Greece is a great choice for your first holiday abroad without the parents! Good weather is almost guaranteed and the bigger resorts barely sleep – which means you can keep going until daybreak! However, you need to get some sleep somewhere along the way; if you’re tired and a little light headed from a night of partying, that can equal a problem later in the day. Whatever type of holiday you like – get some suitable travel insurance sorted. It is so worth it – as I can illustrate!
Slip Sliding On Rhodes
Visiting Rhodes for the first time was exhilarating – I was ready for new experiences and sights. I’d decided to book myself a moped. I knew how to ride a bicycle – it couldn’t be difficult to upgrade! It’s a basic piece of machinery, with a key ignition; you speed up and slow down and stop using the handles. I had 10 minutes practice in a yard at the back of the Moped Hire Office, signed my life away and then went straight out onto a main road. At the time, holidaymakers were not even offered the use of a crash helmet. The insanity of it didn’t strike me then, but in your early 20’s you feel immortal – nothing can stop you having a good time!
The roads had pot holes everywhere, the car drivers were aggressive and the road signs were lacking but that didn’t put me off. On day two of my bike hire, I took the main road up from Paradisi in search of greenery. I didn’t make it. After 20 minutes of nail biting turns, I turned a steep corner and felt the moped slide away from me – I gripped the handle bars, but turned them the wrong way – I was going faster! I hit the side of a concrete drainage pipe, was catapulted over the handle bars, landing at speed on the rock strewn road. The bike crashed to a standstill. Sharp stones and skin don’t usually go well together and I was a mass of deep grazes. I was in shock, miles away from base and I didn’t have a phone. What a mess – I was too stunned to cry.
A white van drove past me and then slowed, rolling back to where me and the now crumpled bike. Two angels (as they transpired to be) got out. The driver and his mate sat with me till I had calmed down, used their first aid materials to clean out the worst of my cuts. They put the sorry-looking bike in the back of the van, and then took me down to the town Medical Centre. It took over an hour to patch me up. Those lovely guys waited for me and dropped me off at my hotel. They had offered to return the bike back to the Moped Rental office – and I felt I had no choice, I certainly couldn’t take it. I wondered if it would get there – I didn’t know these people. I contacted the office from my hotel room in the morning and yes, the bike was there and yes, my insurance premium had covered the damage. Those guys wanted nothing for their trouble and they spent half a day helping a complete stranger. They were so kind and generous – I have never forgotten them. I have also never hired another moped on subsequent trips to Greece – there is no point pushing your luck!
