Mamma Mia! lovers , the successful film starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, have the apotheotic ending of the first part etched in their memory, when in the middle of the celebration of Sophie and Sky’s wedding a fountain of water emerges forcefully from the ground that leaves everyone soaked, which becomes a new source of joy to the rhythm of the legendary song by Abba that gives its name to the film.
Fifteen years after its premiere, Mamma Mia! has become one of the great attractions of the two Greek islands where the first part was filmed: Skiathos and Skópelos, the two Sporades most affected these days by the scourge of the storm Daniel, which has turned the search for emblematic locations into an adventure also like a movie. And also passed through water.
For the tourists who traveled to Skiathos on Monday night via Athens – among whom is the one who writes with his two daughters – things already started badly. Although the forecasts only indicated rain for the next day, the storm was already worsening when the small plane covering the regional flight was forced to perform a go around on the first landing attempt, an escape maneuver that barely occurs in one of the every thousand commercial flights. From there, the most unexpected and least comforting experience.
The incessant rain failed to stop the bulk of tourists, mostly British and Italian, on Tuesday, the day Dana hit the region hardest. Until the water that came down from the steep slopes of the island, fortunately not devastated by the flames, completely flooded the center of the main city, also called Skiathos.
The main street, Aléxandros Papadiamantis – in honor of the island’s native writer – became a large avenue of water that washed away the furniture from the terraces, containers and even the ice cream freezers that it found in its path. Both there and in the adjacent streets, the water level rose more than a meter. Managing to leave restaurants and stores while the water was still knee-deep before the water entered the premises went from being reckless to a good decision.
Despite the circumstances, a ferry still left that morning for Skopelos, although those who took it were forced to put on their life jackets and make an emergency disembarkation again in Skiathos, when the Greek Government prohibited all types of movements in the prefecture of Magnesia.
Alarms began to ring on all mobile phones with instructions to stay in a safe place and not move from there until further orders. Alarms that were repeated day and night reminding us of the seriousness of the situation. The slippers for walking safely along the idyllic rocky beaches and the sarongs for sunbathing became the best attire to escape the floods and combat the cold that soon accompanied the storm.
The testimonies coming from Skopelos were not more encouraging: the island, which can only be reached by boat, was completely isolated on Tuesday and Wednesday. The storm devastated its paradisiacal beaches, one of its main attractions and where several scenes of the film were filmed.
The church of Agios Ioannis, already known as Mamma Mia Church, was not spared from the inclement weather either, since rockfalls on the small promontory where it stands made access impossible when the storm subsided.
In Skiathos, the panorama in the truces granted by the Dana was also bleak: muddy streets with a good part of the cobblestones lifted and shops and restaurants devastated by water and mud. Like the central summer cinema where Mamma Mia! is shown every day. , turned into a mud.
Although the main concern of both locals and visitors soon became getting bottled water after the widespread outage of running water and finding out about the situation beyond mobile alerts, since Internet access and even the television signal also were affected.
Following in the footsteps of Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth or Amanda Seyfried, numerous tourists trapped on the island were forced to wander in search of accommodation in the midst of the catastrophe. And with a high level of occupancy and many establishments affected by the storm, it was not easy. The image of couples of tourists in flip flops and suitcases on their heads in the rain was the image that left what should have been an idyllic trip. Soaked and, unlike the protagonists of the film, without anything to celebrate.
The friendly face of misfortune, despite the fact that the visitors without their dream vacations were not comparable with those of those whose properties and businesses were affected, was the proverbial solidarity and hospitality of the locals. As kind and helpful as those who help the protagonists of Mamma Mia! to live your Greek adventure.
