Across the street a short, balding and Greek Tom Jones impersonator is serenading the English patrons in quarter-full bar. The patrons are some of the more attractive people I've seen here-Mostly youngish with a minimum of paunch. One blond girl is even quite pretty if you can ignore the wide set eyes characteristic of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. At least at this bar there aren't any children nodding off in wheelchairs. No joke, in my first 30 minutes here I saw 3 kids matching that despription. The lyrics are quite appropriate right now..."please...please release me."
Sidari is the the most English town on an island filled with with English tourists. This is the place Brits come on package tours for 2 weeks in August. Ignoring the monstrous hotels, it is one street in mostly faux British colonial style and you can hear music blasting everywhere. Not that anyone is dancing.Mostly they're sitting with 2 Euro pints watching Karaoke singers or one of the tribute acts. So far I've seen an Amy Winehouse, a Meatloaf and fat drag queen in a sequined nun's habit. Advertised for later this week is Freddy Mercury, Niel Diamond and someone called the "Chinese Elvis".
Other touristic places in Greece I've visted like Mytlini and Athens feature the usual assortment of souvenier shops filled with Chinese made crap like sunglasses, commermerative beach towels and Parthenon snow globes interspersed with locally made goods like leather sandals, first class olive oil and ouzo. None of the later here. Its all crap. The gold painted wrap-around sandals look that like they belong in a porno film about 2nd century streetwalkers you see in the cheap shoe shops in Greece, all the skinny girls are wearing them. The fat girls seem partial to 4 inch heels and skin tight dresses giving the overall effect of gaudey pears balanced on roofing nails. How they stay upright is boggling. The night though is young. We'll see how they do after 3 or 4 Russian Periods, Headfuckers or Tropical Cunts (actual drink names).
No overpriced baklava or souvlaki here either. All the restaurants feature adds for "full english breakfast just 4.50". Here too is perhaps he only resturant in the world that proudly advertises a "Real Scottish Chef!"
I feared this place was something like Spring Break or Bourbon Street filled with drunk, obnoxious British college students. Its so much worse than that. Its Spring Break if people brought their inbred families. And no one here seems to have even the beginnings of a college education.
Asking around I've found the jobs are scarce. This is a slow year and plenty of the British kids who came to work here aren't making it either. The bartending jobs are filled by Greeks for the most part and most of the waiters look bored. I can probably get job doing PR. Which involves standing outside bars handing out flyers from 20:00-03:30 for 20 Euros a night. We'll see.
I heard on the other end of the island...Kavos is much busier this year so if I can put 20 EUro in my pocket tonight I'll go there. Down to 5euro70 so I need to get some cash.
On Tuesday I went to Gouvia Bay which has one of the larger marina's in the Mediterranean. Again, no one hiring and everyone scrapping for work. I did talk to A1 services which staffs for charter boats and I chatted for a while with the manager there, a Brit named Chris, who took my resume and said he'd keep me in mind. Day labor pays 12Euro an hour and sometimes people come looking for crew. He didn't promise anything but pointedly declined to offer anymore suggestions about where to look for work. Hopefully that's a good sign.
