Lakis was sat in the corner of the ‘kitchen/cafeneio’, baseball hat, unbuttoned checked shirt, torn pants, and on his 7th rollie cigarette since i got there. I imagine the clothes were what he bought in 1960. His palm-size ancient transistor was playing the radio. And interspersed between the traditional greek songs were ‘Highway to Hell’ and ‘No Diggity’. I danced, headbanged, rapped along… whatever the mood took me to, and he was well amused with my Diggity bits and my Brian Johnson impersonation, even though it fucked my throat up.
I was sitting on a huge wooden trunk laid horizontally outside the kitchen like a couch, and E to my right was verrrry slowwwwly rolling a spliff, staring at it in pause-mode from time to time, and finally handed it to me to finish the job. From the time she was flitting around like a bird in the shallow waters earlier, i could tell she’d had a ‘magic cookie’ for breakfast. She had that permanent smile on her face.
When i handed the ready spliff back to her, she said something in Greek to me. I smiled and said E, I’m not Greek. ‘Ohhh pohpoh i forget bijouuuu’. Happens all the time. I was wondering where Nef was. It’d been approximately two hours since i last saw her. Maybe more, but time is a strange concept on the island. Sometimes the hours between morning and evening feel like a few days. We assumed she was passed out under the shade of one of the few dozen cedar or pine trees and left it at that. The sun was calm, the water was magical, and i went in for frequent dips to swim with the fish, some of whom had become friends with me and would swim by my side every time. As of last count, we’re the only four people on this part of the island, and some goats that tried to steal Keke’s tomatoes earlier. Keke, who was with us until morning, headed out to handpoke a tattoo for a friend on another corner of the island. This was our hood. I know the island now like i know the backalleys of Bandra or Tarapoto or Sikkim or Rio. My only fear was walking naked into sharp cedar branches, so my handbag always protected les bijoux de famille.
Its broad daylight, clear skies, gorgeous sun throwing rings around the sky, around 11am i assume, and we sight a boat on the far horizon headed this way. E and i believe its our friends from four beaches away coming to us with apples, dry fruits, olives, tahini, olive oil, honey, and other supplies that i cant mention here cos my mum might read it. Right now i’d love some dry fruits, and i pass the spliff to Lakis. He’s maybe 75, and has been a permanent resident on this specific beach for over 3 decades. The rest come, stay a few days/weeks/months, and move on. Some don’t come to this beach cos the descent of the canyon is a pretty steep one.
The boat appears closer, the spliff goes another couple rounds, and a new one is being manufactured. We can now see a dozen heads on it, and a dozen naked bodies jump out and wade towards shore. Definitely this is way more than our friends. Who the fuck is bringing a party to this tranquility? On second glance, this bunch is older too. Well. That’s relative now since Lakis is with us. But surely, this isn’t our friends. Our friends have dreadlocks and tattoos. This is a bunch of pale ‘tourists’. Bald, mostly.
‘Ahh, this is the nude resort boat from the next island’, Lakis exclaims. They do this once a week, he says. And he doesn’t mind it too much cos the boat captain always brings him chilled beer and food from the resort’s kitchen. Sure enough, the captain comes by and hands him the beers and grilled chicken. Lakis offers some to us but E’s on a different reality, i take a liiitttle bit in a glass cos mixing spliffs and beers have been my undoing on many occasions.
‘IS THAT A JOINT?!??’ a very excited voice. Yes, would you like to try…
‘Yes please. I’m from the Netherlands but my wife doesn’t let me smoke.’
‘Ah, you are now recalling your youth now you naughty boy,’ says the German lady. And she suddenly breaks into a karaoke rendition of a Manu Chao song about marijuana.
The dutchman takes two hits, shivers, and his body goes into auto-pilot and sits down on the sand. He’s got a really wide grin on his face, surely he hasn’t smoked in a long time. They’re all in their 60s. Im guessing ‘naturists tourism’ is popular in this part of the mediterranean. There’s a big round of introductions and pleasantries – French, Dutch, South African, Belgian, German, Austrian, English, Australian, and of course there’s Russian. They look wide-eyed at me like i’m from another planet. In time, the obvious questions arise and the expected surprises subside.
‘Nice that Nef is not here, else she would have laughed a bit much’, E says while I watch the joint now go to many more hands. Her eyes look amazing, I wish I had taken some of that magic cookie for breakfast too, maybe tomorrow. ‘But where is she?’
The tourists are amusing themselves with the fact an Indian and Greek are handing them spliffs which wasn’t part of what their retreat itinerary promised. Now they’re all getting giggly and swaying and totally getting into the party mood.
‘OH I know one GREEK SONG!’, ze german exclaims. I notice she has 4 front teeth missing. Heroin, i’m guessing. But a hot bod for her age.
And she breaks into song, staccato, harmony, the whole range with 100% emotion, and finally after she finishes, she asks E if she knows what it meant cos she doesn’t.
‘It says you will find your man one day, don’t give up… sorry i’m just translating the song’.
* awkward silence *
…
…..
‘Aw, but you can always have me’, the silence is broken by the Aussie dude.
‘Ow about me!’, I hear a french accent.
The german seductress flashes looks between the two, looks at me, and goes ‘but 3 is always better than 2..’
‘Lakis, can i have some more beer please’, i walk to Lakis and immediately realize my mistake cos she’s now checking out my arse. I instinctively wrap the lungi around. She starts another song, this time accompanied by the Austrian and the Belgian and everyone’s in great spirit again. Yay.
I sip my beer and wonder if the song is about my arse. I don’t know the german word for arse so i cant be sure. I go for a quick dip and say hello to my fish friends.
One the way back i pick up some shells to play with and i walk into them explaining to E that once a year they come to the island to adorn themselves with the clay, which some claim is super magical. I don’t think E understood or even heard a word, but she kept nodding. I already noticed half the bunch pasting the clay on one another. Weirdos.
E struts off for another swim, the boat bunch clay themselves and roll around the muddy area, and smoke and dance and sing some more, the choruses getting louder and louder. They gather around and take a selfie, maybe 15. Then come over to shake my hand, and take a few more hits, and run back to the boat and they’re off. Still singing.
‘I thought that boat was my friend bringing mouse poison for me’, Lakis says disappointed, sipping the beer and reaching out for the last few drags.
‘You have mice here??’
‘Lots,’ he arches his thick white eyebrows.
‘Maybe tomorrow i bring you a cat eh.’
Nef walks out from under a tree, in a turban, scratching her head, ‘what was all that noise…’
‘Tourists. Nice nap?’