The first chapter of my gap year comes to a close in a few days. I’ve got my ferry ticket to Thessolaniki for Monday, and I’m coming to terms with the prospect of being chained to my huge backpack again. I’m very excited for the next leg in eastern Europe though, because I think this will be one of my best opportunities to see unspoiled culture and history. Of course, the further east I go, the less English is spoken it seems, so I think that will be a challenge for me.
I had one of the best days yet on my trip a couple days ago. Finally I got around to renting a motor scooter for the day, and I would definitely say I got my money’s worth. I probably took at least a year off the life of the scooter with all the crappy roads that I went on. I was actually out the door by 9am which is not my typical time, but I wanted to see as much as I could. There’s also something just really fun and free spirited about riding a scooter that I don’t think you get in a car. Anyway, my goal was to see virtually all of the island, so I started on the east end near the airport. I don’t think I’ll bore you with all the details, but I was able to get down to some remote beaches, and at least for a bit I had them all to myself. I may have scared some people at the first beach because they came as I was swimming, and ALL my clothes were laying on the shore. No matter. I then stopped at a really interesting monastery here, which you can see in the pictures, is very well taken care of. Most interesting I thought was that the people that live there make all their own fruit liquor, olives, figs, wine, and a bunch of little crafts. I think the fruit liquor is similar to the homemade plum brandy that so many people have lived on out here for hundreds of years. I bought a small bottle and then shared it with some friends later that evening, and it was really good. Brandy is usually a bit strong for me but this was more fruity and light. I’m sure I’ll be tasting much more of it as I move east. I then went to the ruins of the original settlement on Skiathos. You can see in the photos that there wasn’t much to it other than a few homes, and a chapel. The location of it though is georgous, and just below it is perhaps the best beach I found on the island. I finished out the day visiting another smaller monastery, a dog shelter, and then met two friends at my favorite beach on the west end of the island, which is where we cracked open the brandy, and drank through the sunset. A most excellent day.
I’m ready to move on to Bulgaria, but I will miss the friends I’ve made on the island. Some of them I did the tattoo art for which I did post in the photo section if you want to take a look. Christina was my drinking buddy at Destiny Bar, a gay friendly bar here, which I spent loads of time at and met a lot of people. After complaining to her that my throat was sore from smoking so much, she said to me, “ Dan, you just have to smoke through the pain and press on.” The Greek are notorious smokers… not a good influence. Niko and George are two locals that were always fun to hang out with. George loved singing Eurovision songs and I could always count on getting pistachios and bacon biscuits from him at the beach. Niko has to be the most honest and sincere and polite person I’ve ever met… he’d give away his last piece of bread to a stranger. Alison was my friend who worked at the internet shop. She was a big help when I first got here and was trying to sort everything out. We had a lot of fun chats just killing time as she worked behind the café bar. We were both constantly amazed at how quick information moves around in a small village; gossip central. She moved to Skiathos a couple years ago and is in a serious relationship with a local Greek guy named Yorgo. The last two weeks I was befriended by a really fun couple from the UK, Steven and Ian, who are the two that I shared the brandy with. They live near Bristol, which now that I’ve heard so much about it, I want to visit. After several hours at the beach and at Destiny Bar you really have an opportunity to get to know people here which has been fantastic. I really hope to stay in touch.
In wrapping up I would just say that it feels like I’m on the right track so far with my gap year, which makes me happy. These two months on the island were I think a very good way to start because even though, yes, I was basically a beach bum, I definitely reached new levels of being “relaxed”, and it has allowed me in a sense to push the reset button in my mind. I’m exercising my creative brain muscles through art and writing which has really been refreshing, and am learning things about myself that I never slowed down enough to see previously. One of my goals is to see what life is like outside of my “routine life” and I think I’ve got a good basis for that now. Of course, I do think about life in Portland all the time, and think fondly of Aaron, the pets, the house, friends, my co-workers, good restaurants. I know that it will be sweet to come home next April, but for now I am enjoying all the prospects of the rest of my gap year.
