I don’t want to give any false impressions, so let me say that almost all of this is for reasons not at all connected with the village or its people.
It was in many ways the most disastrous holiday we’ve ever had. What overshadowed it was illness. I was feeling ill before we went – so much so that I did two LFTs. A bad flu-like cold. I suspect I caught it from my ex-wife who had had something very similar the week before. I took her to pick up her new second-hand car. I assumed I’d feel better with some sun and relaxation.
The trip out was great. Easy drive to Doncaster-Sheffield airport at three in the morning. “Meet and Greet” parking was excellent – right next to the terminal, park, sign in and drop your keys – all very friendly even at four am. Fast check-in. Pleasant people in security. Pleasant people in the departure lounge, which is also the gate area. Light breakfast in the equally cheerful Wetherspoon’s eatery.
I went downstairs to the outside smoking area for a ciggie and watched a pink Wizzair jet take off in the first light of morning. Then back in the departure area the long line of windows facing the runway lit up with a wonderful red dawn. A very nice waitress told me that was a bonus of the early shift – they have fantastic dawns.
The flight was on time. Boarding was efficient. Good crew. Good, but cloudy flight, so no views even down the Croatian coast. Easy transit through arrivals, got bags. The taxi driver got his dates wrong, but TUI put us on the next bus, which went straight to Agios Stefanos. Took about an hour to Nafsika, where we had lunch and a glass of vino.
Our friends Catherine and Paul Barnes were staying at Christina’s, near the church, and we had many enjoyable meals and drinks with them. Although I was quite ill, and got progressively worse, the best part of this trip was actually socialising. We’d been hiding in a Covid cave for eighteen months, and it was such a pleasure talking to so many people – lots of friends we’d met on previous trips, plus all the locals.
The weather was beautiful. Apart from one windy day the sea was placid and the beach wide. I went in the sea only once, I’m sad to say. We never did get our ring blown up to bob about on. Gillie caught the bug from me, so she was in decline. After nine days I felt so bad I retired to bed. The next day, my birthday, I went to the clinic. The lovely nurse Dora gave me a lateral flow test and called the doctor, who confirmed my diagnosis of bronchitis. I was given drugs, and the next day they brought the full suite of pills and inhalers, and banned me from swimming, the sun, and alcohol. I interpreted the latter as excessive alcohol. Total cost was 167 euros.
Life in the village was relaxed and as lovely as always. Great dancing at Zorba’s and lovely lunches at Mistral. Everybody was so kind. Prices pretty much unchanged after two years. The main thing is, after the isolation and tension of the pandemic in the UK, the sheer ease of an outdoor life was such a massive relief.
The owners were quite bitter about the way they’d been messed around by TUI. Constant cancellations, and then booking two people into a place that needed five staff to run. But the taverna owners had one of their busiest Augusts for many years.
Above all, it felt safe, and right, and lovely. I just wish we’d been able to enjoy it more. With hindsight it might have been better for us to postpone, but we didn’t know things would develop as they did.
Please don’t hesitate to book for next year. There is nothing to fear and everything to enjoy. The warmth and filoxenia is just the same. The people are the same. The sea is kind and beautiful.
But try not to be ill – that’s better done at home!
Topic: September 2021 (Read 34928 times)