Locked in a Greek Bathroom: My Travel Mishap

We found ourselves on a tiny island in the Dodecanese at the airport preparing to fly to Athens. For those who have been at a small airport on a small Greek island you know how the system works.  First you check in your bags and then you chill.  You can wait inside or outside, either way there isn’t much to do, definitely no Starbucks or shopping here.

When it is close to boarding time, one by one each passenger moves through the single scanner into the even smaller departure room where once again you wait.  The departure room fills quickly. You are packed in like dolmades in a fry pan, as everyone has their carry on luggage too.  You hang out here until it’s time to board.  Boarding consists of walking across the tarmac to your airplane and then up the steps. No jet bridge, no bus, no tram. Surprisingly, this system works well and it is a very efficient process. 

On this particular day, we made it past security and were standing in the departure room along with everyone else waiting for their flight. Between people and luggage it was standing room only.  As I stood there, pondering my life’s choices, I started to regret that extra cup of coffee. I decided I’d better hit the restroom before the flight.

There were two toilets, one marked WC and another marked WC for wheelchairs. Since it was almost time to board, I didn’t have much time to dawdle.   Just when I decided to go, wouldn’t you know it, someone else hopped in the regular WC.  I waited and waited but they were taking forever. 

Time was running out, so I told Steve, “I’m just going to use the wheelchair-accessible bathroom.” He looked at me like I was about to commit a crime. “You’re going to do what?” he asked. I replied, “Yeah, I’m just going to slip in there since someone’s camping out in the regular one.” He raised his eyebrows. “Seriously?” I told him, “Yeah, it will be fine. No one will even notice. Besides, there’s no one in a wheel chair in here, right?” I made my way to the other side of the room, saying, “signomi, signomi,” as I squeezed between people and maneuvered around the bags.

So if you’ve ever been in a Greek water closet, you know the locks can be quite quirky. Some have hooks, others have bolts and a few even use a little key.  This one was just a simple turn lock under the doorknob. I twisted it to the right until I heard the click; no problem. 

The fiasco started when I was ready to leave.  I consider this simple logic. Since I turned the lock to the right to lock it, turning it left would unlock it, right? I felt it click, so I pushed this rectangle button on top of the doorknob to open the door, but couldn’t get it to budge! Panic started to rise. I turned the lock to the right again, felt that click, then back to the left, and clicked it again. Still, I ouldn’t push the button or twist the knob. This definitely not on my Greek Airport Bingo card.

Panic was rising quickly. I was freaked out I would miss this flight. I really didn’t want to yell because honestly, I didn’t want to bring attention to myself. So I knocked on the door, hoping someone would hear me and let me out. Nothing happened, the door did not magically open. 

I was frantic. How could this be happening to me, I tried turning the lock-right, left, right, left-but no luck. I tried the button too, but nothing happened. Maybe my arthritic hands just couldn’t manage the button. I even tried pressing it with my elbow because, hey, why not? Still nothing. My hands were getting sweaty, my heart was racing, and I was totally in panic mode.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, doom and gloom set in as I was sure this was the last flight of the day. After everyone boarded and the plane took off the staff would leave and I’d be left stuck in the bathroom all night, or even longer if there wasn’t a flight the next day. It was quite a dilemma. 

Determined to get out, I pounded loudly on the door and pushed my shoulder against it while pushing the doorknob button. Suddenly someone opened the door and I came tumbling out like something out of a comedy show. To be honest, I think I would’ve fallen flat on my face if some random person hadn’t grabbed my shoulder.

I took a quick look at the guy on my left who opened the door. He had this bored but kind of amused expression on his face, and I just said “Thanks.” He raised an eyebrow at me, and I started babbling, “We don’t have door knobs like this back in America,” and I think I saw him smirk a bit. I could practically hear him thinking, “Oh great, an American, that makes total sense.”

I took a quick glance around to see if anyone else saw the able-bodied person stuck in the accessible bathroom, and pretty much everyone saw me. Something tells me they were all trying to figure out who the village idiot was.

As I made my way back to Steve, once again squeezing through people and bags, apologizing as I went, it felt like all eyes were upon me. Most people looked amused as they glanced up from their phones. When I reached Steve, I thought I might get at least a bit of sympathy for my unbelievable adventure, but no, not so much. He just looked at me, shook his head while chuckling ,and gave me the look he gives me when I get in these messes. Then he said, “Well that went well.”

Cover photo is AI generated.

Follow Me on Instagram !!!

If you enjoyed reading Locked in a Greek Bathroom, and would like to read more of my short stories, you can click on the following links!!

Getting Lost in a Small Greek Village

Malakas in America-A Short Story

A Memorable Meal in Arachava, Greece

A Boat Trip in Corfu-A Short Story

A Hike Up and a Surprise Down Areopagus Hill-A Short Story

Ordering too much Greek Food-A Short Story

No Moussaka Today-A Short Story

First Taste of Greek Wine – A Short Story

What’s Souvlaki?- A Greek Travel Short Story

The Promendade- A Santorini, Greece Short Story

Greek Time-A Short Story