Greece has been solidly on my bucket list ever since I watched Mamma Mia in the cinema way back in 2008. I also really wanted and still want Amanda Seyfried's top from the opening scene. And whilst the closest I could find to her top was £5 from Primark's pyjama section, I did finally get to Greece!
This past week I have spent a week on the island of Lefkada at a watersports centre in Vassiliki with UKC Sailing and Windsurfing society and it has been amazing! Through the centre we had access to windsurfing kit, dinghys, bikes, paddleboards and free tuition, so over the week I achieved my level 1 sailing certificate.
The island is spectacular and it was incredible to wake up to this view every morning...
...and this view every night
Vassiliki was a tiny little place which catered mostly for the windsurfers and sailors that come for the wind and it provided a lovely little base for the trip.
On Friday, we hired three cars and our little group trekked across the island to Porto Katsiki and then to Nidri and the views across the mountains were breathtaking! The roads were also breathtaking, though perhaps for a slightly different reason. It was great to have an opportunity to explore more of the island, and I loved rolling along with anything from reggae to 50 Cent blaring out of £9 bluetooth speakers, people singing out random lines, the windows down and the sun hot.
It was such a wonderful holiday because everyone was so lovely and there was a proactive but not too pressured environment where everyone got on the water and sailed or windsurfed, but if you wanted to sit around the pool all day no one would judge you. The beautiful scenery and great equipment would have been enough to make the holiday good, but our little group made it amazing.
Before I went on the trip, I was really worried that I wasn't going to be able to fit in with a large group of people who I don't really know very well. And whilst there were some minor hitches with regards to my own personal social skills, they couldn't have been a lovelier group and I didn't need to stress or worry because no one was malicious or exclusive or mean. I am so glad I came with them.
I didn't really know what nights out would be like, whether everyone would be going hard or taking it easy, but it was a great mix of both. We didn't go out every night which was good because otherwise we would have all keeled over! On the first night, it was someones birthday so we decided to go out despite our 3:30am start to the day which was a equal parts insane and amazing.
On the last night, we were all supposed to take it easy because of our relatively early flight this morning... however, it ended up being the night that I drank the most! We played drinking games on the beach, leaving for town just after midnight and then stayed in the bar until about 2:30 when we walked back and someone suggested that we should go skinny dipping. This sounded like a great idea, so we put our valuables away and a whole group of us ended up in the Mediterranean at 3 in the morning completely naked! It was so much fun and a great way to end our trip.
It's really strange to be back in dreary old England again, but I'm off to Spain on Wednesday, so just a couple of days to recover before my next trip out. Though I doubt my family holiday will end skinny dipping. Somehow, I think that is a good thing.
