You have come all the way to Mykonos to get soaked in the sunshine and the crystal Aegean blue, but wish to maintain your devotion to keeping your body healthy and your mind clean. You might even enjoy partying, but wish to detox and really treat yourself nice all the same. In Mykonos you can have the best of both worlds! For all those of you who look for an alternative (and healthier) way to spend you days on the island, here are few interesting suggestions
In the aptly named area of Maou, at Ano Mera, Nikos Asimomitis has made the most of his family's estates and the neighbouring vineyard, which used to be cultivated my the monks of Panaghia Tourliani, to create an innovative farm based on traditional values and contemporary biological cultivation practices. Mykonos Vioma (www.mykonosvioma.gr, +30 22890 71883) is a place of bliss, where nature's wisdom, good music and healthy grapes grow and invite the visitor to take a walk around and decompress.
Six traditional Greek grape varieties are cultivated here, Asyrtiko, Athiri, Malagouzia, Monemvasia, Agiannitis and Mandilaria, each with their own specific scent and taste, which produce beautifully full-flavored wines of superior quality. The yield is small, because the vines are not watered: they just live on the moisture-rich atmosphere carried by the ocean breeze. The area's microclimate (north wind, rich soil) and the owner's dedication to the bio-dynamic cultivation principles of Rudolph Steiner do the rest. No chemicals are used in the Vioma vineyards. The farm's sheeps weed out any unnecessary plant glowth and enrich the soil with their manure. Old wooden doors and window panes, colorfully painted by local artists and schoolchildren, provide protection from the strong winds and turn the vineyards into an open-air gallery. But Vioma's artistic flair ιs not limited to painting...
Studies have shown that grapes respond to classical music and become more vigorous. So, don't be surprised if you listen to Mozart coming through loudspeakers strategically placed around the farm and fields: classical music accompanies the daily life and duties of the people working in there!
When visiting Mykonos Vioma you'll get to stroll through the vineyard, be introduced to the wine-production practices used, as well as get acquainted with the traditional methods of bee-hiving and farming. You'll also have a chance to see the farm's animals (sheep, chicken, turkeys, rabbits) and be introduced to their pet-donkey, the infamous Giakoumis!
Of course, your visit wouldn't be complete without a taste of the wine and traditional treets produced there and which accompany the wines greatly: local cheese varieties (xynotiro, tyrovolia, kopanisti), ham (louza) and sausages.
Here is also the Tripadvisor page for Mykonos Vioma!
And if you haven't drunk too much, make sure to pass by Yummy Pedals (www.yummypedals.gr) on your way back: They offer a completely different and enviroνmentaly friendly way to view Mykonos. On the top of your bike, with you local multi-lingual guide, you will ride through the wind to isolated beached, picturesque villages and breath-taking landscapes that no travel guide can can accurately describe.
Still looking for that ever-eluding inner peace? When you visit this island, you just might get another chance to achieve it. Located at Marathios Lake, Mykonos Alternative Health Center (www.maren-com-gr.webnode.gr, +30 6977 678847, +30 6948 689234) has been founded on the principal of helping its visitors achieving and maintaing harmony, through traditional, alternative and holistic treatments and cures carefully embracing and healing body and mind.
The methods used and services offered range from detox and rejuvenation regimes, traditional massage techniques, spa treatments, work-out and relaxation sessions. Collaborating healers include specialists in the fields of chiropractice, homeopathy, Ayeverda, geopathology, aromatotherapy and beauty. After a full medical history report, each visitor is given custom made suggestions about the practices and treatments best suited to their specific needs.
Hungry yet? Well, after all this walking, cycling and balancing it is indeed time for a nice and healthy dinner and you won't need to go far from Chora to have it. Recently relocated from Kalo Livadi to Alefkandra Square, right in the heard of Mykonos' town, Nice 'n Easy (www.niceneasy.gr, +30 22890 25421) is an organic bistro restaurant with a strictly farm-to-table philosophy in everything it serves.
Food connoisseur and entrepreneur Dimitris Christoforidis and executive chef Christos Athanasiadis first came up and impremented the Nice 'n Easy concept at their two restaurants of the same name in Athens. The idea is simple: offer a tasty and wholesome menu, made from organically grown produce and offer fresh cuisine and diverse drinks in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The concept was a success and the duo extended their brand, opening a 'biobeach' restaurant in Mykonos.
Here, they work diligently to develop menu items that span from traditional Mediterranean to more adventurous flavors, with vegetables coming from local or neighbouring island farms (Naxos, Kalymnos, Crete) and meat coming from their own farm in Northern Greece. Combine gastronomical excellence and purely organic ingredients with jazz tunes and some old Hollywood inspired ambiance, and you're in for a great night out! You'll even get to eat dished inspired by great film actors and directors, such as Costa Gavras and Marlon Brando. Our own favorite? Definitely the “Sean Conner”: freshly baked salmon with a herb and citrus crust on quinoia tabbouleh... Healthy eating can't get any better than this!
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