So comes the third weekend we've been in Athens. Another weekend that felt long but passed by far too quickly. The adventure this weekend was actually a trip outside the city to the island of Mykonos, known for its intense night life, its celebrity and gay culture, and its beautiful beaches, basically a must if you're a tourist in Athens. It was a terribly long day, so long, in fact, that one day almost felt like a week. So I'm doing a day in review, by parts. Enjoy. :)
Part 1: The Flight
The day actually started on Thursday night. Thanks to our friends at Aegean Airlines, we were able to get free flights to Mykonos, big win. Unfortunately for us, those flights were at 5:45 AM, a small concession to make for a free flight, but one that left us drained nevertheless. Luckily, if you're traveling in Athens, there are three fairly convenient ways to get to the airport: the x95 bus from Syntagma Square which runs 24 hours a day and costs 3.20 Euros, the Metro blue line which runs from 5 AM to 12 AM (or 2:30 AM on Fridays and Saturdays) and costs 6 Euros, and a taxi, which costs 35 Euros during the day and goodness knows how much during the night (it's a complicated system). Being the penniless college students that we were, we opted to take the bus, so, as we set out at 3:30 AM, we managed to catch one that dropped us off at Athens International Airport just as the deep blue of the sky began to lighten.
Given that it was early morning, it was not surprising that the plane was not crowded, but really, there were only around 12 people on a plane built for 150. So, as soon as the plane took off, we each scattered to find our own row, intending to lie down and catch some alpha waves before we landed. That didn't happen because almost as soon as we took off, everyone became captivated by the sunrise, as well as the islands we were flying over, some of which seemed so small that it was surprising that the were inhabited at all.
First sunrise in Greece: check
Part 2: The Beach
Just as we got settled with our complementary drinks, we arrived on the island. The time: 6:30 AM. The whole flight took around 15 minutes. We dragged our slightly adrenaline-hyped selves to the Paradise Beach Hostel with the idea that because it was right by the beach, people could just roll out of bed onto the sand. Now, I'm neither a beach person nor a super clubber, but if on Mykonos, live like the Greeks, right? From my experience this past weekend, I can pretty confidently say this much: if you're a beach person, you may want to spend your day at the beach in Mykonos, but the nights should be nights spent in the town, where all the nightlife is. It's much safer stumbling into your room in town at 4 AM then it is stumbling your way to an overpriced cab, then stubbing your feet on rocks and fighting the bugs trying to get to your cabin. Just saying.
Still, Paradise Beach was one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. The heat of the sun mitigated by the ocean breeze, the crystal clear water, the little fishies nibbling at your toes, the trees placed strategically to shade the easily-burned, made for a wonderful beach experience, probably the most enjoyable I've ever had. Some pictures to commemorate the experience, noting that even with two our naps, it was still only 9:30 in the morning, and people weren't exactly beaching yet:
I will say that the sand was not as fine as California beach sand, which incidentally is imported to the beach from the desert because otherwise, all the beaches would be rock beaches. The Mykonos sand is legitimately little pebbles that have been worn down to grains of sand. This makes for a more painful situation when sitting down sometimes, but it also means that you can get rid of all the sand before making your way back to your room. No more finding sand for weeks afterwords in crevices you didn't even realize touched sand. :)
Also, I got burned on my back. Not a pretty sight. Note to self: suncreen everywhere. EVERYWHERE.
Part 3: The Town
We walked around, wandered, shopped, all the while looking for a cafe at which we could watch the game. It seemed like most of the bars were void of people and in the prevening, it seemed that there were no clubs open. Where were all the people? It was quite baffling. Finally, tired and hungry, we settled into the only cafe that seemed to have a television, Cafe Sussie, and I thus completed item #20 on the List, with no yelling, no screaming, and no cheering. Just a cappuccino and a salami, cheese, and tomato crepe with green peppers and a cozy seat in front of the TV watching Mexico tie South Africa. [Incidentally, I realized in the following days, that that was just how the Greeks operated. There were no bar fights or punching people when a team scored or anything. They are a very chill people, basically just sitting outside, watching the game while sipping a coffee or a beer. Who knew?]
Part 4: Gay people are people too!!
~~
Before I begin, a definition from dictionary.com:
gay
–adjective
- having or showing a merry, lively mood: gay spirits; gay music.
- bright or showy: gay colors; gay ornaments.
- given to or abounding in social or other pleasures: a gay social season.
- licentious; dissipated; wanton: The baron is a gay old rogue with an eye for the ladies.
- homosexual
- of, indicating, or supporting homosexual interests or issues: a gay organization.
~~
Soon enough, the rest of the group joined us and after getting some refreshments, we headed off to find a place we could enjoy these refreshments. Let it be known that there are no benches on the streets of Mykonos. Not that I blame them; the streets are plenty narrow as it is and everyone just sits on their porch or at a cafe. Finally, we find a place, near the sea where it was really freaking windy and coooollllddd (because I wasn't wearing many clothes from the daytime). We were sitting and chatting, as the night got darker and darker and we saw a quite a few people pass by us. There were the couples, making their ways to a restaurant or bar, the gaggles of gigglers who were more than tipsy already, and finally, a fabulous gentleman came up to us, just as we were discussing the trade-off of Asian glow versus the need to shave less, why some guys don't have hair on their thighs, and the merit of shaving, or at least trimming, Sam's beard. Apparently all our friend heard was "shaving" because he started to talk to us about shaving...other parts and whether or not we preferred said parts to be shaven.
The conversation went as such:
Fabulous Friend: So, what do you think about shaving, you know, down there? Guys? Girls? What do you think?
~Awkward silence~
Marj: Well...if he expects me to shave mine, he should shave his.
FF: See, that's a valid point.
~Awkward murmurs of assent because no one else really wants to address the issue~
FF: Now, then *points between guys and girls* do you all play the bagpipes?*
~Super awkward long silence because we all just met each other two weeks ago~
FF: See, that's the problem with straight people. You're all talk and no bagpiping. *Anger begins and he YELLS A BUNCH OF SOMETHINGS*
Some of the guys start getting defensive here, especially the ones that weren't privy to the conversation in the first place.
Sam: Wait..wait..wait..not with each other!
Walt: Well, I've played a couple bagpipes before!**
FF: You're all in a gay cruising area and you don't even play anyone's bagpipe!
Someone asks him why he's assuming everyone's straight and our friend rebukes with "Why does everyone have to put a label on everything?" FF, who was actually nice and funny before, storms off in a fit because apparently, we're labeling things and not bagpiping enough. It just reminded me that people will be people, judgmental, snippy and have mood swings. We spend a great deal of time trying to be politically correct and accommodate everyone and trying not to offend when we don't mean to, but in the end, it's just a spectrum of people, some of whom are mean for no reason. He may have been slightly miffed that we were encroaching on his cruising area, but he was still surprisingly surly. And definitely not gay (def. 1).
Part 5: The Rest of the Night
The rest of the night consisted of club hopping and free-shotting. Basically, we jumped from club to club as our music and dance tastes changed throughout the night, hitting such classics as Down Under, Jacuzzi, and Argos. In Jacuzzi, there was actually a Jacuzzi, and a male dancer willing to show his bagpipes in the jacuzzi. Yeah....we didn't accept because Marj pulled us out before any more adventuring could go on, but it might have been a worthwhile experience. ;D
The night ended with Liz and I returning to the campgrounds early (2:30 AM) in anticipation of an excursion to Delos the next day.
I will end with one of the few photos of our group as a group. We are missing one, who was in a polo tournament in London, but other than that, don't we look happy?
Peace from Greece,
Angela
P.S. Great Walt quote of the night: Just because I don't wear a scarf, doesn't mean I'm not gay.
*Of course he didn't say bagpipes, but we're keeping it relatively PG here.
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