Day 18
Sorrento > Corfu
I arrived in Greece,
more specifically Corfu, kinda drunk…not going to lie. Ellie or Rachel was still having trouble with
their sleeping bag, so my first memory was looking around the dock and seeing
Stuart using his brut strength to shove the damn bag into its proper
“bag.” Looking around, it was sunset and
pretty beautiful. I was finally in the
place that Zac had said was his favorite on the trip, changing his answer to,
“I guess Florence is nice too,” only after I told him I was stopping in Rome.
Zac threw a bit of a fit on the dock because some dock man told him the bus (to
take us to Corfu Village) could not, for the first time, drive onto the
dock. We had to cram into a bus, just to
drive 300 yards to OUR bus. The whole
thing would have been a royal pain, if “A” hadn’t flipped out on the bus
driver, “DON’T TOUCH ME!,” which lead all of us to laugh to ourselves quietly/loudly,
as we were all pretty sloushed. On the
bus, we met Dani, who would be one of the reps at Corfu. She was awesome telling us about how Greek
people will sometimes not open their shops until around 10 or 11, taking a
siesta at 2ish and if it was a nice day, may not come back at all…apparently
all of Greece runs on the “ish,” timeframe.
She, by far, had the best personality, still maintaining a little bit of
professionalism, out of any of the reps. Super cool. We got to Corfu village, and the dream kept
on coming when the guy there said he would take our bags ALMOST all the way up
to our rooms… the place was so beautiful.
It was hilly, which we would have usually minded because we had to walk
up and down it, but gorgeous. I was
rooming with Rachel and Ellie. We had a
great room with a view of the ocean.
HEAVEN! We got out bags to our
rooms and ran down to the POOL (which we did not have to pay for, like we did
in Florence). This place had a “chip,”
system in which we purchase chips with money and use it at the pool
café/bar. 50 € please! I had something to eat, wasn’t what I
ordered, because they had run out of it, I think it was a chicken sandwich, but
still was good. This was one of the
places I had reverted back into my 20-year-old self and started ordering “sex
on the beaches.” The red wine was
rubbish, so it looks like mixed drinks and Smirnoff ices from here on out… and
Ouzo shots, obviously. I asked Zac for a
back massage, and surprising got one…looks like Zac was, “letting his hair
down,” per say. We all got into
discussions about politics and religion and, as usual, Zac told us, this was
not a usual Contiki conversation. I
think he appreciated it though. I went
to bed without getting too crazy, because tomorrow, dear friends, was GEORGESBOAT DAY.
3 flights of stairs and you are at our digs!
Day 19
Corfu
HAPPY GEORGES BOAT
DAY!!!!! I woke up with pep in my
step. The thing EVERYONE had talked
about since I had gotten on the trip. I
got up, took a quick shower, and went down to breakfast with Ellie and Rachel. “Happy George’s Boat Day!” I proclaimed to
everyone! Janelle was so on board with
this…love that girl. We had a quick
breakfast, used the free Wi-Fi for a minute in the lobby, and then got on the
bus to take us to the marina. On the way
there, Zac gave us the heads up that if you wanted to drive the boat, you got
an uncomfortable massage from George.
Also, that he was a bit crude and that you could get cheap drinks
there…. Um a free massage, cheap drinks and I could get a tan…I was alllllll
good with this! We were all a bit timid
on the boat as we set sail…. George gave us a little history on the island,
which I could understand maybe half of it because of his accent. We would be making 3 stops today…the first at
the water sports park, the second at a swimming place, and the third at “hanky
panky,” island, where clothing is optional.
We would be fed at each stop, but we were not allowed to drink until
after the sports complex. I knew I
wanted to conquer my fear of parasailing this trip, and Emma was just the girl
to do it with. She had, somehow, calmed
my stomach down when I was ready to spew on the bus, and I knew she would be my
saving grace. Parasailing was
incredible…. It was fun to talk with Emma at the top of Greece…she also held my
hand when I was freaking out when we were getting dunked. In Clearwater Beach, FL when they do this,
there is a chance that you will hit a bull, hammerhead or any other type of
ferocious shark in the head, which is not on my agenda. I had always WANTED to parasail, but this
made it quite difficult to swallow…anyways, back to Corfu. I got off the parasailing, and jumped into
the crystal clear, carribbean-esque water.
George threw beach balls in the water and instructed us to “play with
his balls.” I did. I then decided, before I ate, I wanted to
ride the “couch,” aka an inflatable raft, much like a tube, that you could sit
on like a ….surprise…couch. Since Zac
was a tour manager, he got to ride with us fo free. It was sooooooo much fun! He was laughing the whole time, I think because
I was screaming bloody murder, but it was all fun. He boop, BO0P booped out of the couch at one
point, which was funny, till I realized how it might have hurt him. We headed back to the boat for George’s
famous Tzatziki sauce (which at the time I didn’t like), Greek fries and other
Greek food. I could have eaten the
TZATZIKI SAUCE WITH A SPOON, it was so good.
Now, George had opened up his, “bar.”
I drank wine out of a bag all day.
He also had some sexy Greek boys working on his boat, which were both 17
years old. Holy…. The shirts on Georges
boat were also worth mentioning…. The ones for sale were so naughty and
amazing….I bought 2. Wish I had bought
them for everyone I knew. The whole crew
drank the whole way to the swimming spot, and I think around that time we had
learned that Rachel’s sister was in labor.
She was crying and I was congratulating her and making everyone
recognize over the microphone. Ellie and
I had become buddies with the boys on board, Marcos and the one with the eyes,
I can’t remember his name now. We were
now, all, a little drunk and after I had gotten the “uncomfortable,” but not
too uncomfortable massage from George (lets face facts. I will take a free
massage from a gypsy if it is offered…I love massages) to drive the boat, I
headed us to the, “ hanky panky,” island.
The girls (well the drunk/fun girls) jumped off the boat to head
over….Rachel lost her sunglasses on the way and the “eyes,” boys retrieved them
in ONE 12 foot dive. He was truly a lifesaver,
for Rachel. This inspired us all to get
naked in the Ionian Sea. At one point,
George (on our trip, not the owner of a boat) swam out, thinking he would scare
us or makes us uncomfortable to be naked in front of but I think he realized
how much we thought of him as a brother, as opposed to a boy, and he swam
back. When I got back on the boat, I was
less than sober and kept taking the wheel at any chance I got. We got back home and I ventured up to the
computers to make the arrangements for the rest of my stay. 5 more days in Rome after I had learned of
the departure time of my beloved’s, Ellie and Zac, from Corfu to England. I was all set and could let MY HAIR
DOWN. I had my first Ouzo shot with
Steph…it burned but felt so good!! I
could get used to these shots FO SHO! I
got one more back massage from Zac on his, “free night,” (my 4th
massage for the day including 2 from George, 1 from Marcos & now this one)
and we somehow convinced him to drive us around and be our personal guide on
his day off. I somehow made it back to
my room and got some much needed sleep.
Skinny dipping at Hanky Panky island!
Day 20
Corfu
“Good morning, friend,”
was how we decided to awake Zac the next morning. He had answered the phone abruptly and it was
obvious he had been sleeping/we had scared the daylights out of him. We checked to make sure he was still in for
the driving adventure he had promised the night before and luckily he was! Ellie and I ran downstairs to get all the
information for the rental and decided on a nice little 5 seater with A/C. We booked the car for 12:00 pm…ish and
somehow it ended up coming around 10:00 am…ish.
I was in the shower when the car arrived. My first day in a while I thought I had time
to look halfway decent was blown to pieces.
Ellie, Rachel, Zoe, Zac and I were off on our Corfu-ian adventure! Since I had been having some spells of motion
sickness, I got to sit up front and play co-pilot. I am so happy none of the girls decided this
would be a good idea for US to try and drive, because the roads are less than
tiny and everyone seems to drive with their foot pushed down on the gas…plus
the fact everything was in legit Greek letters (I don’t know why I never
thought when I was in a sorority and we all referred to ourselves as, “Greeks,”
that the land of Greece didn’t actually use these letters). Zac took us into town to his favorite Gyros
café for lunch. The views on the top of
the hill we parked at were incredible.
The water looked like it had been painted with the most beautiful blues
and turquoise hues that exist. Before
going on, I must say that Greek people are some of the most friendly and warm
people I have ever met. They are like
Italians with a little more filter. Not
meant to be offensive to Italians J. We found George in town and he was looking
for some medicine for his thumb, which he had jammed/hurt while playing
football at the campsite in Florence. He
joined us for lunch at Micmac’s, also known as the best Greek food I have ever
had. We got into discussions about the
funny stories of the trip, including one that had happened earlier that day
when we found out that “A,” had rented a car and gone out by herself.. Lord
help us! We went to a baklava place
around the corner (I don’t know the name, but Zac referred to it as Rosie’s)
with delish desserts. After Rosie’s
daughter gave us a run down of the options, all of them glistening with
delight, the girls decided to split an orange something and a chocolate bigger
something. I was super full from lunch,
so tried a bit of each and left it alone.
Zoe, who just absolutely cannot leave anything on a plate, ate until she
was nearly sick…which was hilarious because it happened more than once on the
Contiki trip. A lot of people had dogs
and/or puppies, so I slowed up the group and almost got lost, playing with all
the Greek animals. We ran into a few other
Contikians before heading back to the car and going over to PaleokastritsaBeach. I entertained all with my road
rage, even as a co-pilot. We parked and
walked down to the beach, only stopping at a little beach store at the top of
the hill to pick up a towel and snorkel mask for me J We walked down a flight of stairs and were
surrounded by bougainvillea flowers and a view that people put on vision
boards, in hope to see in person one day.
We went into the bathrooms to change, which were in the bottom of a
hotel, with a pool, right on the beach.
There was also a tiki bar, but I was SO full, I didn’t even drink
anything. We got chairs and an umbrella
(for Ellie & Zac, the fair skinned English babies). I wanted to immediately go into the water to
test out the water and my new mask. This
beach was sandy with a rocky bottom in the water. Big rocks, none of that peddle stuff like in
Nice. I’m sure we were a show for the other
people on the beach, because I know I slipped a few times and looked foolish. The water was salty and cold, but felt so
nice on a seemingly hot, sunny day. This
day was perfection so far. We laid out
and tried out the pool and before we knew it, it was time to head back to the
hotel and get ready for dinner and the TOGA PARTY! The dinner was a gyros type thing at the
pool, and the other Contiki group was there now too, so needless to say, it was
a big party. We were given a tutorial on
how to tie our togas with the bed sheets they provided. I could hardly wait! We had heard that the store next door sold
cheap alcohol so we threw in money to get a bottle of vodka and a few
mixers. By the time I was out of the
shower and my hair was dry, there was alcohol in my hand. We all got dolled up and somehow became the
epicenter for the preparty…being we were “technically,” supposed to have
outside alcohol in our room, I was just hoping Zac wouldn’t have to get all
“tour manager,” on us and we be punished.
The years in the sorority had definitely taught me it isn’t nice to be a
dick to your buddies that are in authoritative positions. Plus getting in trouble is embarrassing. Zoe, Kate & Emma came down and they had
found flowers and plants outside that they put in their hair…geniuses. I felt really classy roaming around the plant
beds looking for weeds to stick in my hair, but it sure did look fancy when it
was in (That’s what she said). We headed
down to the party a little after dusk (which was probably around 9 or 10, the
sun is out for so damn long there) and shit got cray REALLY QUICK. There was a 3rd Contiki group that
was there from the “hotel” crew that had decided to “slum,” it for the evening
at our place. This place was so amazing,
I don’t know how any hotel could beat it, honestly. I ran into the guy I had ditched in Florence,
who immediately called me out on it and the fact that I had told him I was not
going to Corfu. He seemed almost angry…I
guess I have that effect on men J Well we were all dancing inside and the rest
of the crew was chilling outside. I must
say, we, again, were obsessed with each other and only danced with the other
trips when we were drunk. Needy ContikiLtoG. Zamir had the GREAT/Horrible idea
to just pee outside if we needed to go, so we didn’t have to wait in a
line. I had gone through college where
at any one of our watering holes, I had done this (I have always been way
classy), so anytime I needed to go to the bathroom, that is where I did
it. I think one of the times it may have
even been in front of people, but I try to not think about that. I had about 9 ouzo shots. The guys from George’s boat came to the party
and one of the girlies on the trip, who shall not be named, took him to the
beach, beach. The rest of the night was
a blur of loud music, clear liquid shots and togas. I regained consciousness only when I was
outside with Ellie and she was feeling under the weather, to say the
least. When she had to be carried up the
hill by Dionne, I called it a night.
Day 21
Corfu
The next morning, I woke
up in not my bed and immediately thought, “oh fuck.” I had my bathing suit bottoms
on and concluded there was no sex, so I quickly got out of bed and RAN back to
my room, with my bed sheet all wrapped around me and weeds sticking out of my
hair. Shacker status. The door was
locked and a half dead Ellie let me in. She was joking about the night before,
which she oddly remembered most of. I
told her my night and made her promise to not say a word. Rachel was not there, and when we found her,
she was in Stuart, Georges and Zamirs room.
She was in one bed, Zoe was in another with Zamir's long-sleeved shirt
on and Zamir was in his bed…the other boys were not there. Classic.
I decided against breakfast, I wasn’t ready for the stories from the
night before. I stayed in bed till
Rachel came home and we all went down to the pool. Apparently I did pee in front of people, and
it was a crowd. Always making the
parents proud. After hearing some of the
stories of night, my favorite being the beach beach one, a group of us decided
to walk across the street to get some food.
It was right on the water over looking the sea. Great, inexpensive food and funny
stories. We saw Stuart and George there
and they almost didn’t make eye contact with us. They were obviously hurting from the night
before too and left the restaurant to walk together on the beach. Such a bromance. We ate and went back to the pool. I had fun watching everyone play marco polo,
but opted not to play. I stayed on a
raft and floated around in the perfect sunny weather. The owner of the accommodations whole family
came over, including his daughter and her children, Stephani(6ish)and Demetri
(2ish). I died for them. They were so precious. This also gave me the opportunity to speak
with Dani, who was hanging with the kids too.
She talked to me about how she went about deciding to work for Contiki
and how much she loved it while the kids colored each other with markers, which
was awesome. The mother, at one point,
mentioned in the conversation that she would love to have me nanny for the kids
and teach them English. WHY DIDN’T I
TAKE HER UP ON THAT OFFER…IIDDDDDDIIOOOOTTTTTTT!!! After playing with the kids for about 2
hours, I went up to use the Wi-Fi in the lobby and call Diego, to let him know
about the change in plans. He was so
nice and supportive and told me he hopes I keep calling him to change my travel
plans! Lovely. Ellie and I ran down to the store to get some
waters and a few trinkets. I got a shot
glass, 3 bottles of ouzo, water, crackers and some redbull. We then headed upstairs to get ready for out
Greek dinner and dancing exhibition. The
place greeted us with shots of ouzo. The
place was very nice and the woman who ran it with her husband was American (I
think). We had great seats right next to
the dance floor. They brought out a
plate of feta cheese and a few other things, along with bread and white
wine. I think my body had just had
enough of cheese, bread and wine, because I felt super sick almost the entire
night, and almost vomited a few times. Luckily,
I still got to see most of the dances, but did not eat much. There was even a fire dance, which was very
cool to see. Ellie was my saving grace
and gave me one of her prescribed stomach pills, which made me feel 1000%
better, just in time for dancing. I
paired up with Michelle to do this game where a couple keeps a potato in
between their foreheads and are asked to do many things while not touching the
potato or dropping it, such as standing on one leg. We weeded out the competition and were one of
four couples left. The MC told us to
wrap our legs around the other person, which of course Michelle and I did not
understand and we dropped the potato.
Nadia and Ben ended up winning and it was after she was literally on the
ground with him. LtoG baby! We danced a “train like,” dance and it was
super fun. We headed back home and after
I packed everything up, I went right to bed.
We would be leaving this oasis in the morning.
Day 22
Corfu > Athens
The next morning we were
up to see the sunrise. We all took
showers and pictures of our room and took all of our stuff downstairs to check
out and eat breakfast (which I didn’t eat because it was a bus day). We piled everything into the new fancy coach
that was minus one Rui L. This bus
was very nice though! We headed off to
Athens…
αντίο Corfu. γεια Athens!
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