During my four years between marriages, I chose to travel the world. My first trip to Hawaii had certainly wet my appetite for more. Now my two children we young adults. And I was free of my 'ex' who never traveled farther than to fish or hunt. I now felt free as a bird. Our ranch house in Covina Hills had been sold and I had moved into my Claremont apartment. Also, I had the independence of owning a successful business that afforded me travel time. So it was time to take full advantage of being free and single.
My cousin, Olive, was a very astute and trusted manager of my bridal boutique JD's mother, my lovely mother-in-law, had passed before we decided to divorce and I'd wanted no part of the division of her estate. She had left me and my children with fond memories of her loving and caring ways. I had always suggested that she should "travel to Denmark" and relive her parents childhood, but she always insisted she wanted to leave what she could to her three boys. She was always thinking of others rather than herself. Sad that virtue wasn't passed onto JD.
Anyway, I was now more than ready to travel. The first item I purchased was Europe on $10 A Day, followed by buying a sturdy backpack. I read that staying in youth hostels and pensiones were very inexpensive. However, it would be important to carry along a 'sheet-bag' sewn with both sides intact, a flap to cover a pillow and another to fold down over the top of a blanket to avoid touching anything that might have germs. So I accomplished that sewing task. The suggestion also was to lay out what clothes you wanted to take, then put half back into your closet and only take the absolutely necessary items in your backpack. This entailed a complete change of clothes plus an extra set of underwear (every night wash dirty clothes and re-pack the dry before continuing on your trek).
My biggest mistake, on that first backpacking trek, was to over pack. I decided to add a small suitcase, well not really small enough, and fortune had it that my suitcase was left behind as I caught my ride on a ship from Brindesi, Italy to Athens, Greece. The passage was an overnight sail. I ended up with two room mates, one from France and the other from Germany. None of us spoke other than our own language, so sign language became our way of communication.
As the following day was sunny and warm, ideal for sunbathing on the deck, my room mates soon realized I was stuck with only Levis and t-shirts. Quickly they outfitted me in a bikini, as each had brought along two bikinis. The top part of the bikini from the hefty German girl was my size and the bottom part of the bikini belonging to the petite French girl also fit me. We later had our photo taken, which shows the mix-match of the four bikinis on we three girls.
In return for their assist in my hour of need, I embroidered flowers on their Levis as a gift and painted their toenails blue like mine. I don't recall any suggestion of putting embroidery thread and needle in your backpack. Although we parted ways as we left the ship that evening, we did run into each other once again on one of the Greek Islands. After hugs all around, we again headed off in different directions.
The French girl and I stayed in touch for a few years, so that another trip to France during my second marriage along with my husband, gave us a chance to meet once again. By this time I had learned a little French and she had mastered the English language, so we enjoyed our conversation over tea and French pastries.
I should explain that I had bought an open-ended round trip ticket on that first backpacking trek, without any other solid plans of where, when or how to travel or when to return back to the US. It was almost three months before I returned home and that was mainly because the clothes I had packed merely sufficed the summer months and it was now October.
I had to ditch my worn out sandals for a pair of Italian men's shoes. All the women's shoes were too wide for my feet. Apparently, all the narrow women's shoes are shipped to western countries. I bought a sweatshirt to keep warm, which was my last purchase of the trip. Believe it or not, I didn't catch a cold. As my mother would've said, "No sense, no feeling!"
My last Sunday in Greece was spent in Athens Central Park sketching. I was constantly being harassed by disgusting, rude men. I would generally ignore their advances until I'd finally had enough. I stood up and threatened one of these guys very loudly and sat down again to catch my breath and cool down. Just then I noticed a nice looking young man sitting on another bench nearby. He smiled and ambled over to me. In perfect English he said, "I think you handled the situation quite well." He was a tall blond wearing a dark suit and a turtle-neck sweater. "Would you like to take a cup of tea with me? There's a cafe just at the edge of the park." "Sure, why not."
I'll tell you why not. As I looked back, I remembered he hadn't looked me directly in my eyes during our conversations in the park or at the cafe. That should have been a warning to me. "Would you like to walk over to the marble steps just across the highway?" That was the ancient arena where sporting events were held a thousand years ago. "I would love to." We walked up several steps, actually seating for those events of history and sat facing the setting sun.
Now, I had vowed to never be out after dark, and told him "I really need to catch my bus back to the hostel." Surprise! He now looked directly into my eyes as he grabbed my long hair in one hand and with his other hand started to strangle me. He was certainly stronger than me. I remembered my mother saying not to try fighting in such an instance "because you'll only excite the guy more."
Calm as I could muster in this situation, I asked, "Niko (he had told me his name earlier) do you have a sister?" "Yes. And, I hate her!" and his grip on me tightened. Just then a Greek cop had climbed over the back of the bleachers and ran down past us and Niko loosened his grip on me. I knew it was no use to try to get the cop's attention. Back then, most Greeks didn't speak English and I knew that although Niko had lived in England for awhile, he spoke fluent Greek. I did manage to scoot down a couple of steps before he reached out to grab me again. "Niko, do you have a brother?" "No, why do you ask?" He looked very strange and released me long enough for me to continue on down the steps. I knew this guy was crazy.
Next he grabbed my left arm. "Let's go back into the park. It's dark now and no one will see us." True, it was now night time and we were crossing the highway back towards the park. People who were headed towards us were hastily heading home after work. I did mange to catch the eye of one man as he passed. I said, "See you back at the hostel in a few minutes." I don't think he understood what I said, but I think Niko thought he might be remembered as having been with me.
As we approached the first park entrance path I was able to edge on through the approaching crowd. However, at the second entrance he pulled me onto a nearby bench. I took the chance to try another ploy. "Niko, I'm expected back at the hostel. That man I spoke to will surely tell everyone he saw me with this good looking blond guy and that I'll be there soon. Why don't we plan to meet right here again just after dark tomorrow night?" He looked tired and confused. He agreed and as I hurried away he was still sitting there. His last words were "I have a pain in my head." He was holding his hands over his face the last time I saw him.
Now I panicked, after the fact. I got on the wrong bus, going the wrong way. A young college aged couple were sitting near by and understood what I was trying to explain to the bus driver. They came to my aid, got the bus to let me off, ran me through back streets to another bus line and put me on board: "The driver will let you off just two blocks from your hostel." And that he did.
I ran to the hostel, exhausted, and told the manager my story. He called the Police Station and relayed to me that they were looking for a man of that description who had molested a woman in the park and might be responsible for several who had been murdered there. They wanted me to keep the date the following night with Niko. I don't think so. I left the next morning, a day before my scheduled flight back to the US.
Of course, there's much more to the story of my escape, that night at the hostel after the phone call to the police, my frantic effort to get out of Greece, my flight stalled in New York, with only a few drachmas in my pocket. The important people that I met during the confusion and my final trip to Los Angeles. Stay tuned.
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