Mykonos is perhaps the most famous of all the Greek islands, renowned today for its nightlife and beautiful beaches. Mykonos had substantial influence during the Greek War of Independence, before it was re-discovered as a picturesque location for filming. From the port of Tourlos, you will pass by the quaint villages of Ioannis, Ornos and Kalafatis. Continue to Ano Mera–perhaps the most traditional of the island’s villages. See the Monastery of Panagia Tourliani (outside visit only), dedicated to the protector of Mykonos. It was founded in 1580, but the building you will see today dates only to the 18th century. At the main square of Ano Mera, ouzo and Greek mezedes (snacks) will be served before you return to the port.

I will have to admit that Mykonos was my favorite Greek port but it was a hard decision between this picturesque island and Rhodes. When you picture very white buildings, blue church domes and sparkling water, that is Mykonos.

Mykonos is a resort island and we were touring before the start of the tourist season. The religion of the majority of the population is Greek Orthodox and we toured just before the start of Holy Week. Our tour guide emphasized the fact that, for Greek Orthodox Christians, Easter is the major Holy Day of the year. Houses were being thoroughly cleaned inside and the outsides were being given new coats of whitewash. Few houses in Mykonos are air-conditioned so the white exterior wards off the summer heat.

After we had driven through rolling hills with little white houses, we stopped near a famous old monastery and had a traditional Greek snack. This snack consisted of Ouzo in a tumbler filled only a quarter full with one ice cube. I am not sure if any of our group completely finished this alcoholic beverage at 11:00am. The snack plate held a slice of tomato, two cucumber slices, two small meatballs, three large olives and a slice of sourdough bread with a popular local soft cheese spread on it. One of my fellow passengers shared one of his meatballs with a cat which was very ready for this act of kindness. I think the cat was accustomed to generous tourists.

We were served our snack in the patio of one of several restaurants at this location. There were also a few souvenir shops offering mementoes for sale. My interest was in the chapel that they were calling a monastery. It was my understanding that the local population had great devotion to an icon of the Blessed Mother which is preserved in the chapel.

Although the write-up said you could not go into the monastery, I was able to go into the chapel. The woman who normally collected a Euro for admission said it was paid for in my tour. There were other tours at the area so perhaps one of those did cover my admission. I got a much better feeling in that little church than all the temples I visited in Asia.

My mother taught me a nice tradition which I am happy to share. I make three wishes when I visit a Catholic church for the first time. I had the chapel to myself. I appreciated the peacefulness of the chapel and made three wishes.

Surprisingly, after not being inside a church for many weeks, I had a second opportunity that afternoon. The little port town of Tourlos was accessible by shuttle bus from the ship but it was much more easily accessible by a water taxi. The trip costs only two Euros each way.

I remained aboard ship to watch a movie that ran from 2:00pm to 3:30pm. The movie was an excellent documentary about Warren Buffet. I highly recommend “The Making of Warren Buffet.” After the movie was over, I took the water taxi to the heart of Tourlos which is right on the water. There was another little chapel where the water taxi let us off so I stopped in for more tranquility and more wishes.

I could see how this quiet, pleasant, little town would be a popular vacation retreat. There were many little restaurants with patios facing the water. I discovered the same man who shared one of his meatballs with a cat during our morning tour was now observing birds eating his bread offerings.

Later in my wandering, I saw a white goose and snapped a few pictures. Mykonos is known for a special pelican named “Petra.” I missed the pelican celebrity but was shown his picture. So the pelican mascot is alive and well.

I really like the peacefulness of Mykonos. I am aware that the tourist season has not yet begun. Nonetheless, I had the feeling that what I experienced would continue even as the population on the island increased in the Spring and Summer.

To quote the lines from an old song; I have been visiting “far away places with strange sounding names.” The name of this particular place is easy to remember. I think of “MY” for ownership and “KONOS” as a special holder of ice cream. Mykonos is a real treat.