Today’s goal was to spend the morning capturing differing pictures of Mykonos. I really enjoy walking the alleys of cities and towns trying to grasp the temperature and reality of the environment. The only limitation was to meet Nobu at 4:00pm to walk to the ferry.
Mykonos is an island of contrasts. The buildings are stark white, which is almost overly accented by the direct sun. To offset this blank cityscape of white boxes, door and window jams are brightly painted. Some homes have natural wood stained doors and shutters while others continue the colorful theme.
(Or, maybe these shudder were just yet to be painted...)
The grey stone streets and white washed buildings make every added color “pop”. The residents of Mykonos appear to have a favorite plant, the geranium. They line stairs, windows, and balconies.
I’m not sure if there is personal ownership of the cat population or if the general public takes care of these wandering felines. If you walk off the main thorough fair by even a block, suddenly there are cats everywhere. They appear to be completely comfortable with people and don’t budge from their positions, no matter how close the approach.
Given the lack of visual distraction the smallest details stand out. Designers seem to be aware of this point and make the most of standard hardware elegant.
The occasional bound circle of flowers visually jumps, even from a bright background.
Aside from the raw physical beauty of the Aegean, I think Mykonos may be most known for two addition structures, the windmills...
... and the seemingly endless variety of churches. Driving a moped through the countryside, it appeared that practically every family maintained a chapel. In town there are several unique and differing styles from which to choose.
Finally a section for Mom, the flowers love this environment. Many families keep postage stamp size gardens filled with beautiful varieties.
Seeing this yellow rose reminded me of Mom’s back yard.
Nobu and I faced quite a challenge. The wind was blowing so hard that all the smaller crafts were anchored or docked in the safety of the harbor.
Undaunted we took off for our 5 km walk to the other end of the island to the “new harbor” and our high-speed ferry back to Athens. The wind was blowing so stiffly that our pants were plastered in the front and luffing in the back. Leaning into the wind we had to push to make the 5:00pm departure time. Usually the distance could have been easily covered in less than a half hour, but today’s headwind forced us to lean heavily forward and consciously work for the needed pace.
Nobu had his “super cool” travel bike and had to scramble for footing on several occasions with the rogue shifting gust.
The effort was actually a great setup for sitting on the ferry. We weren’t exhausted and definitely enjoyed the opportunity to sit for a few hours.
Nobu has been a good traveling companion and friend. In spite of his limited English he is full of expression and wit. As an artist and furniture designer he sees many things that my quirky pattern sensitive eye enjoys. The phrase, "Good design" was exchanged back and forth for architecture and implements we especially appreciated.
(Camera shy, I had to sneak up on him for this shot.)
One of my favorite conversations was when we were talking about "lizards" and their presence all over the world. He said, "If I eat, I never hungry anywhere." This led to a discussion of the coloration of differing species. Showing him a picture of my favorite lizard from Ghana, Nobu said with emphasis, "Ah, gooood design." I agreed, "Yep, God did a pretty good job on that one."
The ferry arrived back in Pireas just about sunset.
From there it was an easy Metro ride and walk to the hostel.
No comments:
Post a Comment