Saturday, August 6, 2011

Meet Petros - Mascot of Mykonos

Petros the Pelican
Petros the Pelican

When you are in Alevkantra, the small sand beach in front of Venetia (Little Venice), or strolling through the harbour area of Mykonos Town, you may notice a local inhabitant that grabs your attention. Of course, we are talking about Petros (Peter) the Pelican who is particularly fond of both of these areas of Mykonos.

An integral part of the island of Mykonos and its folklore, Petros has officially been declared its mascot. Living here since 1954 after the original pelican passed away, following a 30 year residency., Petros wanders the neighborhoods frolicking in the waterways. Everyone in Mykonos, including visitors from abroad, adores and admires the pelican. The children love to play with the pelican, and tourists gather around to take a few photographs.

Legend has it that more than 40 years ago a local fisherman stumbled upon a wounded Pelican whom he decided to nurture back to health. Once the Pelican regained his strength, the fisherman tried to set him free. But surprisingly, the Pelican did not become airborne to his destined abode. Instead he made Mykonos his home. With every passing day, the cute creature became the cynosure of all eyes and became a celebrity.

The sight of the Pelican is a joy to behold, and during our visit as we wandered through Mykonos, we were fortunate to see him perched on a small row boat, enjoying the attention he was receiving. Petros has a good life it seems, as local fisherman offer the choicest of fresh sea fish to the Pelican from their daily catches. Our album, Mykonos Walking Tour, has some more pictures of Petros along with the sights that he sees as he wanders through his home town of Mykonos.



Med & Greek Isles Cruise Diary

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.





@ChrisPappinMCC


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