Mykonos - My Lovely, Lovely Days

I've settled into a really lovely routine here.

My first couple of days here were a little unsettled, I'll admit, that nervous feeling in my stomach – was I going to stay put or find different accommodation, how long did I want to stay, when did I want to go to Rome, where would I stay … you get the idea. I then would spend way too much time on the internet googling away, checking in with travel agents, asking room rates of nearby hotels – again, etc. etc. It did make me realize that i needed to sort out my next stop, so I could relax and enjoy where I was - good lesson. By the third day, I'd sorted Rome and made my decision about staying put, I was able to get into the life here.

Part of why I'd decided to stay on Mykonos for the full 9 days was because I wanted some time just to breath and to reflect and get caught up on some things – my blog for one and also some very long overdue correspondence. It was time I thought I would appreciate once back in the noise of touristing travel e.g. once I got to Italy!

So, my day, I wake up – not too early, about 8am – though it's been slipping later as I stay up later ... I have a lovely slow morning with breakfast on the patio and then maybe a walk, reading or writing my blog or emails. Keeps me going until about mid day. The morning is when, if I'm going to feel at all anxious I do – so I've been trying to explore what helps ease it – I've found the walks good – a chance to talk to myself a little and regroup.

I've also found I've been able to get a little yoga in – I've been struggling with the 'self-practice' part of yoga for a long time now – and all of a sudden one day I decided, I just needed to do some – however, little it was. Ironically, I decided the same day I moved into the new room – but even with less space, I've been able to do some sitting, breathing, hip openers, uttanasana and headstand, with a little shavasana at the end – does it count when it's on the bed? It also has helped with the nervous pit in my stomach - I breath better after. Very nice to get back to.

The afternoons have been either discovering other beaches or just hanging out at my local beach – about 50/50. My local beach – when not too windy – is lovely with great swimming. I definitely go for the extortionate beach chairs (an advantage of not traveling on a true shoestring ...). About mid afternoon I head to the Dublin Cafe on the beach for a late lunch and a little internet time – best connection in town. Then it is back to the beach for another couple hours of the lovely early evening sun. I start to head back about 7pm.

I haven't read so much in a long time and that has been great as well. I brought with me 3 Vanity Fairs, two old Newsweeks and an old Mcleans and a book. I'm determined to get through as much as possible if only to manage the weight of my backpack for the next leg. So after it taking me a week to read the first Vanity Fair on Santorini (I read them cover to cover), the 2nd was 3 days and the 3rd was two. (PS the Sarah Palin article in the July edition is priceless!) One Newsweek is down and the other currently has me completely engrossed – it is the special edition 2009 issue from the beginning of the year with 36 articles on everything from foreign affairs to energy, the environment and the arts from leading international scholars, world organization leaders, CEOs and heads of state titled 'How to Fix the World – A Guide for the Next President' – it is a fascinating summary of the key issues in the world today and their prescriptions for the future. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to leave this one behind ...

The evenings are nice – I get cleaned up, try and scrub the sand out of my hair and ears (the wind is incredible ...), maybe do a little more internet and then head out to dinner about 8.30 or 9pm. I've solved the eating problem – I go out to dinner every second night – order two dishes to make a real meal out of it and then take home the remainder for dinner the next night … ingenious or what! I've made friends with my two local establishments – the owner of the local taverna thinks I'm just plane odd (he doesn't see a lot of single tourists me thinks ...) where as the folks at the Dublin are fine with me hanging out – if only for a beer – on those nights when I've had leftovers! They also have great music - the owner, an older Greek gentleman (wife is Irish), even has a little DJ station and he'll sit behind there all evening finding the next right tune.

Then, there is a final stop on the way home - to the little market, which is open all hours it seems, to get yogurt and a piece of fruit for breakfast the next morning :-)

So, as you can see, it's quite a lovely life here on Mykonos :-)