Some smiley-snippets to remember were during the 4 nights we recently spent at anchor in an island bay.
Throughout the day both modest and grand motor boats deposit their guests in these warm waters, via jet-skis, bathing platforms and rubber tubes. Yachts arrive for lunch stops and day trippers are ferried at speed from round the headland. The sunset triggers an exit of all but those with goodly supplies on board as there is nothing but a ‘salad and beer’ taverna on the beach, which generally closes early. This pattern continues throughout the season.
The second day of our recent 4 provided some interesting sights. A gang of handsome greeks arrived on the beach at 6pm, erected a magnificent gantry, hung it with drapes and sound equipment and planked a dance floor on the sand. Masses of round tables followed and these were quickly dressed in white and encircled with chairs. Ah, a wedding reception.
At 9pm a horde of guests appeared and they confidently sat, ate, drank and danced at full volume until 05.15 when the music abruptly stopped and an armada of little boats arrived to convey the remarkably still-awake revellers back to the main harbour.
After dozing some we awoke to find a swept beach…no evidence of a party!
On the third evening we quickly spotted the signs. A bar was erected, a few speakers set up and a walkway of candle lights was laid, leading from the trees to a cluster of prepared tables, mid beach.
At 9pm, as the dusk settled into dark, intermittent threads of colour wove in and out of the woodland and became a vibrant moving tapestry of nimble guests who settled around the bar then stitched their way to the banquet.
Music rose and swam across the bay, providing us with a welcome accompaniment to our evening rosé and we unashamedly gazed at the lily bride and her (fetched from the bar) groom while they danced through the candles to dine.
This smaller reception finished at a modest 4 am and and all the guests climbed aboard one waiting boat for the journey home. An utterly clean beach was very quickly restored by more, or the same, handsome Greek boys.
The next day we traced the woodland walk back to a tiny church, collecting a few ribboned hearts dangling from branches along the way. Rice thickly covered the little courtyard but otherwise there was no sign of a celebration.
Some friends who take charter guests on board were delighted when we gave them one of the hearts….’perfect to put in the next welcome basket,’ they declared.
How lovely to pay the joy forward.
Restored to our home quay this weekend, there were brides everywhere…in a flashy speed boat up and down the channel, in a creamy VW Beetle and yet another perched in a jeep. All were accompanied by friends with traditional streamers, flashing phones and blaring horns. This time one of the sunset celebrations was heralded by a small but perfectly executed firework display. Something of a rarity in Greece these days.