Conference moira::naturism

279.0. "Santorini and Mykonos (from the Usenet)" by MOIRA::FAIMAN (light upon the figured leaf) Fri Nov 02 1990 15:27

I picked up this posting from rec.nude on the Usenet, and thought it might
be of interest to some here.

	-Neil

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Article         2814
From: djwalden@isi.edu (Dave Walden)
Subject: CO beaches on Santorini and Mykonos
Organization: USC-Information Sciences Institute
 
 
	   I was on Santorini and Mykonos, two islands in the Greek archi-
	pelago, in late May/early June, and I checked out the clothing-
	optional beaches while I was there.  It was early in the tourist
	season, and most of the tourists at the CO beaches were German/
	Austrian or Scandinavian.  Only the well-known CO beaches on Mykonos
	seemed to have any Americans.
 
	SANTORINI
 
	   This is a volcanic island, the slopes of an ancient volcano,
	actually, and all the major beaches have "black" (really gray)
	sand which gets HOT in the sun!  Don't try to walk barefoot for
	more than a couple yards or you'll fry your feet.
 
	   Since north European tourists are such an important part of
	the island economies and so dominate the scene during the summer,
	virtually all the beaches on the islands tolerate bare-breasted
	women.  But even when beachside taverns or snack counters were
	right down on the sand, I saw no women walk up to a counter or
	enter under a tavern awning bare-breasted.
 
	   Perrisa Beach is mentioned by Frommer's guide as clothing-
	optional in sections, and it runs for two to four miles along what
	has been until now a sparsely populated area.  A couple hundred
	yards away from the central village are a few campgrounds adjacent
	to the beach where Frommer claims that nudity occurs.  This was not
	true when I was there, but it was early in the season and the beach
	and campgrounds were sparsely-peopled.  Further out along the beach,
	there WERE nude people, primarily lone couples separated by 50 yards
	or more of empty broiling sand.  Because of the heat, most were right
	at the shore or back under the few scrubby pine trees that border the
	beach.  None were American when I was there, and the German-speakers
	and Swedes that I spoke to seemed quite shocked and surprised that
	I, a stranger, would walk up and talk to them.  It seems that
	Europeans don't chat up strangers at a beach, nude or otherwise.
	The only really long and friendly conversation that I had was with
	two nude Irish girls who had just ended up a Perrisa by pure chance.
	Further along on the beach, about a mile from the village, the
	conditions returned to textile and continued that way for the rest
	of the beach I was told.  The entire coastline is gradually getting
	built up into one and two story condos and vacation homes, and I
	expect that at least initially, the nudity will disappear.
 
	   On Kamari Beach, the "low-budget jet-set" resort area, the only
	nudity is way out at the end of the beach where it gradually turns
	to gravel and rocks and dust from the adjacent dirt road.  Again,
	most of the nudes were German-speaking with a few Scandinavians,
	and all were separated into twos or threes with no shmoozing.  The
	nude section was definitely the crummiest part of the beach, but
	the beach-goers seemed quite content with it and some told me that
	that they had been visiting there each summer for years.  They all
	expressed concern at the high rate of construction and the steady
	price increases.  Although most of the women went top-free at
	Kamari, about a third (almost all English-speaking) didn't.  There
	were some American women tanning their breasts for the first time
	(with eyes shut tightly muttering "I don't beLIEVE I'm doing this")
	to American recently-graduated college students with breasts
	brown enough to grace a National Geographic magazine.  I saw only
	four people in thongs during the week I was there - one Greek woman
	of Romanian origin and three American girls.
 
	   A pretty beach is Red Beach on the western tip of the island.
	It's formed from the red volcanic pumice contained in the cliffs
	behind the beach, and there is a tavern there on the sand.  Although
	bare female breasts prevail, as usual, the smaller beaches in the
	next two coves seem to be clothing-optional.  Rented transportation,
	such as a moped or motorcycle is the usual way to reach Red Beach.
 
	   Although an interesting place to visit with some very dramatic
	volcanic geography and beautifully clear water, I wouldn't call
	Santorini a major "beach" island.  And I certainly wouldn't put it in
	a list of nude beach destinations.
 
 
	MYKONOS
 
	   This is the nude beach capitol of the Aegean, perhaps too much
	so.  There are also a lot of gay men (and a few visible gay women),
	but if you feel comfortable in San Francisco, what I estimate to
	be the 15-20% gay component of the summer tourists on Mykonos should
	not bother you (assuming you're straight).
 
	   There are buses leaving the main town for the 10-15 minute ride
	to Platy Yalos Beach as fast as the buses fill up.  That's about
	every 10-15 minutes.  Many people just hit the sand at Platy Yalos
	(the spelling varies), including many Americans.  There are a couple
	restaurants overlooking the beach, there are a lot of lounge chairs
	and umbrellas, and women there don't feel out-of-it if they don't
	take the top of their bathing suits off.  But the bulk of the people
	continue onto the shuttle boats which leave every 5 or 10 minutes
	for nude beaches further east along the coast.
 
	Paraga Beach
 
	   This is a 15 or 20 minute walk from Platy Yalos.  It's so close
	that the boats don't even bother to go there.  In my opinion, it's
	the most pleasnt of the CO beaches.  There's an eclectic mix of
	clothed and unclothed and partially-clothed, men and women, gay and
	straight, young and old people, all unself-consciously lying about
	on towels on the sand or on a couple dozen lounge chairs.  There
	are three taverns at the edge of the sand and another a couple
	hundred feet up a hillside, and all is mellow.  For those who feel
	confined just lying on a towel or dipping in the ocean, there is
	an adjacent peninsula with no structures on it (except for perhaps
	a lighthouse) where trails allow easy hikes for a half a mile
	out amongst boulders and brown dry terrain much like the American
	southwest, and there are beautiful ocean vistas, especially at
	sunset, of the coastline and the Aegean and of the shuttle boats
	carrying their cargo of flesh headed to the more popular nude
	beaches.  Paraga Beach is also easily reached by car or moped, and
	I'm amazed that more people don't go to Paraga Beach.
 
	Paradise Beach
 
	   This is THE famous nude beach on Mykonos and it's the first stop
	on the shuttle boat route.  It's a 30 or 40-minute walk from Platy
	Yalos, and people who've been there before know that the boat ride
	only cuts about 5 minutes off the walking time, but the boat ride is
	picturesque and is appropriate for first-timers.  There are three
	taverns side-by-side at the beach, the beach itself forming the
	floor of two of them, but I saw no one walk up to a tavern nude.
	As a matter of fact, only about 20% of the people there were nude
	on the days I was there, and only a handfull were women.  It was
	was still early in the season when I was there, but the beach was
	quite crowded, mostly German-speaking, but a few Sacndinavians and
	Americans, and it was looky-Lou City.  The beach has just gotten too
	well-known, and being so crowded with clothed people, I felt a
	bit uncomfortable nude.
 
	Super Paradise Beach
 
	   Most people get off the shuttle boat at Paradise.  The next stop
	is Super Paradise, a predominantly gay beach that is a good 40 to
	50-minute hike from Paradise.  It's over dry terrain lined with low
	stone walls bounding sheep paddocks, and although there are a couple
	dirt roads, there are no dwellings on the way.  The trail to Super
	might make a good nude hike.  Super Paradise has its usual taverns
	(as I dimly recall) and it looks much like Paradise, but it's a bit
	less crowded and most of the few women there are nude.  And when I was
	there, a couple of the clothed women were quite obviously there to
	gawk.  The gay guys there weren't doing anything but lying in the sun,
	not even chatting each other up, but these women found the whole scene
	just facinating to the eye.  They were genuine cock-watchers.  I
	loved it!
 
	Agrari Beach
 
	   Agrari is a small beach that seems to get the overflow from other
	adjacent beaches, and it's also more protected from the wind, making
	it good for cool days.  I didn't get off the boat there, and I don't
	recall whether there were any refreshments available at Agrari.  It's
	quite unremarkable, but it has nice sand and good swimming.
 
	Elia Beach
 
	   Elia is farther than anyone should walk.  It's the last beach on
	the shuttle boat run, and it's the most deserted.  Which is not to
	say it's inaccessible or without services.  There are lounge chairs,
	each with an adjacent thatch umbrella, and there is a decent
	beachside restaurant with a tile floor, and up on a nearby hill is
	a luxury hotel.  It's a long open beach with a road leading to it,
	and good swimming.  Sort of a rich man's nude beach.  I got quite
	bored there.
 
 
	SUMMARY
 
	   Both Santorini and Mykonos have much to offer from the standpoint
	of sunny weather, pleasant beaches, good water for swimming, and
	nightlife (Mykonos especially).  But I wouldn't go to Santorini for
	nice CO beaches, and I would stay away from Paradise Beach on
	Mykonos.  If I were to go to Mykonos again, I would spend my days at
	Paraga and Elia beaches, and maybe I would rent a dirtbike and check
	out the less known beaches on the north and east shores.  I would
	also spend a day on Delos, touring the archeological digs.  There
	ARE more things to do and to see on Mykonos than nude beaches.
 
	HOW TO GET THERE
 
	   I flew to Santorini via Stockholm because it was cheaper for me
	to fly LA-to-Stockholm and catch a Swedish tour from Stockholm to
	Santorini than to fly from LA-to-Athens-to-Santorini on my own.
	The tour from Stockholm to Santorini, including airfare and hotel
	for 2 weeks came to about $550.  Roundtrip airfare LAX<->Stockholm
	via Pan Am on a discounted ticket cost me about $780.  The ferry
	from Santorini to Mykonos cost less than $10 each way.  If you
	read rec.travel, soc.culture.nordic, or soc.culutre.greek, you saw
	my posting on how to get information on tours to Greece from
	Scandinavia or England.  E-mail me if you missed it and want a copy.
 
 
				Dave Walden
				djwalden@isi.edu

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Article         2828
From: huggett@sequent.UUCP (Terri Huggett)
Subject: Re: CO beaches on Santorini and Mykonos
Organization: Sequent Computer Systems, Inc
 
 
Some additional information about CO beaches in Greece, although Dave Ward
was very thorough.
 
I lived both in Athens and Santorini.
 
It is technically illegal to be unclothed on beaches in Greece.  However,
the police tend to be lax about enforcing the law, particularly when it
helps the tourist business.  They do sometimes enforce the law, which
generally includes a trip to the police station and a small fine, but mostly
on whim.