On your next trip to Greece, you will obviously want to check out the breathtaking seaside attractions. Namely, the beach. The Mediterranean beaches offer a wide variety of attractions that will both enthrall and educate you. (I should be paid for this endorsement.)
As you’re packing your beach bag, there are a few things you’ll want to add from my enjoyable yet endurance-producing experience whilst on the beach. (I wish people still said “whilst." It sounds and feels funny rolling off the tongue.)
“The beach is not a place to work; to read, write or to think.”
― Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea
Here's what you should pack:
1. Headphones, boombox… or a friend that has the volume of a boombox
In Greece especially, they have something called “paddle ball," or sometimes referred to as “Rakater." It’s not hard to guess what this game consists of--a paddle and a ball. Imagine the sport like this: two people were playing ping-pong on the beach, like you do, and managed to hit their only ball into the sand just before a seagull mistook it for an egg. They find a tennis ball half-buried in the sand that they decide to use as a substitute, only to realize their table has floated away as the tide rose. For the next two hours, the two players proceeded to hit the ball back and forth at each other, while they tried to peg each other in a fit of rage. This is Paddleball, in my most complex understanding. My friends and I happened to set up our things right next to a match that was happening, which was accompanied by cheers from the crowd, sound effects from speakers like *boing,* *dong* and something that resembled hitting the wrong command on a computer. The moral of the story is to bring headphones or sit far enough away from the action.
2. Horse blinders
Europe is notorious for its nude beaches and Greece was no exception. Fortunately for us, those who decide to tan all of their ALL of their bodies at once remained on the outskirts of the coast, and in more secluded areas, since the water was still cold when we were visiting. I guess, if there was more of them, they would have more confidence to come to the actual main beach? Unfortunately, however, we decided to venture out into the secluded areas of the coast. Hindsight is 20/20 and I am imagining the benefits of wearing horse blinders, or something that limits your sight lines, while hiking up the coast. I would like to un-see a few things.
3. A pair of Crocs
Regardless of the season or temperature, you’re obviously going to want to partake in the merriment that is swimming in the pristine, blue Mediterranean Sea. On our first venture into the big blue, we walked out onto a submerged peninsula, only to encounter sea urchins, whose very life purpose seemed only to be to devour my feet. After being at the beach, I realized pretty quickly that I would need some water shoes to combat the little black nasties and it made me wish I had the pair of red Crocs I rocked as a kid. (Er, maybe just my Chacos.) Nothing can beat those firetruck, red Crocs.
4. Goggles
Salt water is killer on the eyes, especially if it makes contact with your contacts. I kept imagining that I would accidentally open my eyes underwater and my contacts would slowly floated up and away from my corneas. The water was clear as a freshly cleaned glass door (the type I walk into) and it made us wish over and over again that we had some goggles to, literally, swim with the fishes.
I obviously left out a few key things for your beach adventure such as a swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, boogie-board, an umbrella, etc… but this is Greece we’re talking about. Hope this helps you on your next outing to the beach by the beautiful Mediterranean Sea.
