Night Stalker

One of the scariest experiences I’ve had while traveling abroad was in the Greek Islands. I’d been in Greece about 9 days, where I’d traveled a bit on the mainland, around Athens, and to the island of Mykonos, before parting ways with my Australian friends and setting off alone.

Before heading to Santorini and later on to Crete, I decided to spend a few days on the small island, Ios. Ios was said to have a great nightlight with numerous small bars dotting the city center – perfect for bar hopping!

I booked a room near the port at this tiny bed and breakfast run by an old grandmother. It was a bit of a walk up to the city center, which sat high atop a hill, but the room had an ocean view, was VERY clean and nice, and only cost $20 USD a night!!! I half considered extending not only my stay, but the entire vacation!

Most of the evenings I was so zonked from swimming and exploring all day, I didn’t get out to see the town at night, but on my last night in Ios, I decided enough was enough! After all, I’d come here for the nightlife!!

After a quick dinner with my new Greek gran, I headed into the city. Before I left, she chastised me for wearing wedge heels on the cobblestone – said I was going to break my ankle! In retrospect, I should have listened.

The first bar I stopped at I couldn’t believe my luck! Not only were they playing a US college football game, but it was my college to boot! Go Green! I hadn’t seen any American football games this year, since I’d been in Europe since August, so it was really exciting to finally see my team play!

Me being me, I got really into the game, and barely noticed a man sidle up next to me. It wasn’t until half-time I realized that instead of choosing one of the numerous empty seats elsewhere in the bar, he chose the one right next to me.

During the second half, he tried to talk to me a bit, but to be honest, I wasn’t interested. I was polite, but quickly left after the game was over.

Walking just a couple streets over, I found a Jagermeister bar! Score! I’d never heard of such a thing! I went in and ordered a drink and as soon as the bartender delivers my cocktail, low and behold, my stranger walks into the bar. No big deal – I barely thought twice about it. After one drink though, the largely empty bar was a bit too boring so I headed to the next place.

The next bar I stopped at was WILD! They had jello shooters, a bull, flashing lights, and loud music. It was also definitely a lot more crowded than the last place, which is why it took me a bit to notice, hey! the stranger was at this bar too! At this point, I started finding it a bit odd. It didn’t help that he also was by himself, but unlike me, didn’t seem too interested in the fun or talking to people. Still – at this point I still wasn’t overly concerned. Its just coincidence!

At this point, I’m sure you know how this will go from the title. It took me another few bars to notice this guy was in fact following me. I caught him when I ducked into a store and saw him walk past, peering into the windows / doors of the bars across the street.

Its fine, I told myself! I lost him so now I’m fine to go about my own business! So I stopped at one final bar – an ice bar that I was really excited to visit from my earlier research about Ios. After grabbing just a quick drink, I decided it was time to make the long trek home. When I walked out of the bar though, who do I see waiting just outside the door, by himself looking like he was just waiting for someone to leave, but the stranger.

I immediately ran back into the bar, grabbed the first guy I could find and begged for help. I probably scared him half to death, but his group friends did the most amazing thing and set aside their night out to help me get home safely. They walked me not only out of the bar, but out of the city, keeping an eye out for the stalker / stranger the whole way. Once we parted ways, I literally ran the rest of the way home, wedge heels and all, only falling a few times.

Gran tsked me the next morning while she gave me band-aids for the cuts on my knees – reminding me why she said not to wear wedge heels..

Always listen to your Gran.

// Onward & Upward //

~ K