Corfu had been just what we needed. It was a break from all the history we’d immersed ourselves. And it was a chance to unwind, by the pool and on the boat. So we were a little sad when boarding the ferry to mainland Greece. The boat itself was a little classier than the job we’d caught from Bari to Corfu. At first we sat on deck but then chanced our hand at finding a seat in the lounge leaving behind some of our Contiki group. We managed to find some comfy seats even if we couldn’t lay down. The award for most random event went to this Greek guy who, for seemingly no reason, just collapsed. Maybe he’d drunk more than some of us the previous night. For us it was an uneventful trip. We drew nearer to port without drama. But when it came to jumping off we would do it ourselves. Katia, our Contiki Mamma, was somewhere else on the ship sorting out “a fight”. We didn’t see her for some time, even after loading the bags onto the coach, we were left wondering. Kimberly, from British Columbia, explained what had happened: the Contiki group on deck were trying to sleep and took objection to a Greek family playing some loud music. When they refused to turn it down Amy disappeared only to return with the captain in tow. His instructions; turn it down. And so they did apparently. For a little while at least. So when the music came back up you can only guess the trouble began. Hand gestures flew until Amy got a firm shove for her trouble. Ah the Greeks. They’re passionate if nothing else and they weren’t going to back down. By the time we docked, the captain had contacted the police and wanted Amy to file a report. Katia had to sort it out and .thankfully the matter was dropped and we could resume our trip.
The coach took us through some hilly, spectacular countryside, winding our way to the first stop. Katia had arranged for us to dine on some gyros, souvlaki in pita bred, for little more than a couple of euros plus drinks. Among the last off the bus we were even lucky enough to finish eating in time to get back on the coach with perhaps a minute to spare.
The next few hours were spent dozing as the countryside opened up. We followed the ocean at a distance. Between us and it fields, then houses. Before Athens we stopped to admire a feat in engineering which had only been a dream in Roman times. It was a canal, only 25 metres wide, and 6km long. Standing on a traffic bridge over it, we could see both ends. And the boats beneath us passing through. Big deal? You might write it off quickly. But before this ships had to travel hundreds of kilometres around.
Athens was a welcome sight to the group after a full day of travelling. Checking into our modern, clean hotel only built on the sense of relief. We even had time to clean up before heading to a nearby restaurant for one of our included dinners. It wasn’t a big walk either through the tourist markets to find it nestled among other restaurants. The food wasn’t remarkable but it did the trick and we certainly weren’t complaining. In fact we were just as keen to get back to the hotel and checkout the roof top terrace with the “amazing view”. All we needed was a bottle of wine to make it an event so we found a local drop and made our way back. Between about six of us we managed to stay on the right track, too.
On the top floor of our hotel, we walked out of the lift and onto the terrace. What a view. All lit up to the north was the Acropolis, standing strong on a rocky outcrop as its designers intended some 2000 years ago.
In vain we snapped away but even with our SLRs couldn’t get the best pictures - perhaps with a tripod and a few thousand dollars worth of lens - really we were just playing around. Wisely, we decided to sit back, sip the wine and enjoy the company.
We listened in shock and delight. Paul told us how he was robbed in his sleep on a train in Italy 10 years back. And Clinton let it slip he would propose to Mai in Venice. But quickly added we should still meet up seeing as we’d be there at the same time, though he couldn‘t share a gondola ride as Alysia had suggested. I kinda guessed he had something planned. We were content knowing we could celebrate with them. But now it was time for bed. We had to be sure to keep mum.
Sam (August 25)
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