Written on the back of every staff members t-shirts are the 10 biggest lies of the Pink Palace. As it turned out most of these where very true and some where exactly spot on.
Similar to spring break in Mexico our time mainly consisted of relaxing on the beach, ripping up the island by four wheeler or partying hard every night with mostly fellow Canadians. There where a few Americans and a few Aussies but Canada was by far the largest represented nation. Literally there where people from Vancouver to New Brunswick and even three girls from the North West Territories.
Our favourite daytime activity was exploring the island by motorized vehicle. Our first full day we rented scooters, a slightly cheaper option, but as it turned out not as fun as a four wheeler. In addition, after Joel somehow managed to loose traction of his front wheel in a corner decided they where not their favourite motorized vehicle. Don't worry Joel's quick reflex's and motorcycle training saved him on this one. A little skin on the leg (from the scooter not the road), some rubber from the bottom of his shoe and a small piece of ego where all that where lost. A few days later we decided we wanted to go off roading so we rented 4 wheelers. As it turned out, we hit the road with a former financial planner from Florida. After 10 years in corporate America he quit his job and has been in Europe for the 3 months since, a nice guy. Four wheeling was cool because you could go through the olive groves and climb to the top of the mountains much easier. The last day we rented four wheelers again (this time only 10 euros for the day) with some recent grads from Queens and managed to find some sand dunes to rip up.
The way the Pink Palace works is everyone does their respective day time activities weather it be four wheeling, hanging out on the beach, kyaking or just recovering and then at night everyone sits down for a 3 course dinner (included in the price) at 8:45. Happy hours from from 6-11. After dinner the palladium (the building we have dinner in) turns into a club. There where not enough people when we where there to get this place to crazy so 3 out of the 7 nights they organized a flip cup tournament (ask your children if you are not sure what this game is). Team A as we where called went undefeated in all 3 tournaments. Our team consisted of 3 guys that just graduated from Queens, Scott, Joel and 2 Aussie girls that where traveling. Generally after midnightish they closed down the palladium and everyone walked up the hill to the smaller bar in the main building. This bar never closes. Up there anything can happen. Killer kings (once again ask your kids) was a game often played. Body shots where also something you could see. Having a smaller crowd had its advantages at times. On various occasions Dr.George (the guy running the place who actually worked at Grand River hospital for a few years) would be up at the bar and this generally meant free ouzo. The bar tenders where great and everyone was there for a good time.
Saturday was the day everyone hyped about. We actually extended our stay 2 extra nights just so we could be there for it. The Pink Palace is known for its toga parties and the booze cruise, both of which happened on Saturday. The booze cruise is something that had tried to be organized all week but never exceeded the critical mass of having over 20 people, until Saturday. Having to sign up by 11 am was a little bit difficult.
The cruise started at noon when all 30+ of us piled on an old fishing boat painted pink and basically turned into a bar with a big stereo. Our first stop was cliff diving off a 45 foot cliff in the middle of the sea. Everyone was encouraged to jump and if you did it naked you got some free beers. Luckily (or sadly) everyone kept their clothes on for this event. Next the driver drove the boat into a bat cave where we all jumped in and swam into the darkness. Our last stop was at a small secluded beach where we all enjoyed the sun for an hour or 2. With the stereo pumping, the sun shining and the booze flowing a good time was had by all.
After the booze cruise we decided that at this rate checking out by 9am the next day was not going to happen so we extended our stay by one more night. This also meant we could take the pink bus to Athens.
After some down time its was time for dinner and the toga party. For a 10 Euro deposit we each got a pink toga and a free drink. The toga party consisted of traditional Greek dancing followed by a plate being smashed over your head and some ouzo shots. And of course everyone was in pink togas. This party ended pretty late and the memories of this one are fairly fuzzy, especially for those that where on the booze cruise.
By the time Sunday came around we where ready to leave the Pink Palace. So a whole group of us boarded the overnight pink bus to Athens.
