Monday, September 7, 2009

Day 52: In Which I Rationalize Lying Around and Doing Nothing

Very choppy seas today. We are anchored off of Mykonos, and the only way to go ashore is by tender. Those are boats that were named after how your butt feels after you ride in them. And watching those little boats go through the big waves today makes it look like they’re an adventure ride at Disneyland.

LK is addicted to the Cruise Critic chat rooms, so she has a pretty good idea of what to expect at our destinations. Most people who have gone ashore at this very small Greek island have felt there wasn’t much to see. Looking at the tenders bobbing up and down on their way to shore, and recognizing the strong chance that at least some of our fellow passengers might end up leaving breakfast on LK’s new Keds, we decided to stay on board.

Not an adventurous start to the tour, to be sure, but a pool day is never going to strike LK as a missed opportunity. I don’t do pool, of course, since most of my fair-skinned body meets the standard definition of “where the sun don’t shine.” Hmm, not sure that was the best way to phrase that . . .

Anyhow, I read the ship’s literature about Mykonos, and I have to admit it did not look there was going to be a lot of stuff I cared about. Its one compelling feature seems to be that the good citizens deliberately built their streets so people would get lost. Apparently this worked well centuries ago when pirate attacks were a problem. It seems a bit counterproductive today, though, when tourism is their major business.

Had we visited, the highlights would have been a church, a folk museum with a collection of knitwear, an archaeological museum with carvings and gravestones, and a library with 6,000 books in it. Hmmm, not sure why those Cruise Critic folks were so unimpressed.

The one notable thing about Mykonos is its famous round-shaped windmills, but they are not currently in operation. Which means that something that had only 20 out of 100 on the interesting-to-see meter has fallen to 5 or 6.

Doesn't matter. The ship is nice and spending a day on it is not all that shabby. In less than 24 hours, I’ve learned they make excellent martinis and only adequate Bloody Marys. And I’m making lots of friends. Last night I made friends with John from Canada, who is the casino manager, and Jinn from China, who made it a fun night by dealing me lots of winning hands and then sympathized as she took them all back from me.

Tonight I may try to make friends with people who don't want me to give them money.

Oh and a big PS --- With all the travel and time zones and the craziness of getting aboard yesterday, I almost failed to properly recognize a most important date - Jason’s birthday. His first as a Kennedy and a (legally) married man. Happy Birthday, Jay. We both send our love, and your mother says to be careful.

1 comment:

Davy Adams said...

Mykonos is really great place to wander the streets. Except when the cruise ships dock...so you probably did the right thing! If you're going to Rhodes that's well worth the trip ashore.