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FIRST ARRIVAL ON IOS
A small windswept island, emerging from the deep blue sea of the Aegean – who would have imagined it would have such an impact on the lives of the people who drifted there. I first travelled to Ios in the early 1970’s, looking for the perfect beach to sunbathe & swim and for open-air discos to dance the night away. The journey took 10 hours aboard a ferry which stopped at various islands before sailing into the port of Ios. As there were no docking facilities, little fishing boats met the ferry out at sea and with difficulty we struggled with our bags down a ladder to board these boats, which were rocking madly on the waves.
The first glimpse of the island was not particularly impressive. It was summer and there was very little vegetation, so the land looked rather like a barren, brown rock with a few white buildings down in the port area and a few white Cycladic-style houses leading to the top of a hill, which had a similar shape to a snail. A few churches seemed perched on the rock. The village was hidden from view behind the hill. Later, I found out there was a reason for this – pirates had attacked many islands in the Cyclades, ransacked them and stolen the womenfolk, while their husbands were away fishing. To counter this, the houses were hidden from view, so that pirate ships would think that there was nothing to be had & pass on by.
As we alighted in the port, we were greeted by a few elderly locals, advertising rooms. Having visited Myconos for a number of years, where all the action was centred in the port, I decided to look for a room in the port. I followed a stooped, elderly man, who told me that his name was Algiris, away from the port, along a dirt track road at the side of a rather nondescript beach to a large house with a number of rooms, just off the beach road. My room was small & basic: whitewashed, comprising 2 beds and a wobbly chair and table. There were a few hooks on the wall for clothes. There was very little room to move around. However it contained all that I thought necessary and, more importantly, it was cheap. I had the end room along a corridor which had about 5 more rooms leading off it. The window looked out onto a small courtyard. There were a few containers with geraniums outside and a vine growing up the pole supporting the pergola. The only bathroom and a toilet were at the other end of the corridor. We had to queue up for the cold shower, which was more of a trickle than a shower.
After changing out of my salt-encrusted clothes (it had been rather a rough journey on the deck class of the ferry, and the waves had drenched all the passengers) and standing under the trickle, I was ready to explore. Heading back to the port, I found a Caique (fishing boat) with a sign advertising boat trips round the island. From experience of other islands, I had found this was one of the best ways to find out about a new island, so I noted down the time it left the next day. In fact this meant the first beach I visited happened to be one of the most beautiful beaches of the island & contributed to my falling in love with the place.
There were a few restaurants scattered around the port square with tables & chairs outside. Choosing one with a number of tourists, who seemed to be enjoying themselves, I marched into the kitchen to inspect the pots. This was a very common way of choosing a meal in Greece at the time. I cannot remember any menus & I cannot remember what my first meal was, but I do remember a couple at the adjacent table starting up a conversation with me and arranging to meet them later at a small bar/disco called the Marina Club, situated down along the port beach. The magic of Ios had begun to work its enchantment – everybody was so friendly!
However, the evening ended in disappointment: the Marina Club was not what I was searching for. It was small, enclosed, but far worse – it played Greek music. You might think, well, yes – it was a Greek club on a Greek island, of course it played Greek music. But this had not been the case on other islands – we had danced to the latest British/American hits with a few French & Italian songs thrown in – dance music in other words. I was not impressed with this ethnic stuff & folk dances, where the man had the best moves. Oh no, I was used to dancing by myself & letting the music flow through me, dictating the moves as I went along. Obviously in the next few days I would have to explore the village & see what else was on offer.
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