Having reread yesterday’s blog one would think I’d been under the influence of alcohol such was the appalling English in the last two to three paragraphs. This is due to a) predictive text putting in something that wasn’t supposed to be there and b) the brain is in holiday mode and showing signs of abnormal brain activity. We apologise in retrospect and trust normal service will be resumed from this point forwards.
We said we’d wake early and do two yoga sessions this morning and that’s exactly what we did. We thought we’d give the ‘Yoga for a Healthy Liver’ a go considering ours took a bit of a battering the other day and then we did ‘Yoga for Abdominals’ since we were off to the beach and any quick fix for a flat stomach was welcomed. Today we were back on ‘Greek time’ intending to go σιγά-σιγά (slowly-slowly) so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast sat in our usual spot overlooking the countryside. Earlier we’d received a response from one of our ‘readers’ who of course will remain anonymous (flipping Italians) who seem to think we drink copious amounts of alcohol at all times which of course is simply not true. So we would like to set the record straight once and for all and let you know how little we have drunk this holiday......
Day 1) a few cans of Lidl’s Gin & Tonics (of very weak strength) were consumed to help us relax after not having the best week at work
Day 2) no alcohol was consumed at the airport or indeed on the flight over to Lesvos that morning (well it was a 6.30am flight after all). A few bottles of wine were consumed in the Vista Bar, Lesvos to celebrate actually being on holiday, however the complimentary glass of wine provided by Yan who also provided a complimentary bottle of Raki (the lethal stuff) tipped us over the edge. Although Yan isn’t Greek, he’s Dutch, this is the Greek hospitality so we had no choice but to accept these offerings and drink them. We blame Yan entirely for tipping us over the edge!
Day 3) a large Mythos beer each was consumed with our Greek salad. This was not our fault. We thought we’d ordered two small beers! One large giraffe of wine was ordered in the evening with our supper but struggled to finish it all and left a glassful!
Day 4) a small Mythos beer each was consumed during lunch (the rest of the group were drinking so it would’ve been rude not to join them). A Pina Colada cocktail was consumed at the Vista bar after the trip, which was very delicious and a little treat to ourselves. One half kilo of wine consumed with our supper, it went so well with our meal.
Day 5) we shared one large Mythos beer with our Greek salad at lunch time in the Caprice Restaurant and very nice it was too. Later we enjoyed a Pina Colada aperitif at the Vista bar before going to Mimi’s fish Taverna in the square on Yan’s recommendation and felt compelled to order a half-kilo of wine.
Note 1: the usual bottle of gin was not purchased at the airport
Note 2: no alcohol has been consumed in the room or on the balcony during the course of this holiday
Note 3: no local wine has been purchased from any mini-market for consumption in the room
So there you have it, we haven’t been drinking very much at all and now we’ve found ‘Yoga for a healthy liver’ we can counteract any alcohol with a bit of downward facing dog!
We spent most of the day at the beach using the sunbeds belonging to the Caprice Taverna. They’re free if you buy a drink or have lunch there, so we did both. We enjoyed a Frappe on our sunbeds and then went to the Taverna for lunch; Greek salad and one large Mythos beer to share. It was delicious. We continued baking on our sunbeds until we were more or less forced off the beach at 3pm due to the wind that had really whipped up. What a contrast from the morning where it was literally like a mill pond, very still, flat and etheral. It was gorgeous.
Our day out at the beach wasn’t without trauma for Maice got stung by an unidentified insect on the palm of her hand. It didn’t look like a bee and we haven’t seen any wasps, not like last year, so we’re not sure what it was, although I did see something black fly away but couldn’t identify it. I did ask if she was allergic to stings so I could prepare myself by calling for an ambulance in case she went into shock but apparently she’s been stung by a bee before and was okay. Just as well really because I think the chemists is shut and who knows how long it would take for an ambulance to arrive! After yelping like a dog she managed to remove the sting and poured some water over it to ease the pain which helped a little. Apparently it throbbed all day and as the hours ticked by her palm started to turn red and slowly swelled up. I’d hate to think what it’ll look like in the morning.
We had a little snooze when we got back to the room. It was the wind you see, it had zapped all our energy however we were up and out by 7pm and enjoying another Pina Colada cocktail at Yan’s bar. Yan’s Pina Colada’s are not your usual Pina Colada’s, thick and slushy. No, we’ve come to the conclusion that his are adult Pina Colada’s, you know, you can imagine the ladies from Sex in the City drinking them in some luxurious beach bar looking very sleek and stylish a bit like us really, sat at our wooden table watching the world go by. Well we would be watching the world go by if there was any ‘world’ to see go by. I must say it’s very, very quiet here, even the locals have said it’s extremely quiet for May. According to the locals the media have damaged this island with their high profile media coverage of the refugee boat people who came to these shores a few years ago and are holed up in refugee camps outside Mitilini, and of course tourists don’t want to visit anymore. To be honest I don’t understand why its put people off. It hasn’t affected the enjoyment of our holiday knowing that there is a refugee camp here and people still went to Calais and Paris when the refugee camps were there. So what’s the difference? Honestly, the Media and the holiday companies who reduced the flights here certainly have a lot to answer for.
After watching, and commenting on the six people, three dogs and a cat that walked by we headed off into the square to Mimi’s fish Taverna and had one of the best καλαμάρι’s (fresh squid) ever, accompanied with Ποτάτες φούρνο (potatoes baked in the over), σαγανάκι τυρί (fried cheese......I know, more cheese) and παντζάρισαλατα (beetroot salad). All washed down with a half kilo of wine. Delicious.
There being only two tourist shops open, on the way home we went to the one that sold all the dresses at €20 each. I’d seen a nice one in here the other day and went back to try it on. Of course there was no changing room so I was advised by another female tourist in the shop to strip off as we were ‘all girls together’. So that’s what I did, hoping no passerby would look through the window. The dress fitted perfectly so decided to treat myself and handed over my card to pay but can you believe this, she only accepted cash! Well that was it then. I didn’t have cash on me, I didn’t bring any with me and there wasn’t a cash point machine in the resort. Everywhere else we’ve been, even the mountain villages on our trip have taken card payment so she’s certainly losing out there. Shame because it was such a nice dress.
We were home and in our beds by eleven, another ‘late night for us’, tired out after a busy day doing nothing. We’ll be doing nothing the rest of the week so it’s just as well we brought the ‘berrocca’ to help keep us going....
On that note, καλή νύχτα.....