One Girl and a Big World

Dear Reader,

You came back! Glad to hear I did not scare you away. For the first real post, I have decided I will start with one of the funniest travel memories I have to this day. The main character of this story will be my grandma, or as my brother and I call her, Tita.

In September 2017, my family visited Greece. At this time, we were living in Portugal. I had just started my freshman year of high school and was enrolled in an online homeschooling program. Because my dad worked a rotational job, and because my brother and I were homeschooled, my family had a lot of freedom to travel around Europe whenever we could. While we visited many European countries, the main focus for today’s post will be Greece.

Now, for a little backstory, on my dad’s mom’s side, there is a strong Greek ancestry. Back in the 1800s, my grandma’s ancestors moved from Greece to Mexico. While some decided to later move to the US (and fight in the American Civil War), one chose to stay in Mexico. My grandma is very proud of her ancestry and had always wanted to see her ancestral land. So the perfect opportunity arose when we moved to Portugal. My dad agreed to fly her over to Portugal so she could go with us to see Greece.

A little more backstory: I love my Grandma. She is super great. She is also, however, quite the character. To put it in simple terms, she really puts the adventure in adventure. There is NEVER a dull day with her. As such, this post will focus on one of those times she put the adventure in adventure… hope you enjoy.

As I stated before, we visited Greece in September 2017. One of the places we visited was the island of Santorini. This island is most famous for its blue Grecian domes and sunsets. Santorini is very beautiful. It has many different types of beaches and has an abundance of different ocean water locations a tourist can see and swim in. To take advantage of this island, my dad rented a catamaran with a captain and cook/tour guide for a couple hours.

The first place the captain took us was a part of Santorini where the ocean floor was so deep, it made the water look dark blue. It was so dark, that you could not see anything in the water. For someone whose brain always imagines a ‘Jaws’ type of scenario, not knowing what was beneath me was quite terrifying. My anxiety got the best of me and after five minutes in the water, I chickened out and went back on the boat. My dad and brother did swim out farther and enjoyed that part of the ocean much more than I did.

After exploring that part of the island, the captain took us to a place where the water was crystal clear. That was much more appealing to my overthinking brain. The water was so clear you could see all the fish swimming, all the ocean vegetation at the ocean floor swaying with the current, and most importantly, it was clear enough to see hundreds of yards away underwater in case there was a shark… (for anyone who has never been to the Mediterranean, there are actually very few sharks in the area, but I still always have a freaky ‘Jaws’ scenario in my head). I was much more enthusiastic about this water spot and could not wait to jump in. The captain gave my brother and I a couple pool noodles, and without much delay, we had thrown ourselves over the boat and into the Mediterranean sea. My dad followed right behind us and we enjoyed swimming around and stealing each other’s noodles.

After some time, my grandma decides she is ready to go for a swim. She sits on the edge of the boat and says she is going to dive in. Now, for anyone who has ever seen a child take swim lessons, one of the things they learn is a sitting dive. This is what my grandma was attempting. However, it did not go exactly according to plan… My grandma, very excited I might add, puts her arms up into a dive position, gives herself some momentum, and dives in. Except, it was not a dive. It was a full-blown belly flop. She hit the water so hard it knocked the wind out of her. My dad, brother, and I were not far from the boat, and as soon as we saw what happened, my dad ripped the noodle from under my brother and took off as fast as he could to my grandma. My brother and I also took off after him in case he needed extra help. After a few seconds, we reached my grandma, who I might add, was gagging and struggling to breathe, and gave her the noodle so she could float.

Now, most people would be a little embarrassed, or perhaps a little shaken, but not my grandma. No, after regaining her breath, she started laughing her head off. If we are being honest, the shaken one was primarily my dad. To avoid any more mishaps, my dad stayed with my grandma and my brother and I swam away to have fun. After about thirty minutes of swimming around, the captain came to tell us lunch was ready. Already starving, we all made our way to the boat. Now, to get back into this boat, we had to climb a very thin, steep, and stainless steel ladder. My brother went first, I went second, and my dad began to help my grandma go up. Now this, ladies and gentlemen, is where things get comical.

My grandma is a heavier woman obviously in her later years of life. If the ladder was difficult to climb for two teenagers, it was going to be difficult for an elderly lady. My dad begins to help her climb, but she does not have the strength to pull herself up. Not only that, but she finds the situation so funny, that every time she tries to pull herself up, she bursts out into laughter and loses all strength in her arms. Now, you can probably imagine my dad, trying to get his mom to concentrate on the task before her, getting a little frustrated. My mom at this point, tells me to jump back in the water to help my dad push my grandma up. I do so accordingly. Even with the two of us, however, we cannot get my grandma up.

Pushing an adult human being up is rather difficult, but my dad and I were met with a further challenge: the ocean floor was twenty feet below us. We did not have any place to gain momentum. We were treading water and pushing my grandma up at the same time. Talk about a workout. At this point, I’m beginning to think that I am stuck for the rest of my life in the middle of the ocean, my dad is getting increasingly more frustrated and my grandma thinks the situation is the funniest thing to ever happen and keeps laughing and laughing.

Eventually, the captain comes out wondering why we have not gotten ready for lunch. He is met with quite the sight to behold. From his perspective, he sees an elderly lady, barely able to go up one step of the ladder, an adult male who has had enough of the situation, a teenage girl who looks red and exhausted from trying to push her grandma up, a teenage boy who is laughing on the deck, and an adult female who is videotaping the whole thing. Yes, my mom, instead of helping, was videotaping the ladder struggle.

Seeing the difficulty of the task before him, the captain calls in reinforcements: the cook. Completely exhausted, I climb out and let the men handle the job. So picture this: two men, each one grabbing one of my grandma’s arms, and my dad, still in the water, pushing my grandma up from her behind. I do not know how they managed it, but they eventually were able to drag my grandma out with sheer force. Oh yeah, and my grandma still continued to laugh even after they were able to pull her out. Needless to say, lunch that day was quite hilarious as my mom played the video so we could all laugh at the funny ordeal.

When our catamaran trip ended, and we arrived at the dock, the captain led us off the ship. He held out his hand first for my mom, then me, then my grandma. As he helped her off the boat, my Mexican grandma turned to him, and in her heavy accent, tells the captain, “You are my hero!” Needless to say, I do not think my dad will ever rent a catamaran if my grandma is with us again.

Picture 1: Santorini’s Blue Domes

Picture 2: Santorini Sunset

Picture 3: The day of the catamaran trip