ISRAELI WOMEN enjoy Cabo Psarou Mykonos beach club. (credit: SHANNA FULD)<\/p>\n
A round-trip ticket currently averages around NIS 1,270-NIS 1,800 in peak months, with July and August the priciest stretch of the year, dropping noticeably once September hits. The whole island becomes desolate during the winter, taxi drivers told me.<\/p>\n
In addition to the profusion of Israelis, I met Italians, Bosnians, Albanians, Swedes, and a fair number of British tourists. Americans were at the bottom of the list, with one Yankee Doodle saying he was surprised that he only met a few Americans on the island.<\/p>\n
Filler, fillers, and more filler<\/p>\n
But there was one through-line that did not discriminate: the silicon, filler, fillers, and more filler. I have never seen so much visible plastic surgery in one concentrated square kilometer. Lips, cheekbones, breasts, bottoms \u2013 and if attention was the goal of these procedures, consumers were rewarded for it in Mykonos.<\/p>\n
I HAD BEEN hoping to meet some friendly Israelis for my article, and on Cavo Psarou Mykonos (my favorite, low-key, reasonably priced beach club), I found Ilanit and her crew sprawled on the sand, sun-drunk and unbothered.<\/p>\n
With my new Greek bikini on, I dropped into the semi-circle and asked my questions. The middle-aged women from Holon were on a classic girls\u2019 weekend: beach clubs, sun, shopping, then repeat. But when I pushed them on whether hearing Hebrew everywhere defeated the point of leaving Israel, I heard something different than what I expected: There\u2019s a sense of comfort in it.<\/p>\n
Effie, on her first trip to the island, was enthusiastic: \u201cIt\u2019s the perfect place,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019d live here if I could.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her favorite spot so far had been the restaurant extraordinaire Scorpios. She also was simply enjoying the water and the Greek sun. When asked about the food, the mood shifted. Everything\u2019s expensive, she said, and half the time there wasn\u2019t time to eat because of all the constant partying.<\/p>\n
Someone in Effie\u2019s group cut into the interview urgently to share something \u2013 the women were on a trip with their fitness trainer, who gave the group of 10 a list of foods that were off the table. \u201cStrong is the new skinny,\u201d said the culprit, Yael Buchacho.<\/p>\n
I returned to the same beach club two days later to find another group of Israeli women enjoying the water. I jumped in and struck up a conversation. One of them commented on my Star of David necklace.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you feel antisemitism here?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. If anything, it\u2019s the opposite. The locals know that Israelis spend. I think they appreciate the business,\u201d said a woman from Eilat.<\/p>\n
I would beg to differ. I got my own preview of the local mood at, of all places, the Longchamp store. I was mid-transaction, filling out the paperwork for my VAT tax refund, when the saleswoman decided she had some things to get off her chest.<\/p>\n
Israelis\u2019 behavior used to be much worse, she told me, totally unprompted. They\u2019ve improved in the last few years, she said. But she still doesn\u2019t like them, and really doesn\u2019t like that they\u2019re \u201cbuying up half the real estate on the island.\u201d<\/p>\n
She rang up my bag without missing a beat, pleasant as ever, like she hadn\u2019t just told an Israeli journalist working on a Mykonos story that she merely tolerates us.<\/p>\n
‘We don\u2019t sleep. We only go out’<\/p>\n
ELLA, 24, had just hung up a loud phone call in Hebrew as we both walked out of a boutique in Mykonos town, and I asked if I could join her as she headed to her next stop. She said that has been coming to Mykonos with her friends for the last several summers. When I asked why Mykonos specifically, she didn\u2019t overthink it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nonstop; it\u2019s just pure fun. We don\u2019t sleep. We only go out,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t come here for the shopping. I go to Europe for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some famous Israeli faces, accompanied by their security detail, were spotted throughout the streets of Mykonos during the evening hours. It seemed like half of Israel really was in Mykonos this summer \u2013 even those in the political sphere.<\/p>\n
Scorpios is, as advertised, a crucial stop. I just wish we\u2019d gotten there earlier than dinner hour, because there\u2019s so much to do in this one, sprawling venue. Entering Scorpios is a journey, and you\u2019ll likely wait in line before being guided to your seat. The waiters were enthusiastic, and the food was excellent.<\/p>\n
While we dined, people were already partying down below on the beachside dance floor. Trendy and inspired DJs lit the area up with energy. There was enough space for partygoers to surround the DJ booth. This party closes at an early 12 a.m., which is totally opposite from the rest of the island\u2019s party culture, which only just begins at 1 a.m.<\/p>\n
Roka, the new sister restaurant to the Zuma Japanese eatery, might be the single most beautiful outdoor space I ate in all summer, with a view worth a million euros.<\/p>\n
Mykonos\u2019s town itself, meanwhile, buzzes at nightfall, with pubs and venues on every block. It felt young and reckless. I noticed undercover security in the alleys \u2013 probably there to break up any potential drunken fights, which I did not see even once. Shops are open until 3 a.m. to cater to nightlife shoppers.<\/p>\n
MY TRIP UP the mountain, which I was glad I made on foot, wasn\u2019t to a restaurant or a beach club \u2013 it was to the Chabad of Mykonos.<\/p>\n
I swapped overpriced margaritas at the beach club with my non-Jewish friends for a place to exhale and remember my reality and identity. I thought of myself as a Maccabee, praying amid Greek culture. Shacharit on Shabbat begins at 10:30 a.m. (I assume that is to give some party people a few hours of shut-eye), and concludes by midday.<\/p>\n
This Chabad is located in a hotel breakfast area with a view that rivaled many high-end hot spots. Praying there was awesome. There was a mix of French, American, and Israeli travelers, with a rabbi who spoke those languages. Services were conducted in Hebrew. Was that due to the volume of Israeli tourists<\/a>, or to Mykonos\u2019s proximity to Israel?\u00a0<\/p>\n Lunch was plentiful and traditional: Moroccan fish, an assortment of salads, cholent, and schnitzel.<\/p>\n