The Ios cough

We headed to Ios with the boys and Rach and Ainslie in tow, and after a little nap and some chats we arrived in iOS and followed the pack of Australians onto the bus to Francescos hostel. It took ages to check everyone in but we chilled at reception and enjoyed the amazing view overlooking the bay. Luckily the boys and us girls were staying in the same building, unluckily we were at the bottom of the hill- nice to cruise down, but literally a hike up! After some pool time, we headed off to Mojito bar to meet Ethan's friends, and conveniently bumped into some of ours, Rach and Ainslie, so despite two separate groups forming, everyone was happy, drunk and cheering as the clock struck 12 for Zoe's birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZOE! To kick off the celebrations we headed to the beach do Zoe's favourite activity (and mine), tanning!! I splurged on a birthday slice of watermelon and a block of milka for Zoe, and she looked happier than when she got her 70 x more expensive present for her 21st last year! After a relaxing beach day and a seafood feast for lunch it was cocktail time and we bar hopped from beach bar to beach bar, relaxing in daybeds, hammocks, pegolas and having some sheesha which put us all to sleep practically! A huge night was in order so after beautifying, we headed to our private rooftop for drinks and went out on the Ios town to some amazing clubs, which we continued to go to every single night following this, sad I know. 

First it was the free shot at the hostel bar, then we were sheperded down to the affiliated bar, Blue Note where 7 shots got you a free singlet, and very, very intoxicated. From here we headed to Coo Bar to get a dose of Mish's favourite r n b tunes, then to jäger bar, where sevens classic old tunes were revived and we danced until collapse. Typically, food had to be part of the nightly agenda so Porky's, the local gyros shop became our regular 4am stop before stumbling home to bed. Because tonight was a special occasion, we went all out and actually paid entry to the famous slammer bar, where you pay to do a shot and as soon as you have finished it, you get smacked on the head with any nearby inanimate object, in my case a mallet, in Zoe's, a skateboard. Don't ask me why we decided this would be a valuable investment of our quickly diminishing euros..

I wish I could say we did more in Ios, but realistically every day followed this very similar format. The star girls arrived the following day and immediately hopped on the bandwagon.  Wake up at 12, gyros at 1, pool or beach, free shot at the hostel, then blue note and jäger bar, plus a visit to porkies.  This became our daily routine, and despite the repetitiveness, i was loving life. Sun, food and great tunes every night- what more could a girl need? A few little things were mixed up, for example one day Eth and I ordered hot chips, and feeling too clever to ask, Ethan helped himself to the mayonnaise and proceeded to drizzle it over the entirety of our meal. Taste tests soon confirmed it was in fact white chocolate.  sauce for the crepes..  Instead of a gyros for lunch,  we sometimes visited the local restaurant, Fiesta and without fail managed to overindulge, and crawl back clutching at our bulging food babies. There was a beach party at far out one day, the 'Annual Australia Day Party'. As you can imagine, bogans, beers and bikinis were all out to play, and despite the ridiculously drunk crowd, it was a really fun (and messy) afternoon. 

All the partying, poor nutrition and horrendous sleep patterns led to contracting the highly contagious Ios cough. All day and all night the cough could be heard from any part of the island, and considering Steph was coughing in the tune of songs, it was safe to say the iOS cough got the best of all us. Considerably browner, fatter from the kebabs, and severely ill we all left Ios 5 nights later defeated, but still smiling after a week of non stop fun and wild antics. Ios, i will definitely be back, and this time armed with cough medicine