Monday, 17th August 1998
It is 6:00 o' clock in the morning and I am leaving for holidays in Santorini, with tickets offered by the Workers' Home. I will spend nine endless hours on the deck of the crowded ship, seated on a plastic chair. The group will gather when we reach the port of Skala and get on the coach to Perissa.
Night has fallen when we are guided to a seaside restaurant for dinner. Since I have no company of my own, I sit all alone at a table, where I vainly wait to be served. All waiters ignore me because I have occupied a whole table by myself, which isn't profitable to the restaurant. Finally I stand up and leave, feeling gloomy and vexed. I go to a nearby steak-house and buy two skewers full of fat, so as to satisfy my hunger...
Tuesday, 18th August 1998
At 8:00 am someone knocks on my door. It is our tour guide, who announces I should promptly empty my beautiful, quiet, single room on the second floor and share a double room on the first floor with a 70-year-old woman! I drop from the clouds, I protest, to no avail: The tour guide frowns, she says I am normally entitled to a bed in a double room, not a single one, and she orders me to be quick because a couple of tourists has just arrived from Crete and they want my room at once. Therefore, I have to pack my things and carry my luggage downstairs, to the reception, waiting for further instructions.
About an hour later, we all gather and go to the beach of Perivolos, where I try to forget my misfortune and enjoy swimming. Later, while having lunch in a seaside taverna, two women from the group invite me to their table. The 40-year-old Corina works as a teller in a big bank and she is divorced with two adult children; the 34-year-old Donna is a saleswoman and still single.
At a moment Donna complains she has found a hair in her food. The waiter apologizes and he fetches another dish, where Donna finds another hair pretty soon. She is offered a third dish, where she finds one more hair! This time she won't complain to the waiter, she will only frown. In all likelihood, all three hairs were hers...
In the afternoon the three of us take to bus to Fira, the capital of the island. We shall spend more than an hour at the hospital because Donna has a pimple on her chin and she is afraid it might be mortal...
Wednesday, 19th August 1998
We are on a tour to the seaside town of Kamari. The beach proves to be extremely craggy, it is impossible for us to swim here. Corina and I decide to hire a parasol, but Donna disagrees because “it is too expensive; besides I prefer to sunbathe” she says. So, she lies down on the sand, away from us -what a weirdo! When the time comes for us to leave, the lady approaches and says meaningfully: “The place isn't anything special; and when the company is bad, it is even worse!”
In the afternoon we take the afternoon bus to Oia, with a view to watch the sunset, which is considered to be a special sight. For about an hour or so we walk around the beautiful town that extends for two kilometres along the northern edge of the caldera. When the time comes, we stand at the Sunset Serenade point, together with dozens of other tourists, so as to watch the famous sunset in the horizon; It's fascinating but I can't say I am thrilled: actually, some sunsets in Glyfada are more impressive!
Later, as we go around the busy streets of the picturesque tourist resort, all at once I realize I walk alone, as the two friends of mine have unexpectedly paused for a while. I have to turn back and it takes me about five minutes to find them again. As I hear, a bloke has just flirted Corina, she played hard to get for a few moments, but then they exchanged telephone numbers. Yet, both ladies agree the guy was obnoxious.
On our way back to Perissa, we suddenly decide to get off the bus in Fira and go to a very popular club where we meet (by chance?) the bloke mentioned above, who will come and sit with us. He is short, fat, slimy, ironic, disagreeable and he claims to be a wealthy businessman. Corina seems to be anything but annoyed; in fact, she looks kinda flattered with the whole situation.
At a moment Donna takes me out to the yard because she wants to smoke a cigarette and she complains that “I don't do things like that, I am not used to encouraging any moron who might flirt me; I respect myself and I don't like making a fool of myself...” I can't say she is wrong in this case.
Thursday, 20th August 1998
This morning we went to the sandy beach of Monolithos for a swim, and then we had lunch in a traditional seaside restaurant. When we returned to the hotel, the old woman who happens to be my roommate started complaining to me because, in her opinion, we were overcharged for the salad (about 100 drachmas) and, more or less, she wanted me to give her that sum of money! I refused flatly, in a rather rude manner, and she shut up. Sometimes this is the only way to make them understand...
In the evening Corina and I went to Perissa for dinner. The boor-faced waiter set his cap on her and then he gave her a small piece of paper with his telephone number written on it. What a sex bomb Corina is! Later on, she and I agreed to go to a nearby club for a drink. While walking along the street, we talked about the obnoxious bloke we met in Fira yesterday; Corina said she hadn't liked him at all. Then she hastened to make an urgent phone call in a telephone box. Finally, we sat at a fine outdoor club decorated with straw umbrellas.
We had been chatting pleasantly for some minutes, when suddenly the dandy from Oia turned up, “just by chance”, as Corina assured me. I noticed, however, that the bloke hadn't been looking around for us; I saw him enter the club without the slightest hesitation, as if he had known exactly where he would find us. Pretty soon the two love birds made it clear I had to hit the road, so that they could be alone - and this is what I did, like a good friend full of understanding and adaptability...
Friday, 21st August 1998
Corina and I have arranged to go to a luxurious hotel nearby, so as to spend the afternoon in its wonderful swimming pool. When the time comes, I leave my room and wait for the duchess to appear at the reception. Twenty minutes later she is still nowhere to see, so I decide to go there alone.
The swimming pool is really fantastic: It looks like an exotic land full of green-leaved palms and straw umbrellas. There is a nice wooden bridge over the pool and a small green island decorated with little statues at the corner. I feel wonderfully calm as I swim slowly in the turquoise water and, later, as I sip my frappé coffee under the setting sun. I spontaneously experience another reality, an unhoped-for bliss I could have discovered earlier, all those days I spent running behind wayward friends.
I am greatly surprised as soon as I realize the people around me are unusually quiet and unobtrusive. Most of them are foreigners and they belong to a superior social class; maybe that's why they don't feel the need to show off by yelling, screaming and making trouble. Nobody shouts, nobody swears, the children don't squeal hysterically all the time, nor do they annoy everybody by plunging near other people's heads - a big difference from the exasperating, boorish behaviour which prevails at the swimming pools of cheaper hotels.
Nevertheless, after an hour or so I decide to leave this small paradise so as to catch the bus to Fira, together with my two friends. Till late at night, when we finally return to our hotel, they barely talk to each other and they always look gloomy and resentful, while I am bored to death...
Saturday, 22nd August 1998
This is our last night in Santorini but I am still not sure whether tomorrow morning I depart or not. It's three days now that Corina and I have been discussing our staying here till Tuesday, but she hasn't given me a final answer yet. First she said she hadn't taken her debit card with her, so she couldn't withdraw money from the bank; then she couldn't remember the pin of the card; then she wasn't able to find her son on the phone and ask him about the pin! And now that this problem has been solved at last, the lady can't reach a decision! Nevertheless, it was she who first suggested lengthening our stay, it was her idea!
The time is 9:30 now, and I ask her -once again- what we shall do. She refrains from answering, she only shrugs her shoulders, still undecided. So, I take the initiative and tell her we are leaving tomorrow for Athens, together with the rest of the group. I just can't help wondering: How do such brainless people get on in life? How can they even cope with everyday reality?
Wednesday, 26th August 1998
I have been on the island of Melos since yesterday, together with my friends Nineta and Xanthippe. We are staying in a triple room in a hotel near the port of Adamantas. This morning we went swimming to Hivadolimni, a long sandy beach with crystal waters. Unfortunately, I have my period so I can't swim, but I walked barefoot on the seaside for a while; Xanthippe grumbled I should stay motionless and guard our things. I paid no attention to her.
In the evening we visited the picturesque village of Pollonia, built around a small cove full of fishing boats. Xanthippe was not in the mood for exploring the place; as usual, she wanted us to go and sit at the nearest cafeteria. Luckily, Nineta suggested our promenading along the semicircular sea front, to the white chapel situated at its furthest end. So, despite Xanthippe's incessant complaints, we enjoyed a wonderful walk around the cove -no more that half an hour on foot.
Approaching the chapel at a very slow pace, Xanthippe looked worn out, ready to collapse of fatigue. No sooner had we reached the wooden door, than the delicate countess stood still and exclaimed: “It's 8:00 o' clock already! Soon it will be dark and we'll be in danger! We must return at once!” She swung round immediately and took to her heels, while Nineta and I had no other alternative but follow her hastily. Too bad we weren't able to light a candle...
Thursday, 27th August 1998
I wanted so much to visit the Catacombs, a renowned sight of Melos, yet it proved to be impossible for me to persuade Xanthippe; she strongly refused to agree, claiming that tour would be exhausting. Nineta, always languid and sleepy, went along with Xanthippe.
At night we agreed to go to a famous club near the port. We left the hotel at 10:30, we walked and walked, but there was no end to that walk! Then I realized our pace was incredibly slow. “Sorry, but why are we walking like this, as if we were attending a funeral?” I asked. Nineta burst into laughing but she didn't go any faster, neither did Xanthippe. It took us about an hour to reach the club and right at that moment Xanthippe stood still and exclaimed: “Oh no, we can't go in now, it is only 11:30! It will certainly be empty!” Then, she swung round and, ignoring my objections, walked away fast, taking the road back to the port. Nineta and I had to follow her once again, until we ended up in another club near our hotel. It was not bad, but it was almost empty.
Friday, 28th August 1998
Having finally realized I can't depend on my friends for sight-seeing, this morning I decided to go to Papafragas Beach by myself, without telling them anything. Anyway, they never wake up earlier than 1:00 pm.
The rocky landscape proved to be really enchanting, but I didn't dare go down the narrow, slippery path, carved all the way down the precipice, to the magical beach of Papafragas. Yet, I discovered another beach nearby, equally beautiful, where I relished swimming.
When the afternoon came, the two others decided to go swimming at the Papafragas Beach -which surprised me a a lot. When we arrived there, they didn't know where to stand but I impressed them with my “instinctive” knowledge of the territory.
“Are you sure you've never been here before?” Xanthippe asked me suspiciously.
“Me? Of course not!” I replied innocently.
Saturday, 29th August 1998
Time flies and the ladies haven't decided yet whether we'll go on a boat tour around Melos or not. I want it very much, but Xanthippe gets tired just by thinking about it. I have reconciled myself to the the idea of spending the morning in the hotel, when a miracle happens: Suddenly Nineta makes her mind up and she asks in a resolute manner: “So? Where shall we find tickets for the boat tour?”
We leave at once and we reach the port within ten minutes; the travel agency proves to be quite near that famous club -the same distance which had taken us an hour to walk two days ago. We manage to get the tickets just at the last moment.
Our first stop is at the world-known gulf of Kleftiko: The landscape is unique; a cluster of impressive volcanic white rocks rise above the crystal turquoise waters; I swim to the coast and reach a cave with two entries; I swim through it, relishing the iridescence of the water on the bottom of the sea, completely absorbed in the natural beauty of the landscape. Only when I reach the end of the tunnel, do I realize there are many people following me, as if I were their leader in the fight for liberty! As about my friends, they haven't dived into the sea yet, I don't know where they are, and I don't care. Then I swim to the middle of the gulf, where a lofty arched rock rises shimmering to the sunlight. I swim under it, watching the colourful pebbles of the sea-bed like hypnotized.
Words are too poor to describe the absolute bliss I experience while swimming in Kleftiko. It is the first time in my life I have been so aware: Even if the rest of my life is torture and pain, it will be worth living only thanks to the utter joy I can feel here and now. This trip to Kleftiko is enough to give my whole life a meaning. I don't need any “higher destiny”. I am proud of myself because I can revel in all this magic. Very few people are able to feel such happiness...
Xanthippe, for example, didn't swim at all in Kleftiko because it was too early for her (10:30 am), as she said. She had even suggested each one of us should swim only for twenty minutes, while the other two should stay on the boat and watch our stuff! Because of such silly negotiations, I lost fifteen minutes out of one hour we stayed in Kleftiko. Nineta swam only for twenty minutes, because she made the mistake of listening to Xanthippe. Thanks to my disobedience, I experienced another reality for 45 minutes, and I was the last to return to the boat. Xanthippe put on a long face until the boat stopped again, this time at Gerakas, a wonderful sandy beach with tiny cavities formed around the rocky coast.
Sunday, 30th August 1998
While we were having lunch, Nineta suggested our going to Sarakiniko for a swim, later in the afternoon. I liked the idea but Xanthippe disagreed because “it is very far away and it will be too tiring”. Frankly, I don't know what to do with these two: Sometimes I feel as if I were stuck with two 70-year-old women. Finally, we agreed to have a nap till 4:00 pm and then catch a taxi to Sarakiniko.
Psychic Experience: At a moment, as I am getting asleep, a heavenly landscape is being formed before my shut eyes: Two cylindrical towers, made of blue marble and decorated with white alabaster balustrades, rise over a serene turquoise lake. The place is magical, outlandish; it's such a pity this experience won't last more than a few seconds...۩
Anyway, I was the only one who was ready to stand up at 4:00. I had to try really hard so as to make the other two wake up at 4:30 -as tactfully as possible. They lied in for a quarter or so -my nerves- and then they started drivelling incessantly, without ever leaving bed. Soon the time was 5:30, then 5:45. Whenever Nineta was about to get up, Xanthippe went on with her rigmarole, making sure they delayed more and more. When, at last, Nineta decided to leave her bed at about 6:00, I could hardly believe my eyes! “Isn't it too late to go to Sarakiniko now?” said Xanthippe. However, to her great disappointment, the trick “chatter-delay-cancel” didn't wash, so at about 6:30 we took a taxi to Sarakiniko. The journey proved to last no longer than ten minutes by car.
As soon as we reached the fantastic, unique in the world beach of Sarakiniko, I forgot my exasperation at once. The place looks like a moonscape: the narrow beach with the dark blue waters is surrounded by oddly-shaped, petrified sand dunes made of white volcanic tephra. Carried away by the incomparable natural beauty, we began to explore the place, taking photos everywhere. Then we swam in the calm, deep blue sea.
“Isn't it wonderful here?” I asked the others, full of excitement.
“What are you talking about? This water is too dirty!”Xanthippe retorted irritated.
“Dirty? But it is so limpid! You can see all the way down to the bottom!” I disagreed.
“Yet, it is full of bubbles! It's awful here! You can hardly swim here! This place is good for photographs only!” insisted Xanthippe in the same tone.
Indeed, there were some bubbles nearby. Nonsense; I wouldn't allow Xanthippe and her hysteria spoil this unique experience of mine.
“Let's avoid the bubbles, then!” I said and swam away.
Monday, 31st August 1998
This is our last morning on Melos. I wake up early and I put on my bathing-suit and my clothes, taking special care not to wake up the others; I open the door and get ready to leave, as noiselessly as possible. At that moment, Xanthippe's voice makes me pause: “Where are you going?”
“I am going to the baker's, so as to buy something for breakfast,” I excuse myself and leave hastily, with a view to catching the 8:00 o' clock bus to Hivadolimni. I definitely want to visit that place again, before leaving the island.
When I arrive at the seaside, I find out I am completely alone there. The crystal sea is wonderfully calm, not even the slightest wave ripples its surface. I relish feeling the silky, limpid water on my skin, in absolute silence. No voice, no scream, no human presence disturbs this divine serenity. An unprecedented, inner tranquility entrances me. Once again, within the same month, I feel fully aware and proud to be able to experience another reality. It's a pity, though, that I have only forty minutes time to enjoy this unique sensation. We are leaving for Athens at noon and we have to empty the room by ten o' clock.
“Why didn't you tell me when I asked you? I would have come with you!” complained Xanthippe as soon as I returned to the hotel.
“It was an on-the-spot decision, as I saw the bus to Hivadolimni leaving!” I excused myself in a sugary voice, while thinking: Of course I didn't tell you anything, I didn't want you to pester me with your perpetual grumbling!
Some days later, when I met Louise and told her all what I had gone through during my vacations on Melos because of the bossy Xanthippe and the lazy Nineta, she couldn't help exclaiming: “Are you kidding? Those were anything but vacations!”
Nevertheless, I consider this month as the culmination of my whole life, since it offered me certain experiences which led me to the limits of nirvana...