Holiday report pt. 2

The quest for the ring continued on and off when we could get the same bed. Grommit had decided that we wouldn't replace it, but have her spinning Greek ring made smaller to fit. The ring was duly delivered to Demitri at the jewellers on the harbour road where we originally bought it. A few days later at the same bed, towards the end of the day, I was idly trawling through the sand in the vain hope of finding it when I felt a sharp sting in my finger. I had inadvertently caressed a scorpion. The pain was exquisite. Grommit did a quick google search which reassured her that I was unlikely to perish and we had a slightly shaky drive back to the apartment. Grommit went to the chemist for advice and returned with some anti-histamines, which I duly took, washed down with some Ouzo. Grommit asked my the following day if I had taken my Doodah, to which I replied that I had.

In Greek myth, Artemis and her mother Leto sent a giant scorpion to battle Orion after he boasted that he could kill every animal on earth. Orion lost and Zeus placed the constellations of Orion and Scorpio in the heavens in honour of the battle. Although my scorpion was only an inch long, it taught me that I shouldn't mess with the Gods. Zeus can keep the ring.

After an uncomfortable evening the pain subsided, helped in part by copious amounts of alcohol. By the following morning there was no pain at all, as if it had never happened.

The only other inconvenience was a lens popping out of my sunglasses, the screw holding the frames together had come loose and joined the ring in sandy oblivion. Grommit reminded me that there was an opticians up at the airport and we were heading that way for a Big Shop anyway. A very kind young lady fixed them and refused payment.

Back to the beach and the sea is warmer than I have ever known. This is unsurprising given the temperature has been nudging 40 degrees. Everything was hot, the wind was hot, getting into the car was hot, the steering wheel felt like it had been dipped in hell.

I am an impatient sunbather and not having seen the sun for four years I soon got burned and started peeling like an onion. My toes looked like a row of Jerusalem Artichokes. Grommit on the other hand is part lizard, starting on oil and worked her way down to lard, like a greasy chip. We like to play a game of 'Beach Bingo', we score points for seeing people we have seen in previous years, points for the Running Man of course and more recently the Donut Man. I'm assuming that these are ring donuts and I wondered, if I bought some, where to store them on a nudist beach...

During the week my Scottish friend arrived with his lovely lady. We first met in 1999, or thereabouts and have stayed in touch ever since, occasionally colliding in Kefalos over the years, notably in 2001 when Goran Ivanisevic beat some English bloke on his way to winning Wimbledon, much to their delight. The Scotsman and I were also in Kefalos for the 2004 Euros, when Greece won, but that's another story.

During one of our chats over drinks one evening, Grommit said that she wanted to watch the England Ladies play Denmark and was hoping that it would be shown in the bar. The Scotsman, quite understandably was quite dismissive of any sport that involved England. I wondered if part of this was due to Scotland failing to qualify for a major tournament (again). I offered to take the Scotsman to the beach while the Ladies watched the match, we could pretend we were gay, I said. His reply was not for the faint hearted, suffice to say he declined my offer.

Over the course of our three weeks here we have been on a couple of trips organised by the effervescent Joyce from JD Tours. The first being the sunset cruise, which we have done a couple of times before. It's great, the highlight for me is seeing the Milky Way when the lights are turned off. The second trip was to the maelstrom that is Kos Town by night. We got off the coach and waded into a sea of people, batting off the PR guys, we made our way through Tat Alley, before finding our favourite little bar, fittingly called the Mikro Bar. We sat at the same table as we have done on previous occasions, ordered Ouzo and took selfies. The owner recognised us, even though it had been four years since our last visit. We made our way back to the harbour and went up to the fish taverna to try and get a table. They were very busy and we were told to come back in twenty minutes. We adjourned to a nearby bar for some drinks while we waited. The drinks arrived with a small plastic tub. 'Dry nuts?' Grommit asked, 'as opposed to the hot and sweaty ones?' I replied.

We both had Sea Bass, which was perfectly cooked with a crispy skin, accompanied by a cold celeriac purée which was a bit odd. We admired how the staff managed the restaurant and how the chefs could cook so many meals in a seemingly tiny kitchen.

We left Kos Town at 11:00pm, clutching a bottle of gin. Kos Town was just warming up.

We picked up the ring, it fitted perfectly, all polished and shiny. It was an emotional moment and our eyes were a little moist as we hugged each other.

Our last few days lie ahead of us, both Grommit and I hope that they pass uneventfully.

I saw a shooting star. I made a wish.

p.s.

Some of Grommit's book recommendations:

The Reading List - Sara Nisha Adams
Away with the Penguins - Hazel Prior
The Keeper of Stories - Sally Page
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - Natasha Pulley