It was apparent from the start that Ellie's first love was the swimming pool at Hotel Boulas. It was also apparent that she was sticking to her grandma like glue. She was not very keen on swimming in the pool if her grandma was not with her. Out of the pool, it was the same. Everywhere that Pauline went you could be sure Ellie was only a yard away! This tended to place a burden on Pauline. The solution was found in the afternoon of our first day when I stayed in the pool after Pauline climbed out. Ellie was happy to stay in the water if I was with her. I think it was rather overwhelming with all the Greeks there on holiday.
She also clicked with me when I started to show her the technique for diving under the water. At first she could only launch herself forward on the surface of the water. It was necessary to bend downwards if she was going to dive below the surface. Quite soon she began to go below the surface, but didn't achieve the bend of the body very well. But it was fun to share it all with her. She was quite impressed with my ability to swim the length of the pool on one breath. It was just a matter of not panicking or trying to take too big a breath.
Later that day she was very impressed with the food at Taverna Theris. She ordered a funghi pizza and she loved it. Mind you, she was very surprised that it rained very heavily that night for about 20 minutes. The table had to be pulled under cover to keep us dry. It was soon after this that Ellie broke her flip flops and couldn't walk back to Hotel Boulas up the steep steps. However, I mentioned the problem to Katerina from the taverna and she sent her daughter-in-law after Ellie with some ribbons to tie her flipflop to her foot. The problem was solved!
This problem arose from buying very cheap flipflops and she made sure she wore the sort that would not fall apart afterwards. Earlier that night Ellie made the discovery that she loved fried squid! From now on she would make comparisons between how tavernas made fried squid. Much later during the holiday we sailed across to Aegina, four miles away, and at lunch time discovered the excellent quality of the street taverna outside the fish market. Ellie didn't like the squid as much this time because it was grilled. I thought it was wonderful!
Mind you, I am a great lover of traditional Greek food. I have grown very fond of grilled Octopus. One year we shared a meal of octopus, mussels, and squid at Aponisos in Anghistri and it tasted fantastic. As this holiday progressed, Ellie kept making her comparison for squid with Taverna Theris. She also found how much she enjoyed tzatziki and I got severe looks if I had a taste!
It soon became obvious that Ellie was enjoying her first holiday abroad. She had conquered her initial doubts about flying and also sailing. This was to be a great holiday for her and it caused us to be very happy. When you introduce someone to a place you love there is not always a guarantee that it will work. But it did.
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