Welcome to the Beautiful Island of Samos
We arrived on the beautiful island of Samos a few hours ago (you’d have thought the “beautiful island of” prefix was actually part of the island’s name it’s used so much). Was the flight over simple? Of course not!
I met Nick, Ann and Panos at Athens airport as planned, and we checked in and arrived at the gate with plenty of time to spare (I had to leave my wonderful luggage trolley behind - boo hoo - it had been a good friend to me overnight :p). We boarded an airport bus ready to be taken to the plane.One of the women who had checked our boarding passes jumped on the bus and started shouting something in Greek. Of course I was none the wiser, but it seemed to really annoy the Greek-speakers. One old man went especially crazy, ranting and raving at the staff. A quick translation from Nick revealed our aircraft had “minor technical difficulties”.After waiting ages back in the airport, we finally flew over to the island. Not in the plane we were supposed to, but in a rather ancient Focker 50. This seemed much less stable in the air than the 767 from yesterday: it was much more fun. The landing was awesome, dropping hundreds of feet in what felt like a nose dive.
We arrived at the Doryssa Bay resort via a taxi ride from the tiny Samos airport. It was very quick to collect our luggage, although there was a moment of confusion: Luggage Belt 1 started up, so everybody went towards it. Greeks, I am discovering, love to be first. It doesn’t matter what they’re waiting for, just as long as they are first. Therefore, they all huddle around the beginning of the belt, eager to pounce on their suitcases before anybody else even realised they were there. The confusion ensued when Belt 1 stopped, creating a mad dash towards Belt 2 as that started. Of course, after a few seconds, that stopped and Belt 1 started again.
My hotel room is very nice, especially now I’ve figured out the air conditioning controls. Its room 218 on the first floor and quite large for one person. There’s a balcony with a fantastic view across to a big hill.
After dropping off our stuff, we had a quick meal at the poolside bar. Being awake for the last day and a half, I wasn’t exactly feeling a lot like eating or trying new experiences, so I settled for a hot dog. We popped into the resort’s mini shop for some bottles of water, then I retired to my room for a shower and some rest.
At 6pm I met Nick to go and get our conference registration sorted out. Along with the usual conference bag and book of proceedings, we were given a Pythagora’s Cup. This was designed by Pythagoras to ensure that everybody drank an equal amount. As long as you only fill you cup to the line, everything is fine. However, if you’re greedy and try to fill it further, the whole of your drink disappears through a hole in the bottom of the cup.
Briefly exploring the resort, we found a small coffee shop where we stopped for a Frappe. Luckily, that came in a standard glass rather than a Pythagora’s Cup, so I didn’t end up with wet legs.
Overall, the resort is very nice, set around a small Greek village. Unfortunately, while it’s nicely done, it’s all fake. A weird mix of theme park and Club 18-30. I imagine some people spend their entire holiday inside the resort without ever getting any feeling of true Samian life. We’re in no danger of that though, and we’re starting as we mean to go on. In a few minutes we’re going to the local town of Pythag�rio to find a nice taverna for dinner.
