This summer, if you’re sitting on a beach, and realize after maybe a day or two that you really aren’t a beach person, you might try striking up a conversation with a neighbor.
Maybe with a young couple sitting on the beach chairs near yours. That’s what Stephanie Hutta did on a visit to the island of Skiathos, Greece.
She began to talk—maybe about the weather, or the beauty of the place—it really doesn’t matter. What matters is this: Using hands, gestures and a Greek/English dictionary, she made friends with a couple on the beach and ended up on their honeymoon.
That’s right. One minute, Stephanie and her daughter Emily were shooting the breeze and the next moment they found themselves starring in a real-life role they laughingly call “My big fat Greek honeymoon.” Because those lovely newlyweds, Tashula and Kostos, invited mother and daughter home to their village in northern Greece to join in their continued wedding celebration.
So off these two Americans went to observe and participate in the age-old rituals Greeks observe after a marriage. “What that involves,” says Stephanie, “is a lot of food, a lot of drink and a lot of visiting.”
Days were spent going from one home to another, culminating in a huge dinner with family and neighbors present. There the happy couple proudly introduced their newfound friends who were warmly greeted with cries of “yasas!” (a celebratory term that translates loosely into “good health”) and endless rounds of ouzo.
Stephanie and Emily were, of course, touched and delighted to find themselves so warmly welcomed by previously total strangers. But there is one question they wished they had asked before accepting the invitation. Something straightforward like, “So, just how far is your village?”
“We figured it was probably only a couple of hours away,” laughs Emily. “But we were wrong.”
One ferry and a seven-hour bus ride later, they had emerged to find Tashula and Kostos waiting. “The distance came as a shock but it was worth it for the experience,” says Emily. “But next time I think I’ll get a little more information before I head out.” Yasas!
By Jamie Simons for PeterGreenberg.com.
Read more from our Grateful Traveler series, stories that will touch your heart.
Read the story that started it all: Grateful Traveler: An Eskimo Showed Me the Way.
Get great travel information on Greece with our Off-the-Brochure Travel Guide to Athens, Greece.
And if you’re looking for information on planning your wedding or honeymoon, check out Weddings Away: Travel Trends and Tips for Your Destination Wedding.
