community of lost souls

so, i know the whole point of going to the greek isles is to "hop", so to speak, between them. i, however, do not have quite enough time to do that and still be content in my visit. i really like naxos, and its huge, and there are beaches like i have never laid eyes on before and i love my hotel and the people in the town...so i think im just going to stay here. i have to leave for athens friday morning, so that really only gives me one more day, and id rather spend it snorkling and riding my 4-wheeler then traveling, finding a new hotel, etc. also, ive made a little network of friends here...

i was walking about the town last night when i bumped into Stavros, a greek guy who is friends with that cute milano boy, antonio, at the restaurant where he works. i went up to say hello, and we chatted for a minute, and then antonio (tony, now) came out and said hi, and we all agreed to meet back at the club 'on the rocks' later that evening. i met them there about 10pm, and the bar was once again full of tourists, people from all over. some old british man started to talk to me, and about the time i realized he was crazy, another british guy (much younger) started talking to me (save!), and tony and stavros were hollering and passing me drinks, and the germans in the corner were laughing loudly about something and pounding their fists on the table and the swedish dj was spinning tracks and the albanians were dancing like fools and fixing their hair into fine points on the tops of their heads, and some sweet chilean girl was mooning over the benicio-del-torres-look-alike bar tender and whispering love words in spanish, and it was all just chaos. i was the only american there. as the night progressed, the younger british guy, graham, was "engaging" me in conversation about all things british and proper, i.e. manchester united, the queen mum, high tea, etc, and i was telling him all about my insights into british culture i.e. bridget jones, 'you are what you eat', colin firth vs hugh grant, and so on. the whole time we were trying to talk though, tony and stavros, who by this point were in full-on-party mode, were practically dancing on the bar, throwing shots around and shouting in italian, hugging on me and botching up english phrases and then laughing histerically. the other older british man was sitting near us talking mad shit about the albanians ("you watch yourself, lass, those albanians are only after two things; one of thems your billfold, and the other..." etc), the albanians were doing some sort of tribal club dance that involved spinning and hopping and whirling their arms, and the germans continued to bang on the table, deep in discussion. it was positively dizzying, and i was for the first time thrilled that i was from america so that i didnt have to take sides in this bizarre clash between northern and southern europeans. the differences in their behaviors were so striking, and it was obvious that everyone was weary and confused by the other. tony kept grabbing grahams shoulders and pointing to me, saying things like, "she so funny, love blondie, good legs" and graham would go all straight and rigid and say "well, i don't think thats a very complimentary thing to say to a lady. eleanor, do you need an escort home this evening?" and i would just laugh and put my head in my hands and shake my head and explain that, no, tony is fine, hes sweet, and i can take care of myself, and then tony would come up on the other side and say "he's boring you? want to save you?" and i would say no, no, grahams nice, we're fine. it was like, i could have gone either way. i could make good with the british and converse and be quite well behaved and discuss politics and current events and sip pints, or i could have begun throwing myself around the bar waving my arms madly and being wild and crazy like the italians, greeks, and albanians. it was all just so shockingly stereotypical, everyones nationalities beyond obvious, like they had neon signs on their heads.
the night was great fun, though, and i agreed to meet graham to go to the beach today. the insane Englishman wanted to meet at 10am, so i dragged myself up to our meeting point this morning and we set out. we went to a beach about 30 minutes away, by bus, and it was spectacular. there were rocky passes and cliffs floating in the water, which was bright blue and iridescent, and i swam way out and could see all the way down to the bottom. we layed in the sun and watched these guys windsurf (they were quite good, doing flips and all sorts of fun stuff), and had fresh fish at a little beach shack restaurant in the afternoon. eventually i decided to head home, and when i got back to town i decided to pop in on stavros for some souvlaki (his restaurant is written up in lonely planet as having the best souvlaki in the cyclades). the meat (lamb) was so so delicious. while i was eating though, i heard long, low wails coming from down the road, and when i looked i saw what was similar to a parade: a long line of people walking slowly, the front people carrying banners of crepe paper and flowers, and the people in the middle carrying some sort of float. oh, how fun, i thought. but then i noticed that everyone was in black shrouds, with cloth over their heads, and that the women in the front were all crying and holding onto each other for support. then realized that the float was not a float but a casket. it was a real greek funeral procession! everyone on the streets stopping moving and watched intently and stoically as the people passed. crosses were made over chests and prayers were uttered in the direction of the casket and all the people in the line were crying and rolling their heads on their necks. it was positively spooky and dense and so, so sad, like you could feel how deeply these people were mourning. stavros was behind me and he said, "it was an old woman, she lived in the mountains. they are carrying her to the church". it was one of the most beautiful scenes that i have ever witnessed.
after my souvlaki, i decided that i wanted to rent a moped. i went to the moped shop and the guy said, "are you experienced?". when i said no, he said "when people drive, and they know not how, and they fall, and i get a call from the hospital, and they say, 'man, one of your riders, they are hurt. BAD'. my heart. turns black...black. so i think, for me, you ride a 4wheeler." could not argue. so now i have a cute cute bright yellow 4wheeler to ride about town, and tomorrow i will take it to another beach, one that is suppose to be the most beautiful on the island.
i am brown as a nut and my hair is turning blond from the sun and this place is just perfect. tonight is kareoke night at 'on the rocks', so i think ill pop in...
ill try and post pictures soon, so be patient.