One Girl and a Big World

Ladies and Gentlemen,

IT IS TIME.

School has been very busy, but today, I have decided to write out probably the most hilarious travel memory that I have in my brain.

In September 2017, during our trip to Greece, the Medina family made a pit stop on the island of Mykonos. We arrived by ferry to beautiful weather. It was blue skies, a couple of clouds floating around, and the relaxing smell of the sea filled the air. I was very excited for this particular stop on our Greece trip because it required no sightseeing. Now, of course, it is really cool to see all the ancient buildings in Greece. However, my mom has a way of completely and totally exhausting the human body with her desire to see EVERYTHING, so a break was very much welcome.

Our hotel was very cool. It was a cluster of individual villas. I loved this because I got my own room and that meant peace and tranquility at night. (If you haven’t been able to figure it out, I am extremely introverted). The first night in Mykonos was very restful and relaxing. In the morning, we ate breakfast and soon after, I began pestering my parents, asking when we could go down to the beach. I absolutely adore the beach and the sea. I wait for no one when the beach is concerned. After what seemed like ages, my parents were FINALLY ready and we brought along my grandma, who was staying in another personal villa.

To my dismay, I was met with a delay at the beach: the sunscreen. Now, I hate sunscreen. There are few things I hate in life, but sunscreen is most definitely one of them. Do I have the amazing Hispanic ability to tan with ease and rarely ever burn? Absolutely. But was I still required to through the slathering of sunscreen a mom never forgets? – *Sigh* – Unfortunately, yes. So there I was, grouchy because I was made to put on the slimy substance I hate and wait twenty minutes for it to dry.

After what seemed like ages, my brother and I were allowed to go swimming. The water was icy cold, but it felt so good against the heat of the day. And even more incredible was the fact that the water was clear. With a pair of goggles over my eyes, I went out into the ocean (and maybe attempted to rub off the sunscreen in the water). Time flew by.

Now, I mentioned before that we had arrived to Mykonos by ferry. Well, little did I know that these ferries would provide so much fun at the beach. Let me explain: whenever ferries sailed by, especially the speed ferries, they would send huge waves to the shore. If there was a particularly big set of waves sent into the beach, the lifeguard would ask everyone to come to shore to avoid any incidents. But for the smaller sets of waves, we were allowed to remain in the water. My brother and I soon discovered our love for these big waves created by the ferries and we made it our mission to either rush into the smaller sets of waves, or race each other to shore when a large set was created.

At one point during our beach time, a speed ferry went by and sent huge waves towards the shore. The lifeguard, seeing them coming from a distance, warned everyone to come to shore. My brother and I took of swimming, racing each other to the shore. We got to shore, laughing our heads off, arguing about who had won. Suddenly, we turn behind us and see that my dad and grandma are still out a good ways in the sea. Now, the sea in Mykonos gets deep rather quick, but because the water is clear, and the waves are much calmer (without the ferries) than one would usually expect, it was quite safe to swim out to where you could not touch the bottom of the sea. Because of this, my dad had gone out with his mom, just like my brother and I had done. The only problem was that my brother and I are both competitive swimmers. We could get to shore fast. My dad was also a fast swimmer. He could get to shore fast. My grandma was not a fast swimmer. She could not get to shore fast.

In order to help her, my dad had stayed behind. They had made good progress, but they were not quick enough. My dad and grandma had made it to where the water was at knee level when the waves caught up with them. However, the waves only toppled one human being: my grandma. My grandma plopped face down into the water… and began laughing her head off. Now, I am sure you can imagine my dad doing his very best to get his mom to her feet. My grandma, however, was no help. She just kept laughing and laughing. She tried to get up, but at that moment, another wave crashed into her and sent her once again into the water. She was LITERALLY being rolled by waves.

At this point, my dad and grandma have an audience: the whole beach. Everyone was laughing at the sight they were seeing. The two people taking the situation seriously were my dad and the lifeguard. The lifeguard came over and said, “Ma’am, you must stop laughing!”, to which my dad translated into Spanish for my grandma rather frustrated and stressed.

However, my grandma could not stop laughing and this kept her from being able to stand up. Then, a lady came up to my dad and grandma and asked, “Do you need help?” Before my dad could answer, my grandma, in her Mexican accent replied, “No, no thank you!” as another wave crashed into her and sent her face forward into the sand. My poor dad was having to keep himself balanced against the waves while trying to drag my grandma to shore (and no, my brother and I never offered help. How could we? We were out of breath laughing at the situation!).

As the waves began to calm down, my dad mustered his strength and pulled my grandma up and out of the water. After the stress of saving his mom from drowning had passed, even he could not help from laughing at the whole debacle. I mean, how many times does a person see an elderly lady get rolled around by waves?!? Those opportunities are hard to come by and they must be enjoyed in the moment.

In conclusion, no one was hurt by the sea that day. A multitude of people, however, did receive a great abdominal workout induced by uncontrollable laughter.