Shuffling through my weekly"Stumbleupon" report I managed to run into my third consecutive "Best/Coolest/MostBeautiful Places to travel" list that manages to find its way comfortably in my weekly reports. The places listed on this list in particular were very cool and unique, unlike the usual rather commercial lists that include paradises like Bora Bora and Australia. One of these places I found on the list I have all too fond of a memory of from my travels in Greece, so I thought I might open this 'ol can of beans in a nostalgic fashion and reminisce on this memory via the world wide web.
Reflecting on my days in Greece I remember it being consistantly unfamiliar, I
had dreamt of the day Kiffen would finally come visit me in the mystery land of
the Mediterranean. She had never been to Greece before, and as soon as I had
moved to Athens, nothing could come between her flight benefits and the Parthenon.
Since moving there all I had wanted was to enjoy a long and pleasant weekend
off with English speaking friends before having to return to my English teaching
duties back in Dionysos, and finally it was here! Any normal tourists would
have spent their weekend relaxing in Athens, hitting up all of the historical
monuments and soaking up all of the cultural experiences the ancient city had
to offer, but my sister and I are no “normal tourists.” We had only two and a
half days to explore and travel before I had to head back to work and Kiffen
and my sister-in-law, Sarah, had to return to America. We never even considered
spending our precious time in a museum, or strolling from souvenir shop to
souvenir shop in Monastiraki Square admiring the Acropolis snow globes and trying
on plastic Spartan helmets. Aside from having already knocked out my ‘tourist
time’ within my first week in the country, we were all ready for adventure and
to explore the unknown!
Aside
from the snorkeling, the reason we had chosen Zakynthos over the other forty
islands was for one simple reason, Navagio Beach a.k.a. Shipwreck Beach. Not
only was there remarkable snorkeling to be had in the blue caves right off of
the Zante coast, but there was a large petrified ship currently considered a
Grecian landmark right on the shore. Although one might consider a vacation on
the island of Zakynthos to be magnificent, perhaps tranquil, this trip was
hardly living up to any previously conceived expectations. Perhaps that might
have been our downfall to begin with, high expectations. Our first high
expectation, was conceived shortly after departing the ferry-particularly the
expectation that a Grecian taxi driver would be willing to transport three
Americans to their preferred destination for the standard rate seemed to be a
little 'high.' After finally having found a kind and illegal Middle Eastern man
to take us to our hotel in Tsilivi, we were engulfed in high spirits and remained
content for the remainder of the drive into town.
As
soon as we arrived at our hotel, we did some quick unpacking and instantly
headed around the corner to a small cruise advisor shop to purchase our tickets
to paradise. A brittle British lady handed the three of us brochures to our
ideal destination reading, “Discover your way around Zakynthos Cruise!” There
was a large, luxurious cruise ship on the front of the brochure with people
sunbathing in a pool that took up the whole front of the ship. Everyone on the
brochure seemed to be having the time of their lives as a waiter handed out
drinks to excited guests. It was when she began describing the royal voyage in
detail that our expectations of Navagio began to approach towering heights, as
did our anticipation for what seemed to be like a relaxing and delightful
voyage on a marvelous and grand cruise ship. We purchased our tickets and
eagerly awaited the next morning when we would set off to discover our way around Zakynthos.
As
we crossed the small bridge to a rather small boat, we glanced at our brochures
making sure we were in the right place. We continued to the front of the boat
where we approached a floor painted a shimmering crystal blue that was oddly reminiscent
of water, mimicking a pool like setting. Kiffen glared at me in furious
confusion, “You have got to be kidding me.” I stared at her dumbfounded and
glanced around the rest of the two star boat in shock of having been conned by
a fifty year old British lady. We decided we would try to enjoy ourselves
despite the fact and set up camp on the bow of the boat as people flooded in
crowding every last seat in the cabin and on deck. We tried to enjoy the
shining sun and soft breeze as we set off toward Navagio Beach, reminding
ourselves that we would be snorkeling in no time.
As
the boat glided around a cluster of bare cliffs, caves emerged from their rocky
walls; and our excitement set in as we approached snorkel central. All of a
sudden, the boat slid to the right changing direction, and suddenly we were no
longer riding with the waves, but against them. The first large wave rolled
toward the boat, and people began to gasp in anxious excitement as the boat raised
high above the water and slammed down into the Ionian Sea. My heart fluttered
as if I was on a rollercoaster, and I laughed as I heard the whole crowd
“wooOO!” in unison. Kiffen and I burst into laughter as the whole crowd clapped
and cheered as the second wave, which was much bigger that the first, rolled
under the boat raising the bow and slamming it down even harder into the water.
This time the water splashed up on to the deck as children laughed, played,
jumping for joy. The crowd got louder and even more excited with each wave we
encountered that always seemed to be much bigger than the last. It was after
the twelfth wave that panic set in.
People
were no longer holding their arms in the air and cheering with excitement but
holding on to their stomachs in hopes of keeping their breakfast down. Children
were no longer laughing and playing but holding on to the railings for dear
life with terror in their eyes. As the thirteenth wave rolled under the boat,
people held on tight to the side of the boat with one hand and covered their
mouths in agony with the other. The crowd went from smiling and merry to
blowing chunks off of the side of the boat in less than seven blissful minutes.
I closed my eyes as I felt my morning biscuits and figs making their way up my esophagus
for a delicious encore. I glanced around the boat and saw green faces all
around. A woman held her daughter’s hair while she herself was puking over the
railing. A man attempted to wobble his way into the cabin before falling on the
deck and upchucking all over the faux pool. I turned to get Kiffen’s attention
in hopes of reminding her of the hilarity of the situation and how everyone was
just cheering in unison seven minutes ago, but she seemed occupied like the
rest of the crowd, puking into a plastic bag that once held my fruit I had
picked up from the market earlier that morning. As I frowned at my delicious
fruit being vomited on, I panicked and grabbed a plastic bag I saw in the
corner of the boat and began spewing a biscuit and fig smoothie with every
exhale.
Five
minutes later, the boat settled in shallow water. The crowd wiped off their
mouths and gathered up their snorkel fins and masks in preparation for docking.
As the anchor roared into the water, Kiffen, Sarah, and I spit into our masks
and saddled up for the one thing that we had been looking forward to the whole
weekend. As the crowd funneled down a ramp into the water, Kiffen, Sarah and I
slipped on our fins and jumped off of the bow of the ship holding onto our
masks tightly as we crashed into the water. We spent the rest of the afternoon
snorkeling in and out of caves and jumping off of cliffs enjoying the sparkling
coral and indigenous fish Zakynthos had to offer.
After
snorkeling we climbed aboard and continued the trip around the island
peacefully. We had discovered enough of Zakynthos and spent the rest of the day
sleeping comfortably on the cushioned benches inside the cabin. After the boat
docked, we were pleasantly awakened by the bustle of people exiting the boat.
We slowly gathered our belongings and blissfully exited the boat with a sigh of
relief knowing we would never have to do that ever again. Aside from having
spent the whole afternoon projectile vomiting off of a crowded tiny boat into
the Ionian Sea, we enjoyed the rest of the evening on land discovering the rest
of what Zakynthos had to offer. Never again have my expectations been as high
for what sounds like a marvelous adventure, and never again have I trusted a British
lady over the age of fifty, especially a brittle one.
