Paradise

The sizzling sun stood still, its blinding rays constricting our pupils till they shrank to the size of a grain of dust. The potent smell of dead fish and seaweed overwhelmed our noses. But there was a small glimmer of hope: at the tip of the horizon, a small island had come to our notice. 5 hours of tedious sailing had finally paid off, we had reached Serifos the Ancient Greek Island which had, according to myth, been the home of Perseus – the famous hero.

“Land Ahoy!” I shouted to my crew mates, who were as excited as me about the discovery.

Soon, we were marching off our boat onto the luscious sand and mellow mud on the island. The air tasted suspiciously like Greek yogurt, the noise the satisfying crackle of pita bread pleasing our ears. Our stomachs rumbled.

“Why don’t we eat something before heading anywhere else?”, my friend Joe suggested. His persuasive voice and our hungry stomachs were enough to convince us into going to eat.

We rushed into the restaurant. Almost immediately, there were a handful of empty bowls and glasses in front of us, the airy as well as rich yogurt the first to be devoured.

After our meal, we were all reinvigorated and began exploring the island. Our first stop was Kastro, where we had coffee in the 19th-century town hall. We proceeded to climb one of the many castles there from where we got one of the most spectacular sunset views of lives. After watching the sun dip into the horizon, we walked around the town, soaking ourselves in the overflow of culture there.

After sleeping like logs in our comfy hotel rooms, we got up, had another heavy meal and set off again. This time we were en route to Psili Ammos Beach. There was fine sand and crystal clear waters. The shallow bay was engulfed by water lilies, blooming all around. We lay under the natural shade of the palm trees, peacefully watching the waves of the sea bounce up and down.

After a few swims followed by yet another hearty and satisfying meal, we packed our bags, checked out of our hotel and finally, bid goodbye to the island. But we will return to this island: it has stolen our mind and heart.