Where Has Everyone Gone??

Cruising the Greek Islands right now reminds me of my family’s arrival in Connecticut in 1969.

My father had just taken a new job with GTE and we arrived from California in the middle of the week just following Labor Day.  It was hot and we were all excited to be staying at a local Holiday Inn with a swimming pool!!

Immediately after checking in, we changed into our bathing suits and my mother took us down to the pool.  We were in for our first lesson regarding “Life on the East Coast”, and a huge disappointment.  The Pool was empty!!!

What??  It turns out that on the East Coast things change after Labor Day.  Not only can you not wear white after Labor Day, but apparently Summer is officially declared over and hotels drain their pools!!!

Here in the Greek Islands, there must be similar “rules”.  I’ve know that Europeans traditionally take vacations in August, but we have been surprised at just how quickly and dramatically things changed right after August 31st.  The weather has not changed much other than perhaps getting better.  Daytime temps are now low 80s instead of low 90s.  Water temps still in the high 70s.  Clear skies.  Perfect!!  And yet, beginning the week of Sept 1st there was a dramatic reduction in the number of tourists everywhere, and the numbers continue to plummet with each passing week.  Businesses now are starting to close for winter, and there are no more outdoor concerts on the city squares at night, reservations are not needed for restaurants, the beach clubs are empty, and the crowds wandering city streets are gone.

Its nice not having to fight the crowds, but some of the vibrancy of these locations is gone.

I guess we didn’t get the memo!!