Lovers of Mamma Mia! , the hit film starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, they have the apotheosis finale of the first part etched in their memory, when in the midst of Sophie and Sky’s wedding celebration, a fountain of water that leaves them all soaked, which becomes a new reason for joy to the rhythm of the legendary Abba song that gives the film its name.
Fifteen years after the premiere, Mamma mia! has become one of the great attractions of the two Greek islands where that first part was filmed: Skiathos and Skópelos, the two Sporades most affected these days by storm Daniel, which has turned the search for the emblematic locations into an adventure also from film. And also passed through water.
For the tourists who traveled to Skiathos on Monday night via Athens – including the writer with his two daughters – things started badly. Although the forecast only indicated rain for the next day, the storm was already growing when the small plane covering the regional flight was forced to make a go around on the first landing attempt, an escape maneuver that jobs happen on one out of every thousand commercial flights. From here, 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 swept away by the flames, completely flooded the center of the main city, also called Skiathos.
The main street, Aléxandros Papadiamantis – in honor of the native writer of the island -, became a great avenue of water that dragged the furniture of the terraces, containers and even ice cream freezers that he found in his step Both there and in the adjacent streets, the water level rose by more than a meter. Getting out of restaurants and shops when the water was still knee-deep before it entered the premises went from being imprudent to being a good decision.
Despite the circumstances, a ferry still left for Skopelos that morning, although those on it were forced to don life jackets and make an emergency landing again in Skiathos, when the Greek Government he prohibited all kinds of movements in the prefecture of Magnesia.
Alarms started ringing on all mobile phones with instructions to stay in a safe place and not to move from there until further notice. Alarms that were repeated day and night as they remembered the gravity of the situation. Pumps for safe walking on the idyllic rocky beaches and sarongs for sunbathing became the best attire to escape the floods and fight 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 the main attractions and where several scenes of the film were shot.
Nor was the church of Ágios Ioannis, already known as Mamma mia church, freed from the inclement weather, since rockfalls on the small promontory where it stands made access impossible when the storm went going to less
In Skiathos, the panorama during the truce granted by DANA was also bleak: muddy streets with much of the cobblestones lifted and shops and restaurants swept away by the water and mud. Like the central summer cinema where Mamma mia is shown every day! , turned into a mud.
Although the main concern, for both locals and visitors, was soon to get bottled water after the widespread cut off of running water and to inform themselves of the situation beyond mobile phone alerts, as access to the internet and even the TV signal were also affected.
Following in the footsteps of Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth or Amanda Seyfried, many 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 employment and many establishments affected by the storm it was not easy. The image of tourist couples in flip flops and suitcases over their heads in the rain was the image that left what should have been an idyllic trip. Soaked and, unlike the film’s protagonists, with nothing to celebrate.
The kind side of the misfortune, although visitors without their dream vacations were not comparable to those whose properties and businesses were affected, was the proverbial solidarity and hospitality of the locals. As friendly and helpful as those who help the protagonists of Mamma mia! to live your Greek adventure.
