This is me, Constantinos, Sing Yi, Kristen and George eating our AMAZING chocolate souffles on Mykonos. We worked very hard to get these souffles- the place was closed so Constantinos called the owner's mother to have him come open it for us. Yup. These Greek men get shit done.Ok, so as I alluded to before, Mykonos was crazy. We were planning to stay for a day or two, and wound up staying for five. And if Kristen and I hadn't been so gung-ho about getting to Croatia, we would have probably never left. In fact, as far as I know, Sing Yi and Janell are still there!
On the first night when we arrived, we did the normal touristy stuff- we ate along the water, drank ouzo, and went out the the Scandinavian bar (a place for smelly, sweaty Aussies and Albanians). Janell had had quite a crush on our waiter at the restaurant, and later on in the evening, he came to meet us. Janell was clearly going to get home in her own way, and Kristen had already headed back, so Sing Yi and I had to find our way. Thankfully, two guys from Florida who were staying in the same place as us were at the bar and heading back too. The only catch: they had only brought one scooter. But Christos insisted there would be no problem. So the four of us walked to the scooter, and hopped on. Here's how we managed: Christos drove, Sing Yi and I squeezed onto the seat behind him, and the other guy Paul propped himself on the metal thingy on the back. I have never ridden a scooter before (Chris, you owe me a trip on your Vespa!!), and this was a crazy way to begin. Of course Christos had to be macho and take the turns at breakneck speed, and I kept freaking out about the fact that my bare feet were dangling three inches above the ground as we traveled 40 or 50 miles per hour. It must have been the worst for Paul though, without any padding back there... Anyway, we made it back each in one piece, after walking the last steep incline - that poor scooter just couldn't make it. And Sing Yi and I promptly passed out.
Which brings us to.... The day we lost Janell
In the morning, Janell hadn't returned. In a normal circumstance, this wouldn't have really been a problem... but Janell is a free spirit who had decided to travel without her cell phone. Sing Yi did have her 'special friend's' phone number, but none of us had a phone that was charged with minutes on it, and our phone was not accepting a recharge. So we borrowed our Floridian friends' phone to call, but only got a message, and didn't know what number to tell him to call back, since the Florida boys were leaving. I then put the piece of paper with his number on it in a place for safe keeping, and proceeded to lose it. (I found it in my wallet five days later...of course, Elissa).
At this point, the problem was that we had to check out of our room by noon so we could move to the Paraga beach campground where we wanted to stay for the next few nights. So we just packed up our things and all of Janell's and began our trek over to the campground on the other side of the island. It also would have been smart to leave Janell a note telling her where we were going, but by this time none of us was thinking clearly, and we were subconsciously trying to make it as hard as possible for Janell to find us.
By the time we got to Paraga beach, it was late in the afternoon and we still had no idea what to do. But you can't spend all your time worrying right? So Kristen, Sing Yi, and I went to go lie on the beach. Janell's a big girl...she'd find us.
A couple hours later, Kristen had gone up to the pool, Sing Yi was sleeping, and I decided to start doing some yoga on the beach, as I am apt to do. I was in the camel pose when I heard some laughter and heard Sing Yi say "It's yoga." Apparently, a group of guys on the beach were making fun of me. The interesting thing about this was that Sing Yi had pointed over to the group before and singled out one of the guys as good looking. I'd said "I'll give you that, but he's not my type." Now this guy, Constantinos, and a few of his friends came over to the two of us. In about two minutes Sing Yi was in love with Constantinos, and in about three, I was in love with his friend George. I guess that's how it happens on the Islands. Anyway, by the time Kristen came back to the beach about a half hour later, Constantinos and George had agreed to take us all to dinner, and then to help us find Janell.
We kept trying to describe to the two of them who Janell was with. "We think his name was Constantinos too....or Costastinos...Costas???" The boys seemed like they would know everyone on the island, but they had no idea who we were talking about. Still, no rush to find out if Janell was lying passed out naked on a beach somewhere.... So, we went to a beautiful tavern called Petran, and the boys ordered us all kinds of fish we'd never heard of. And a beautiful white table wine, according to Sing Yi, who also just happens to be a sommelier.
Around 10 pm- fully 18 hours after we'd last seen Janell, we went back to the restaurant where Janell's special friend worked. As we approached and pointed to him, Constantinos was like "Oh, Gus?? He's my friend!" He went up to Gus and it turned out Janell was with his roommate at a nearby internet cafe, and had had a fantastic day. When I went into the internet cafe to get her, she was in the middle of her US unemployment interview. Amazing. But she hadn't been worried and told us she'd meet us at the campground later. I was slightly reluctant to leave her again, but we headed out. And when she walked into our tent an hour later, she was like "Oh, you guys were worried? It's a small island....I figured I'd find you."
This is why we love Janell.
Getting adopted
The boys, Constantinos and George, essentially adopted all of us for the rest of the week. They took us to amazing hidden beaches, and out to some really great dinners. And I seriously fell for George. So much so, that he almost convinced me that we shouldn't go through the Balkans, as Kristen and I originally planned.
We were looking at a map of Eastern Europe. Kristen and I showed George how we were planning to take a bus from Athens to Florina (in the very north of Greece) and then travel by bus up through Macedonia, Albania, Montengro, and Croatia. George said "No baby, you don't go that way. That's dangerous. It's bad, it's dangerous." When we pressed him why, all he could really say was that Albanians were not nice, and neither were Macedonians. He pointed to the ferry route from Patras, Greece, to Venice and said "That's why this route exists. You don't go that way." It seems Grecians do not get along with their neighbors very well.
Anyway, between the sun and the beaches, we were almost talked into staying on the islands for an extra week and going directly to Italy. But ultimately, Kristen and I were way too excited to go where few have gone before, and on Sunday morning we left Athens on a bus for Lake Ohrid, Macedonia. And all is not lost...I may just go back to Athens at the end of my trip to see George. If I can't get him out of my head.
Or....I may never come home.
On the next episode of Elissa's Currently-Not-So-Tax-Deductible European Vacation:
-Sam and Sasha, the friendly taxi drivers of Macedonia.
-Kristen and I find the family that her mother stayed with 30 years ago in Ohrid, Macedonia, and get chaffeured around the city for a day.
-Hiking to the top of the old city in Kotor, easily the steepest city I've ever seen.
-We rock the Madonna concert in Budva, Montenegro!!!!
AND I'll be adding pictures!
On the first night when we arrived, we did the normal touristy stuff- we ate along the water, drank ouzo, and went out the the Scandinavian bar (a place for smelly, sweaty Aussies and Albanians). Janell had had quite a crush on our waiter at the restaurant, and later on in the evening, he came to meet us. Janell was clearly going to get home in her own way, and Kristen had already headed back, so Sing Yi and I had to find our way. Thankfully, two guys from Florida who were staying in the same place as us were at the bar and heading back too. The only catch: they had only brought one scooter. But Christos insisted there would be no problem. So the four of us walked to the scooter, and hopped on. Here's how we managed: Christos drove, Sing Yi and I squeezed onto the seat behind him, and the other guy Paul propped himself on the metal thingy on the back. I have never ridden a scooter before (Chris, you owe me a trip on your Vespa!!), and this was a crazy way to begin. Of course Christos had to be macho and take the turns at breakneck speed, and I kept freaking out about the fact that my bare feet were dangling three inches above the ground as we traveled 40 or 50 miles per hour. It must have been the worst for Paul though, without any padding back there... Anyway, we made it back each in one piece, after walking the last steep incline - that poor scooter just couldn't make it. And Sing Yi and I promptly passed out.
Which brings us to.... The day we lost Janell
In the morning, Janell hadn't returned. In a normal circumstance, this wouldn't have really been a problem... but Janell is a free spirit who had decided to travel without her cell phone. Sing Yi did have her 'special friend's' phone number, but none of us had a phone that was charged with minutes on it, and our phone was not accepting a recharge. So we borrowed our Floridian friends' phone to call, but only got a message, and didn't know what number to tell him to call back, since the Florida boys were leaving. I then put the piece of paper with his number on it in a place for safe keeping, and proceeded to lose it. (I found it in my wallet five days later...of course, Elissa).
At this point, the problem was that we had to check out of our room by noon so we could move to the Paraga beach campground where we wanted to stay for the next few nights. So we just packed up our things and all of Janell's and began our trek over to the campground on the other side of the island. It also would have been smart to leave Janell a note telling her where we were going, but by this time none of us was thinking clearly, and we were subconsciously trying to make it as hard as possible for Janell to find us.
By the time we got to Paraga beach, it was late in the afternoon and we still had no idea what to do. But you can't spend all your time worrying right? So Kristen, Sing Yi, and I went to go lie on the beach. Janell's a big girl...she'd find us.
A couple hours later, Kristen had gone up to the pool, Sing Yi was sleeping, and I decided to start doing some yoga on the beach, as I am apt to do. I was in the camel pose when I heard some laughter and heard Sing Yi say "It's yoga." Apparently, a group of guys on the beach were making fun of me. The interesting thing about this was that Sing Yi had pointed over to the group before and singled out one of the guys as good looking. I'd said "I'll give you that, but he's not my type." Now this guy, Constantinos, and a few of his friends came over to the two of us. In about two minutes Sing Yi was in love with Constantinos, and in about three, I was in love with his friend George. I guess that's how it happens on the Islands. Anyway, by the time Kristen came back to the beach about a half hour later, Constantinos and George had agreed to take us all to dinner, and then to help us find Janell.
We kept trying to describe to the two of them who Janell was with. "We think his name was Constantinos too....or Costastinos...Costas???" The boys seemed like they would know everyone on the island, but they had no idea who we were talking about. Still, no rush to find out if Janell was lying passed out naked on a beach somewhere.... So, we went to a beautiful tavern called Petran, and the boys ordered us all kinds of fish we'd never heard of. And a beautiful white table wine, according to Sing Yi, who also just happens to be a sommelier.
Around 10 pm- fully 18 hours after we'd last seen Janell, we went back to the restaurant where Janell's special friend worked. As we approached and pointed to him, Constantinos was like "Oh, Gus?? He's my friend!" He went up to Gus and it turned out Janell was with his roommate at a nearby internet cafe, and had had a fantastic day. When I went into the internet cafe to get her, she was in the middle of her US unemployment interview. Amazing. But she hadn't been worried and told us she'd meet us at the campground later. I was slightly reluctant to leave her again, but we headed out. And when she walked into our tent an hour later, she was like "Oh, you guys were worried? It's a small island....I figured I'd find you."
This is why we love Janell.
Getting adopted
The boys, Constantinos and George, essentially adopted all of us for the rest of the week. They took us to amazing hidden beaches, and out to some really great dinners. And I seriously fell for George. So much so, that he almost convinced me that we shouldn't go through the Balkans, as Kristen and I originally planned.
We were looking at a map of Eastern Europe. Kristen and I showed George how we were planning to take a bus from Athens to Florina (in the very north of Greece) and then travel by bus up through Macedonia, Albania, Montengro, and Croatia. George said "No baby, you don't go that way. That's dangerous. It's bad, it's dangerous." When we pressed him why, all he could really say was that Albanians were not nice, and neither were Macedonians. He pointed to the ferry route from Patras, Greece, to Venice and said "That's why this route exists. You don't go that way." It seems Grecians do not get along with their neighbors very well.
Anyway, between the sun and the beaches, we were almost talked into staying on the islands for an extra week and going directly to Italy. But ultimately, Kristen and I were way too excited to go where few have gone before, and on Sunday morning we left Athens on a bus for Lake Ohrid, Macedonia. And all is not lost...I may just go back to Athens at the end of my trip to see George. If I can't get him out of my head.
Or....I may never come home.
On the next episode of Elissa's Currently-Not-So-Tax-Deductible European Vacation:
-Sam and Sasha, the friendly taxi drivers of Macedonia.
-Kristen and I find the family that her mother stayed with 30 years ago in Ohrid, Macedonia, and get chaffeured around the city for a day.
-Hiking to the top of the old city in Kotor, easily the steepest city I've ever seen.
-We rock the Madonna concert in Budva, Montenegro!!!!
AND I'll be adding pictures!
2 comments:
I guess I'll meet you in Athens in December!! loves ya!
Elissa! You can have a hundred thousand Vespa rides if only you continually serenade me with stories of love and near-loss!!
oh, and, in my own special way, I finally found the bon voyage card I meant to give you before you left!
miss you guys.
love you!
xo
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