smaller highspeed ferries that call in at the Old Port, the new marina would include a large parking facility just a short stroll from Mykonos Town (which has a pedestrian zone of streets that are off-limits to most vehicles), a bus and taxi station, port authority administration offices, a sailing club, fish market, and more. The long, narrow channel to be created between the marina and the Mykonos coastline was intended to provide shelter and mooring space for small fishing boats, sailboats, and other pleasure craft.
Landfill work began back in 1994, creating a huge waterfront eyesore — an unsightly long stretch of brown sand, soil and stones — that slowly grew larger until the mid-2000s, when the EU-funded marina project finally commenced construction. The facility stretches from the Old Port in the direction of the New Port at Tourlos — itself another massive landfill and marine infrastructure project — and extends north to a spot near the coast below the Cavo Tagoo luxury hotel. Much to the chagrin of operators of hillside hotels in the Tagoo area of Mykonos, which directly overlooks the project site, the heaviest and noisiest construction work lasted several years, detracting from the hotels’ otherwise marvellous sea and sunset views and interfering with poolside peace and quiet that their guests were expecting to enjoy during their holidays.
When I returned to Mykonos last month, I was happy to see that the marina looks like it’s nearly complete — and that much of the marina is now open for parking as well as bus and taxi drop-offs and pick-ups at the Old Port. Although the lion’s share of heavy and noisy construction work appears to have been completed, a substantial amount of work remains to be finished, and some concrete pumper trucks and earth moving machines were still operating on the site on the two days I walked around the facility. I did not find the noise to be loud or disturbing in any way, though, and I’m pretty sure it shouldn’t interfere with any guests trying to relax on the decks and in the swimming pools at any of the nearby hotels. The good news, for them, is that the marina looks a helluva lot better now than it did for several years when it was a giant construction site.
What disappointed me, however, was that the “marina” is essentially just an enormous, long parking lot near the seashore. I had read an online report several years ago (can’t remember where, and haven’t been able to find it since) that said the marina would include a nicely landscaped promenade that would give pedestrians a pleasant and safe walking alternative to the dangerous narrow coastal rode that runs from the Old Port to the New Port 2 kilometres away. That narrow, winding road is extremely busy with cars, trucks and buses barrelling full tilt to and from Mykonos Town, and since there are no sidewalks, pedestrians take their chances whenever they walk the roadside. But it doesn’t look like the walkway is going to materialize. A dirt ramp presently links the northern tip of the marina with the shoreline; however, it eventually must be removed to allow sailboat and fishing boat access into the channel. That means pedestrians won’t be able to reach the marina from the north end, so they’ll still be faced with the long walk along the busy coastal road. And unless the marina builders create sitting areas that are sheltered by trees and canopies, and add plants and flowers to different spots along the length of the marina to provide badly-needed colour contrast from the long expanse of stonework , it will just remain as one big long parking lot. It will be a good spot to walk for people who want to look up at the hillside and shoot photos of the hotels where they’re staying, but other than that I can’t see why anyone without a car would even want to go down there. At this point in time, it’s not a particularly pleasant a place to pass time. Fortunately, there are many, many more nice and scenic places to walk on the island instead.
Below are more photos I shot in May showing how the marina looks now.
Mykonos Town waterfront marina construction sign near the Old Port
May 16 2011: Marina viewed from the hillside near the top of the Kouros Hotel
May 16 2011: Plenty of new parking spaces are now available
May 16 2011: There is some landscaping, but the marina needs much more
May 16 2011: A view of the marina, looking toward the Old Port from a road on the Tagoo district hillside above the Apanema Resort
May 16 2011: Looking toward the unfinished northern end of the marina
May 16 2011: Apanema Resort is one of several hotels directly overlooking the marina project; Kouros Hotel and Cavo Tagoo do, too
May 16 2011: An excavator (left) and concrete pumper (rear) at work on the site
May 16 2011: A closer view of construction activity on the boat channel
May 16 2011: The concrete pumping truck doesn’t produce significant noise
May 17 2011: Late afternoon view of the marina, looking toward the Old Port (left)
May 19 2011: The marina links to the shoreline at its northern tip; however, this causeway will ultimately have to be removed to allow boat access into the channel
May 19 2011: Looking south across the marina toward the Mykonos Town Old Port
May 19 2011: Looking north toward cruise ships at the New Port at Tourlos
May 19 2011: The central section of the marina still needs considerable work
May 19 2011: Mykonos coastal road below the Cavo Tagoo luxury hotel
May 19 2011: The coastal road above the Mykonos marina
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Things I love about Greece: Waking up to gorgeous views at hotels in the Greek Islands (Part 6)
The swimming pool terrace at Hotel Tagoo on Mykonos offers this view of Tinos island, a short ferry ride from the tip of Mykonos (right)
On a clear day, we could see the whitewashed clifftop buildings of the renowned Santorini village of Oia from our balcony at Hermes Hotel on Ios
Our terrace at Halara Studios in Plaka, on Milos, gave us this sweeping view of the Gulf of Milos and mountains on the western half of the island.
Three islands, three hotels, three superb views: Last month, our 2011 Greek Island holiday took us back to a favourite hotel on an island we have visited more times than any other place in the world; a different hotel on an island we visited back in 2007; and a hotel on an island we had previously seen only from a ferry. All three gave us superb views.
On Mykonos, we stayed at Hotel Tagoo for the third time in as many visits. We’ve been to Mykonos so often I can practically picture the views with my eyes closed, and I also never forget the scenery from the balconies and public areas at Hotel Tagoo. (If you’ve been following my posts about Greek Islands hotel views, you’ve already seen numerous pictures showing the wonderful views from Hotel Tagoo.) No matter how often I visit, I never get bored of looking at the sea and nearby islands, or the mountains, beaches and coastline of Mykonos itself. For this trip, I requested the same room we stayed in our first time at Hotel Tagoo — the cozy and semi-secluded #19, on the east side of the property — and I was glad it was available for our stay. Although #19 has only a partial sea view, rather than a full-on panoramic sea and island view like many of the rooms positioned at the front of the hotel, I like it because I always sleep exceptionally well in that room. I don’t know why, but I always wake up feeling more refreshed after a night in that particular room than in any other. What’s more, the afternoon sun doesn’t seem as hot or intense on room 19’s terrace, like it does on other balconies, so I can spend more time sitting there without feeling like I’m going to melt.
After several days on Mykonos we travelled to Ios for the first time. We had “seen” Ios several times before — through the windows of the FlyingCat 4 ferry en route to Santorini — but we had never set foot on it. We stayed at Hermes Hotel in Agios Ioannis, a hillside area high above beautiful Mylopotas beach, and just a short walk from the island’s main town, Chora. Although views from our hotel room balcony were partially obscured by a building in front of us, we could still gaze across the Aegean Sea and, if the skies were clear, see the whitewashed buildings in the village of Oia on Santorini. When we wanted completely unobscured views of Ios scenery, all we had to do was walk up one flight of stairs to the hotel’s breakfast room & bar, which had a comfy outdoor sitting area, or down several flights to the huge sea- and valley-view swimming pool terrace. (The pool was just being cleaned and filled during our visit, so we couldn’t take a swim, but we did enjoy the terrace for suntanning, taking in the scenery, and watching the hotel’s herd of goats in the field below.)
Our third island stop was Milos, which we had visited once before in September 2007. Last time we stayed at a hotel on the edge of the port town of Adamas; this holiday we wanted a complete change of location and scenery, so we stayed at Halara Studios, which is literally on the edge of the mountaintop village of Plaka, the capital of Milos. Being high up and on the edge meant we had outstanding views of farm fields, the Gulf of Milos, and the mountainous western half of Milos. If our visit had been just a few months later in the summer, we would have enjoyed incredible sunset views from the Halara Studios terrace, too. Nevertheless, we won’t soon forget the scenery because on our last full day in Milos the island got thrashed by a vicious thunderstorm, and our terrace provided an excellent front-row seat for watching lightning strikes and the dramatic, dark stormclouds swirling over western Milos.
Below are photos of our views from Hotel Tagoo on Mykonos, Hermes Hotel on Ios, and Halara Studios on Milos.
Enjoying a glass of wine on the terrace for Room 19 at Hotel Tagoo Mykonos
The cozy terrace for Room 19 sits on the east side of the Hotel Tagoo property
Part of the view from the terrace for Room 19 at Hotel Tagoo Mykonos
The terrace overlooks another nearby hotel and this old stone wall
It also overlooks the balcony for the room next door, but still feels fairly private
Our terrace at Hotel Tagoo gave us a partial view of the sparkling Aegean Sea …
… which is a gorgeous blue in the morning but takes on a molten silver hue under the blazing afternoon sun. Sunglasses are definitely required to enjoy this view — the sunlight reflection is so intense, it’s almost blinding!
A late afternoon view of the sea from one of Hotel Tagoo’s many levels
When I’m in the Greek Islands, I enjoy watching cruise ships and ferries come and go … this is a view from the Hotel Tagoo swimming pool terrace of a cruise ship approaching the nearby port of Tourlos (also known as the New Port)
The hotel’s pool terrace has a good view of ships docked at Tourlos
This is the view in the opposite direction, looking towards Mykonos Town
From the pool deck, my camera can zoom in on three of the famous Mykonos windmills and the Paraportiani Church (right) near Little Venice
Looking straight ahead, there’s a fabulous view of the sea and nearby islands
An early morning view from the Hotel Tagoo swimming pool deck
A late afternoon view from the Hotel Tagoo swimming pool deck
Enjoying one last look at the view before leaving Hotel Tagoo to travel to Ios
At Hermes Hotel on Ios, we could see the Aegean Sea and mountains near Mylopotas beach through our balcony doors
The balcony for our room (Room #2) gave us this view of the Aegean Sea and a graceful palm tree on the hotel grounds below
From our Room 2 balcony, our cameras could zoom in on Santorini island
We had this view of the valley when looking out the door to our room
Sitting areas outside the Hotel Hermes reception entrance offered excellent views of the sea and parts of Ios; this was a popular place for hotel guests and other people to enjoy the scenery while relaxing with breakfast or a drink
One of the features we loved most about Hotel Hermes was its sea-view outdoor café-bar terrace where we ate breakfast or had an afternoon coffee
Part of the amazing view from the hotel’s café-bar terrace
The café-bar deck was my favourite place to take in the views
The café-bar terrace overlooked the sea and nearby valley …
… had this view up the road to Chora, just 10 minutes away by foot …
… this view of the upper part of the valley near the hotel …
… and this view of the lower valley and the scenic Ios coastline
Another view of the coastline far below the Hotel Hermes
The café-bar terrace had this view of the mouth of Mylopotas Bay …
… and this view towards beautiful Mylopotas beach
Mylopotas beach is just a 15-minute walk down the hill from Hotel Hermes
Another view of Mylopotas beach from the café-bar deck at Hotel Hermes
A camera zoom view of our favourite seaside drinking and dining spot at the far end of Mylopotas beach, Drakos Taverna (right)
The swimming pool deck had views toward Santorini (visible under the clouds near the upper left corner of the photo) …
… and was a great spot to watch the goats roaming the hillside below the hotel
On Milos, the front window to our room at Halara Studios gave us this scenic view toward the western half of the island …
… while the window next to the kitchenette in our studio gave us this view
However, the long terrace outside our room had the best views of all
In the morning, we would enjoy the view with a cup of coffee and, in the evening, savour the scenery while drinking a bottle of wine
When we weren’t hiking around Milos, I spent my time admiring the views
This bucolic scene greeted us when we opened the door each morning
The hillside below us was lush and green, thanks to wet spring weather
Mount Profitis Elias rises 748 meters on the west side of the Gulf of Milos
The white building at left is a farmhouse; the other two buildings are churches that we visited during a morning hike to the seaside village of Klima
We snapped this photo of Halara Studios while hiking to the churches
Our studio was the one with the light blue-coloured window and door on the lower right-hand side, just above the MyGreeceTravelBlog.com logo
Our terrace view included this hillside house, to our upper left …
… and this house, just a few feet to the left below our balcony
This was the terrace view looking straight ahead across the Gulf of Milos
Right below us is a wide expanse of farm fields on the east side of the Gulf
Looking to the right, we could see the west coast of the Gulf of Milos all the way to Cape Vani, the point at the northwest tip of Milos
Some of the mountains along the west coast of the Gulf of Milos
A sailboat passes steep rocky cliffs on the west coast of the Gulf of Milos
I get a kick out of looking at Cape Vani on the northwest tip of Milos because I think it resembles a semi-submerged hippopotamus
Rays of sunlight stream through clouds above Milos one evening before sunset
A ship passes behind Cape Vani at sunset on May 24 2011
Another view of Cape Vani at sunset on May 24 2011
Dark stormclouds threaten western Milos, but we felt only a few drops of rain before the storm system cleared the region
The west coast of the Gulf of Milos at sunset on May 24 2011
A severe thunderstorm lashes western Milos on the afternoon of May 27 2011
Stormclouds above western Milos on Friday May 27 2011
The terrace view I hated to leave when we had to depart for Athens on May 28
