was at that point where you’re not sure if you’re upset, angry, or both. Where your voice is wavering as you’re trying to hold yourself together.
The guy behind the counter was trying to make a phone call as she was telling him how someone had been in her room and stolen cash. It was the specifics that stuck with me. She wasn’t just saying ‘money’, she was saying ‘three hundred and sixty euros’ over and over.
If she’d not been there, I don’t think I’d have noticed the map next to the main desk. I glanced across towards her and spotted a large picture of the island on the wall. I don’t remember it being there when we arrived, but I guess I wasn’t paying attention.
I went over to it and stared. It was taller than me, with the entire outline of Galanikos, with the roads and the villages. I don’t think I’d ever looked at the island like that before. I’d always thought of it as this one village with the hotels and the market – but there were other villages, too. A road ran from the south-west corner all along the bottom of the island and then up to the north-east before stopping when it got to the mountain that’s up there. There were intermittent markers the whole way around – and that’s when I saw the dot that read ‘Agios Georgios’ over to the east.
Extract from official guide to Galanikos: The largest village on the island of Galanikos is also named Galanikos, although it is colloquially known as ‘The Village’. The extinct volcano that created the island – and which dominates the north-west corner – is also called Galanikos. Other villages on the island include Ermones, Vatos, Agios Georgios (Saint George) and Kokkini.
Emma: A member of staff must have noticed me next to the map because she came over and asked if there was anything I was looking for. I asked her about ‘Agios Georgios’ and she immediately said ‘Saint George’. She seemed a bit confused about why I was interested, so I asked her what was there. She gave this sort of shrug like you do when you’re not sure what to say. I thought it might be a language issue, but it wasn’t at all. She goes: ‘No tourists.’ I misunderstood and replied: ‘Tourists aren’t allowed?’ She laughed and then said: ‘No reason for tourists to go. There’s nothing there.’
I didn’t get it at first, but then I realised it would be like running into a tourist on their way into Britain. You’d think they were visiting London or Edinburgh – but then they point to somewhere like Grimsby and you’d think, ‘Why are you going there?’ She couldn’t get her head around it.
I asked her if there was a bus that went there and she couldn’t stop herself from laughing. She said there was one bus in the morning and one that went later, with nothing during the day. Other than that, anyone could drive.
Someone called her away and she walked off still saying ‘Agios Georgios’ under her breath as if I’d just told her an amazing joke.
Claire: I don’t know what Emma said to the woman in reception, but she found it hilarious. I think she went off to tell her co-worker about it.
Emma: I was about to go back to the cottage when I noticed Claire was standing almost right behind me. It was only then I remembered Victor being dragged off after he punched that guy. Claire had this half grin on her face and she goes…
Claire: ‘How was your night?’
Emma: I didn’t know if she was joking. It felt like she was.
Claire: I can’t remember any more. I told her the manager had been to my room and said that Victor was being held in the police cells for punching a guy in the hotel last night. It was all news to me. We’d had an argument and then I’d gone to bed. He hadn’t come back to the room, but let’s say it wouldn’t have been the first time Victor stayed out all night.
Emma: I told her I saw what happened because I was on Julius’s balcony. She didn’t seem surprised that he’d punched a guy unprovoked.
Claire: Is there an opposite of surprised? Unsurprised? Predictable? Par for the course? That was me when Emma said it was unprovoked.
Emma: I asked her if she was going to the cells and Claire snorted.