Friday 7 June 2002
Keith awoke, coughing, at 2am and of course, that woke me up as well. He eventually retired to the bathroom while I tried to get back to sleep. The children never stirred but by 3am I was wide awake and having a bath. We quietly woke the children and dressed them before meeting Mum and Dad in reception. A team of cleaners were scrubbing and cleaning the tiled floor, and did they make a meal of it!
We quickly walked through to the check-in desks and luckily didn't have to wait long. Each desk was checking in five flights all over Europe. I hoped they knew what they were doing with our luggage!
Once we had checked in the suitcases we returned to the Hilton to get the rest of our hand luggage and clean our teeth. We called up our flight on the television screen and then checked out.
This time we let Michael run ahead of us into the airport and he was very excited. As we made our way to the departure lounge, he fell and hurt his knee but didn't make too much fuss about it. As Dad took him by the hand to lead him towards the rest of us, he suddenly went rigid and had another of his convulsions. Dad shouted out and I ran over to lay him down on the floor, thinking he had choked on something. Of course, we all panicked as this was completely out of the blue and a woman ran over to see if we needed an ambulance. I said yes, but in hindsight, we didn't need it, thank goodness.
Michael took ages to come around, but it was probably only seconds, and I gave him some Nurofen. He gulped this down and then slumped in his pushchair looking very white. The paramedics arrived and asked if I wanted to go to the hospital with him but we assured them that this had happened before and we knew what to do. I dreaded them saying that we had to miss our flight. Michael was now asleep and we queued for ages to get into the departure lounge as the security checks were so stringent. Dad's shoes were examined and Mum was frisked. We only had a short time to get to our gate, which seemed miles away. We had no time to buy any duty-free or have a much-needed cup of coffee.
We galloped towards our gate, which was probably the furthest away, and as soon as we arrived and queued up to board, Michael woke up. He looked absolutely confused, poor thing! He immediately wanted to get out of his pushchair and explore the tunnel leading to the aircraft, not letting me pick him up at all to look out of the window to see the planes. The weather was awful, grey and foggy, like a hangover from yesterday.
As soon as we found our seats, Michael kept wanting to sit with Mum, then me, then Keith, until we were nearly going mad. The steward bought a lap belt for him but he didn't want to put it on, and I had visions of us being thrown off the plane. Sophie behaved brilliantly the whole time, sitting quietly with Mum and not moaning or fidgeting at all.
Eventually, Michael settled on Mum's lap so I sat next to her in the aisle seat with Sophie in the window seat. Luckily, we had managed to get together in one row so we could all swap easily. We took off smoothly and Michael fell asleep, stretched out over our laps. We ate our breakfast with some difficulty, and then tried to snooze for a while, as we were all very tired!
Michael woke up halfway through the flight but behaved pretty well. He wandered up and down the aisle for a while or had a look at his books, but most of what I'd bought him didn't hold any interest. We were served drinks and Dad had a Bacardi Breezer... oh, yes, I forgot! We were on holiday!
We landed in Mykonos at midday and we were met by cloudy skies and a humid atmosphere. We waited for ages to get off the plane, as a Greek aircraft was due in and the bus couldn't get to us. We all stood at the top of the steps and I began to worry about the sun as our sun cream was in the suitcases.
Eventually, we were taken to the terminal but we had to wait outside in the heat next to a small aeroplane that was getting ready to take off. The engine noise was tremendous! Michael kept throwing his hat about until it was completely covered in dust, which was extremely annoying. The Greeks have certainly perfected the art of welcoming visitors to their country, with a grumpy, stony-faced man on passport control being our first impression of the country.
Once through this barrier we waited for our luggage, which we were sure had been sent to the Canary Islands. We waited for ages, with Michael running from the carousel (and trying to get on it) to Mum, and then back again. I smacked him and put him in his pushchair so he screamed. Again, Sophie was brilliant, waiting patiently with Keith or sitting with Mum. By now, with the long wait and the heat, we were starting to feel fed up and our worries over the ferry were looming large. Our suitcases arrived at long last, and we made our way outside to where we hoped the Argo rep was waiting.
Our rep was there, but he seemed very vague about the ferry, confirming that there was one leaving at 3.30pm and to make sure we were there as it only had a turnaround time of ten minutes (a load of rubbish, as we later found out). He couldn't take us to the port so we piled into taxis, our little family squeezing in with a lovely couple who were going to Naxos to see their son. They hadn't booked a ferry, either. The children were very excited on the short journey to the port, Michael pointing out all the jeeps and the "Bobs". He seemed completely recovered but I still worried about the heat and the sun on him.
The port was very busy with a ferry already in, and cars and taxis everywhere. I waited with the children while Mum, Dad and Keith took the luggage to Pier One which would store it for us. Michael was firmly in his pushchair and I bought him a drink at a little shop overlooking the port. He managed to spill it down him but I didn't mind as it would keep him cool.
Now relieved of most of the luggage (which consisted of four big cases, one small case and five flight bags) we strolled down to the front and had our first beer of the holiday at a taverna overlooking the town of Mykonos and the sea. Next to the taverna was a small, pebbly beach where the children were able to play until Sophie cut all her toes on some glass... There was blood everywhere and I began to feel as if the holiday was jinxed!
We patched Sophie up and ordered lunch - Greek salads for Mum, Dad and me, and pizza for the children, plus more beers. Keith went to get some expensive sun cream and we stripped the children down to their underwear. Luckily, I had bought a change of clothes, and they had a great time paddling in the sea and bringing us shells and stones.
Lunch was delicious and we began to relax a bit. The sky was still cloudy but it was very warm. I phoned Polly and everything was fine. Dad soon began to get itchy about going to the port so he left while we gathered everything up and dressed the children. A huge ferry was still in the harbour, bound for Naxos.
We retrieved our luggage from Pier One and went to sit in the tunnel-type building alongside the dock. It was full of backpackers and Greek women waiting to catch their ferries. We edged nearer the gate at the top and watched all the comings and goings. Michael sat in his pushchair playing with his hair and I thought he was going to go to sleep, but there was too much for him to look at.
Our ferry, the Naxos Star, arrived at 3pm and we gathered up our cases and went to get on. However, they were loading the luggage for people going to Naxos first, so we had to wait. There weren't a lot of people boarding as the ferry was much smaller than the super ferries that normally run between the islands.
Once on the boat, we bagged a place in the air-conditioned lounge and watched the last half of the England-Argentina match, which pleased Keith! A huge roar went up when England eventually won 1-0!
The ferry took ages to leave and all the waiting around seemed to set the pattern for the day. I think a flight had been delayed so we had to wait until all the passengers arrived before we could leave. Dad sorted out the tickets with one of the men running the service, and they confirmed that the ferry would be running on the 14th of June at 9am.
The journey to Paros was pleasant but boring. The children found a friend and played on the floor for a while with Michael climbing all over us at regular intervals. He seemed very much awake with no sign of his earlier tiredness. However, just as we were about to dock in Naoussa, he fell asleep! We found a taxi as I had been unable to contact the Astir hotel to hire the minibus, which runs from the hotel to the small town. Keith and I took the children first, with Michael still asleep. It was a very short journey to the hotel, where we checked in and had the luggage taken to our room, which was close to reception. The porter showed us how the air-conditioning worked and tuned the television so Keith could watch the football. Drats! The staff were very friendly and welcoming, and our room was spacious and clean. We had a terrace overlooking the gardens, with a hint of the sea in the distance.
After a frantic hour of unpacking, bathing and dressing, we told Mum and Dad that we'd meet them at the poolside bar. Michael and Sophie were still very excited and Keith ordered them both a glass of fresh orange juice. Michael wouldn't sit still and kept running about and banging into the table, which was now loaded with drinks and little bowls of nuts. The bar was wonderful, overlooking the beach, the large pool and the restaurant. Mum and Dad arrived and Michael became increasingly naughty so Dad took him down to the far end of the pool overlooking the beach. Of course, all Michael wanted to do was get down onto the sand and started to scream. Keith was feeling very stressed so we decided to take the minibus to Naoussa.
The weather was still overcast but warm, and we arrived at the harbour in Naoussa after the short journey from the hotel. Dad and Mum decided to take us to a restaurant they visited last September, as the food was delicious. It was also away from the road so Michael could run around without any problems. There were lots of people about, and a great atmosphere with all the shops open and children running about.
We found the restaurant and studied the menu while the children played. However, Michael seemed to have the devil in him and refused to sit down, preferring to run about and ram his pushchair into our table. Near to where we were sitting was a wall with a drop into a water-filled trough, and of course, once he spotted this, he kept walking along the wall, dangerously close to the drop.
Our starters arrived, as well as meatballs for the children which they wouldn't eat. Michael soon became bored with sitting at the table so he started to run around again, heading for the wall and the water all the time. Very soon, I lost my temper and hauled him into the pushchair, with him screaming and struggling. I marched off and walked down several very narrow and pretty lanes, with little bars and wonderful shops selling clothes, jewellery and gorgeous little gifts. All the time Michael screamed for Keith.
Once back at the restaurant his behaviour never changed, and we all ate a miserable meal in near silence except for my occasional bursts of temper. The food wasn't as good as Mum and Dad expected and I gave my lamb to Keith. We left as soon as we finished and Keith and I took Michael back down to the harbour where we bought him an ice cream. Needless to say, we felt very apprehensive about the rest of the holiday if he was going to behave like that. However, we did begin to think that sugary foods were to blame, and I'm sure the Mars Bar he had in the room and the orange juice didn't help.
We took a taxi back to the hotel and collapsed into bed, absolutely exhausted. Michael started to play up again, but after a very stern word from Keith, he settled and we all managed a good night's sleep!
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