I enjoy lots of beachcombing in the winter months here on Crete, especially when the weather is so glorious and the weather has been glorious for the whole of January so far. Bright, sunny and warm…perfect beachcombing weather.
So Debbie and I decided we’d scope out Georgioupoli beach and then move on to Skaleta, which is about half an hour’s drive further along the coast. Sometimes I’ve had to drive onto some pretty rough dirt tracks or scary roads, in order to access or get close to some remote beaches and I’m usually fairly sensible about what I will drive onto. The last couple of years we’ve had to change the place we park at Georgioupoli beach, due to deteriorating tracks. So I now drive around the back of one of the beach bars (that are obviously closed at this time of the year) and this time I decide to park practically on the beach. What on earth was I thinking when I did this?!
You’d think that after 15 years of living on Crete and all the beachcombing I’ve done – I’d know better, duh?! I think Debbie tried to say something… but I wasn’t listening, more the fool me.. I turned onto the sand and that was it! I got stuck and the two front wheels wouldn’t budge. The more I tried to get out, the worse it got! There didn’t appear to be anybody around to help either. Where are the big strong surfer dudes when you need them? Strong guys to help push my car out of the sand? Debbie and I looked about for some wooden planks to help give some traction under the two front wheels. We were frantically shovelling the sand out from around the tyres and under the front of the car. But I think the more I tried to reverse out, the deeper into the sand we sank!
People started appearing on the beach and I asked everyone I saw for their help to try and push my car out of the sand but it wouldn’t move at all. It dawned on us that the only way my car was going to get out of the sand was if it was towed out. Suddenly a tall and fit man in swim trunks, waded through the freezing stream from the other side of the beach and asked if we needed some assistance? Well yeah, we sure did, but did he have a car? As luck would have it, he had a brother who had a big van. So firstly he called over for his brother to join us. These were two young, fit and healthy German guys but my stubborn little Hyundai wouldn’t budge an inch!
So the brother went and fetched his van and parked it behind my car and luckily he had a tow rope. Earlier on Debbie and I had spent some time scouring the beach for some strong rope, without success. Quite often we come across heaps of washed up rope on the beaches we explore… so where was this rope when we actually needed it?
Anyway, because of the angle and position of my car, this towing idea was not going to be easy! The van didn’t have enough power and its front wheels started churning up sand and sinking just like mine had done. Of course he stopped immediately and explained that we needed a much heavier and more powerful vehicle.
Luckily this helpful German guy was able to free his van from the sand and then offered to drive us back into the town so that we could find a friendly Greek man with one of those huge trucks they all drive around in! But it didn’t help that it was a Sunday and most garages and businesses are closed. Also the Greeks like to go out on a Sunday, especially on a glorious day like this was. Anyway we wandered around the deserted village until I sppotted a gleaming new and powerful looking truck parked outside some holiday apartments. I went straight up to the door and knocked, calling “Yassoo!”, “Hello, help!” I was on a mission!
A lady came out of the building and luckily she spoke some English. I explained what had happened with my car, showing her the photographs I’d thought to take before we left the beach. She asked us to wait a moment whilst she spoke to her husband. A few minutes later they both came out of the building and I showed her husband the photos as well. He beckoned for us to get into the truck, which had a small back section for Debbie and I to sit, whilst his wife got into the front. When he started driving in the opposite direction to the beach, his wife explained that they were going to his building yard to pick up a steel tow rope. This truck was brand new and looked like it could tackle any problem! So after many hours of worry, I started to feel extremely hopeful.
It turned out they knew exactly where my car was stuck because the wife’s brother used to run the beach bar, Mike’s Oasis, which is just a little further up the beach. I used to take all my family and friends to Mike’s Oasis for years! I didn’t realize he had passed away…
Within a few minutes, this kindly Greek man had parked up, attached the tow rope and asked me to get into my car, start it up and put it in reverse. Less than a minute later he had pulled me out! I felt such relief! We thanked them both profusely, trying to give them some money to buy a drink, but they wouldn’t take it. We promised to come and see them in the summer at Mike’s Oasis and/or their other restaurant – Arkadi – which has a very good reputation so we will definitely eat there.
If there is one thing I will always say about the Greek people, it’s that they will go out of their way to help you if you are in distress. They are very kind and nothing is too much trouble for them. But this whole incident has highlighted the need for me to get breakdown cover added to my car insurance – as a priority!
All said and done it had taken 3 and a half hours to free my car from Georgioupoli’s sandy beach, but the day wasn’t over yet! I turned to Debbie and said, “Right… it’s only 3.30… we’ve still got time to do Skaleta before it goes dark.. Even if it’s only for a couple of hours, it’ll be worth it. So let’s go!”
And it WAS worth it!