Mykonos

Far from deserted, this gay Greek Mecca is crammed full of tourists fresh off the numerous cruise ships that have made this island every glittering gay boys favorite. Like the hunky sunbathers oiled bodies, this town has created a slick tourist destination. Just the right balance of sheik shops, abundant restaurants and thumping discos gives you plenty to do from morning to the wee hours of morning a day later. The two most popular gay discos are Jackie O and Babylon that sit side by side at the harbors shore competing for clientele by trying to have the loudest music blaring. As a result, most of the crowd gathers outside the front of both discos where the ear splitting music is more tolerable. By day, the well-groomed Adonis bodies stake out a quilted patch of beach towels and bake naked in the golden beaches. Some turn deep brown, most turn lobster red. Plenty of ogling and trysts in the rocks goes on to make a day at the beach a full experience.

I want to be repelled by the commercialization of it all, but somehow I am still entranced by its whitewashed beauty and inviting shops selling a level above the normal tourist trinkets. We spent 4 days here mostly at the golden sand beaches. We do take a day stocking up with provisions at an island that has a grocery store bigger than the normal mom and pop closets with a cheese counter in the back, fill up our water and diesel tanks courtesy of the local tanker trucks that service the marina.