First Time Flying, First Time on a Cruise, First Time in Kos

Flying is something completely new to me. As I clambered into the taxi on the way to the airport; the ball in my throat grew and the knot of anxiety tightened in my stomach. Travelling is always something I anticipate anxiously; feeling more overwhelmed in the process of waiting than in travelling itself. Having never flown before, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Even before stepping onto the plane, I had already made several mistakes humbly due to my blessed lack of common sense: the first one being wearing a t-shirt dress. As we shuffled ourselves onto the plane, the open space around me was somewhat... gusty. And by gusty I mean the type of wind to flap your hair vigorously about. As I held down my dress in order to avoid it completely lifting up; I prayed desperately to myself hoping it wouldn’t be a Bridget Jones moment. All I could say was thank god the people behind me didn’t see an awakening view of my bum, emphasised further by my choice of underwear... First lesson: perhaps wear shorts underneath next time?

It was safe to say when we took off; I felt my brain had fallen out of the plane and my heart had fallen out my backside. From a mood that was excited for flying, quickly left me feeling dizzy with the air pressure changes and G-force of the plane. Just before takeoff, Jet2holidays ironically played the song: 'Under Pressure'; how comforting...although I convinced myself there was some humour in it. Immediately I had noticed my throat was incredibly dry and tight still from take-off and reached for the water bottle...which had, about a dribble left in it. Better ration; I thought to myself. Second mistake: buy a larger bottle of water to take onto the plan so it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg for another tiny bottle that would've cost you half the price back at the airport. Despite feeling anxious to be in the air for the first time, I had my earphones and the wind-up commentary from my boyfriend to keep me distracted. As I looked out the window into the my newly discovered bewilderedness, my heart filled with an overwhelming warmth looking at the picturesque view. At this point we were a few hours into the flight and from what I could gather, we were flying over Switzerland...or maybe Italy? (I never was good at geography...) I felt my retina illuminate with fluctuating mountain peaks, sifted with dustings of snow stretching miles and miles into the distance. As we glided through the ever-changing sky of blues and lilacs and peaches, I felt at peace cushioned by the clouds. 

Another two hours later, we had landed. 

Stepping out into the heat for the first time was actually not as hard-hitting as I expected from what I had been told, however this was luckily down to the coolness the evenings in Kos bring...(if you count three degrees lower than in the day 'cool'). Feeling content within the heat still in the evening air, we clambered into our supposedly 'air conditioned' coach that transported us to our designated hotel. By the time we had reached our hotel forty minutes later, the only right decision I had made so far was not wearing any makeup; this would have melted straight off of my face. Despite the heat, the forty minute drive to our hotel allowed us to experience the early morning hours of Kos, the glittery lit towns and the blue hues that reflected from pools onto hotel walls that were guarded by palm trees.

After clambering off the bus, we hauled our suitcases to our rooms and silently slipped into bed, sleeping off our day's travelling.

The next morning, we woke early to the sun peeping through the curtains and I smiled to myself contently, wriggling with excitement in bed; excited for the day ahead. After booking our excursions for the week, we spent the rest of the day laying lazily by the pool and soaking up the blazing heat from the sun. I always find sun bathing is made easy when reading a book so I happily laid comfortably with ‘Friend Request’ by Laura Marshall, (which I finished a few days into the holiday and OMG it’s amazing!! A must read if you’re into thrillers and mystery!). 

Later that day, when the sun was at its peak, we made our way down to the beach which was luckily a three minute walk from our hotel. The beach stretched for miles and exhibited a tranquil horizon of turquoises and deep blues. The day was still and the sound of the gentle waves brushing the shore created a calming aura. I remember the distinctive smell of the sea; the saltiness that tickled your tongue but stung cuts or abrasions on your skin. Picking our loungers among the dotted coloured umbrellas, we placed our towels down and my beach bag cushioned underneath it and made our way down the sand. My third mistake of the holiday was taking off my flip-flops and walking bare foot towards the sea; because of course the sand wouldn’t be piping hot on a thirty-four degree day, would it? Instead of expecting to walk down to the sea like those sexy bikini models you see on TV, I frantically ran down like I was stepping on lava - just picture that for a second… Once I had survived my ordeal, I stopped just where the sea could reach me and allowed it to tickle the tips of my toes. Slowly, we made our way deeper into the open water, admiring the water’s transparency and the silver slither of fishes gathering in the shallow. The sea bed displayed marvellous rocks, pebbles and stones decorated with strands of seaweed, bedazzled by the glistening ripples of the water that the sun reflected upon. The further out we swam, the colder the sea became, however we already got the hardest part out the way which was dipping our shoulders under! I had never swam in the sea before and the experience was very different from a normal swimming pool. I felt comforted by the nature of the waves carrying you and pulling you eagerly in the direction of the rhythmic tide, luring you further out. Although I could imagine on a more windy and stormy day, the waves were more adamant in pulling you under. We later returned to our air-conditioned room to get ready for dinner and what the evening entertainment the hotel had prepared. 

The most memorable evening was when we met two other couples; Danny and Ellie from Middlesborough, (who we’d met on the first evening of our stay), and Euan and Leisha from Scotland. The night we met Euan and Leisha, they had been roped into doing a couples competition on stage by the somewhat creepy holiday reps, where they were competing in challenges against other couples. The audience had to join in and pick their favourite couple and participate in a dance off, where we supported Leisha and Euan. The song we had to dance to was the traditional hotel song we’d at least heard four times a day around the pool, (although I still can’t tell you what it was called), where the holiday reps would start dancing in sync. It’s safe to say we are all haunted by this song and the dance will be forever engraved in our minds. As Leisha and our team desperately tried to do our best to win, Euan behind her, looked absolutely traumatised and was doing shots of Greece’s specialty: Ouzo, just to endure watching the dance. Every movement brought upon another wave of laughter and even my boyfriend, Reece looked like he was enjoying dancing too. We looked absolutely ridiculous and my stomach hurt from laughing too hard; the best kind of laughter. To celebrate our defeat, we all gathered after for cocktails in the hotel before heading out for what we would all describe as a wild and messy night… Despite the early hours of the morning we fell into bed, we somehow still made it for our 9am bus to Paradise Beach. 

Our first excursion we had booked was the Aegean Cruise that consisted of visiting three islands. As we all climbed on board, we laid out our towels and applied another layer of sun cream. The front deck had the most amazing view. As we leisurely sailed across the sea, I couldn’t believe how crystal clear blue the water was and how it beautifully glittered like diamonds. After an hour of enjoying the spectacular view, our first stop was docking in the small island of Pserimos, home to fifty residents. As we piled off the boat, the pier reminded me of a scene from Mamma Mia and I almost expected Meryl Streep to jump out and start dancing. The island was delicately dotted with square houses, charcoal rocks and the most golden, sandy beach. The island of Pserimos was where I first attempted to try snorkelling. Despite finding the new method of breathing difficult, swallowing some salt water and sounding like Darth Vader, once I had relaxed into my own breaths, I was able to experience what the sea bed had to offer and the silly waves Reece and I exchanged underwater.

Back on the boat, we were cruising to the next island. We all laid on the deck quietly with the occasional splash of the waves peeking up over the deck and surprising us. You knew it was a cold surprise as the only sound you often heard on board was “Ah!”. However, we were more fortunate than the man near the bow of the boat who was reading his book. Moments after, a tragic splash had left the poor man drenched, his once dry book wet and his wife hysterically laughing beside him. My fourth mistake of the holiday was not packing a hat. Despite being pre-warned about the wind toying with headwear, just as I thought nothing could ruin my content state of mind, the wind whisked off Reece’s hat from my head and instantly I was left gawping. Luckily for me, a girl laying not too far away from me on the deck, caught the hat before I had to admit to my boyfriend that the sea had swallowed it whole. With a sigh of relief, I thanked her and safely secured it in my bag. I later asked my boyfriend that day how much the hat was, and was even more relieved that the girl had caught it… 

The second stop was to the island of Kalymnos, home to the industry of the sponge factory. Sounds slightly tedious, right? Well, let me tell you, the history of sponge diving began on this island many, many years ago and is culturally important to the people of Kalymnos. The sponge diving culture is what originally brought money into the island, and still does, due to the diverse uses of the sponges. If you ever get the chance, please do visit the sponge factory as the history is really interesting and you get a demonstration of how the sponges are made! Each sponge is completely different in shape, size, and texture! Along the same street as the factory, Reece and I stopped to cool off from the day’s heat. A little stool sold the most delicious mango sorbet I had ever tasted in my life and I loved it that much, I made Reece buy me two pots, which were devoured in just under ten minutes…whoops? 

Having sacrificed not wearing a hat to prevent it from blowing away, by the time we’d reached the third island, laying out too long in the sun had got to me and brought on a severe headache and nauseous feeling. The nausea brought discomfort as I suddenly felt the boat rocking, swaying my stomach side to side. To distract myself, I tried to focus on the last island and capture its delicate features. Plati was a deserted island, home to only one resident, (II’d advise you to google this! The reason for this is very fascinating!). The water around Plati was the clearest and most potently turquoise than the rest of the waters we’d seen.  We even got to witness dolphins swimming on the way back! Seeing their silver, glossy backs peeping up above the surface, perfectly synchronised swimming beside one another, was a magnificent capture of nature. It was one of those moments that you see on David Attenborough’s ‘Blue Planet’, but never in person. I couldn’t believe I was seeing a glimpse of nature’s beauty in real life. Despite having had paracetamol and sipped on two litres of water, the discomfort eased, however although I’d had a good day, I was the relieved to be getting off the boat when we docked back in the harbour town of Pothia, Kos. Even though we had got off the boat, the sickening, rocking feeling didn’t leave me until the next morning. 

In between excursions, we’d booked other activities such as horse riding, where neither me or Reece had rode a horse in ten years. We’d booked a forty-five minute horse ride along the beach, guided by the two instructors. Nervously mounting the horse, the familiar feeling going with the rhythm of the horse, soon settled in. It was interesting to talk to a local business about the economic changes in Kos and how the financial situation had impacted the people there. It was evident, as stated by the female instructor, that the government had put all the money into tourism and nothing else. The hotels dotted across the island of Kos, stood out amongst resident homes that was half-built or half-destroyed. The lady had even told us that during the summer, residents struggle to get water due to the heavy usage used by the hotels. I felt incredibly lucky but also guilty at the same time that tourists contributed towards it. Grateful for the talk we got to have and the calming rocky, beach ride experience, we left the stable with smiles and with the familiar feeling of a sore bum. 

Upon visiting Lido Waterpark, being nearly drowned in the 8ft wave pool and burning to a crisp, our last excursion booked was on the day we were flying home. A twenty-minute boat ride took us to Turkey where we spent the day in Bodrum. After a disappointing, over-priced kebab and slow service, we spent the rest of the time we had left floating through the street shops selling genuine fakes, where the culture of retail in Bodrum appeared to be pushy, persistent and more forceful than in comparison to back at home. Regardless of the deflating shopping and restaurant experience, the views Bodrum offered the opposite. Geometric buildings were clustered together across the island and acres of green and blue extended on a wide scale. It was one of those panoramic views that you could only see all its beauty with your eyes. 

Saying goodbye to our new friends when getting back made us all feel low in spirit, as we knew our time in Kos was coming to an end. After the last supper and tight squeezes, we wished each other all the best and clambered on board the last coach back to the airport. As snippets of Kos passed us either side, I felt lucky to have experienced this part of Kos; and the cute shops of Kardamena town, its friendly, welcoming people, it’s beautiful landscapes, its golden sanded beaches, its minimal traffic, its busy bars, its winding roads, the salty sea air and its cheap alcohol. 

Boarding the plane to fly home was more positive as I knew what to expect and this time around, I had the exciting, anticipating feeling of preparing for a roller-coaster ride. Having a late night flight, moments later we were both asleep - and totally not dribbling at all. 

Greece, you were cosy, wild, spectacular, gorgeous, exhilarating, and roasting, all in one. And I devoured ever minute of it.

Next stop: Budapest.