Greece
Trip Start
Jun 14, 2008
1
9
12
Trip End
Aug 22, 2008
Piraeus, Greece
Sunday, August 3, 2008
After waking up pretty late in Piraeus, Greece, I realized that for the first time in quite a while I had no plan or goal for this country. Sure, we'll be seeing the Acropolis in Athens, Greece with Jono Spring who is a friend from our first SAS voyage and happens to be vacationing here with family during the last two days of our stay, but I had no plans for the first two days. After researching the local sights, I figured the best place I could start the day was at the beach (we're in Greece, right!?). I sought out a local taxi driver that seemed young enough to know how to have a good time and that spoke decent English and explained that I wanted to go to the closest beach resort that offered wakeboarding. He knew what I was talking about right away and after a half hour drive to Varkiza, we arrived at Yabanaki Beach, home of wakeboarding, windsurfing lessons, and beds on the beach. The beach was absolutely beautiful, and because the water is so salty, I was able to put my hands behind my head and just float in the water for an hour to relax without actually sinking! Bobby and I rented a cabana chair and then I signed up for both a wakeboarding ride ($25 euro a half hour) and a windsurfing lesson ($35 euro an hour). The wakeboarding was a good time (think snowboarding on water), but it was over way too fast and I didn't really get a chance to try to get some air off the wakes. The windsurfing lesson on the other hand was amazing and certainly something I'll have to try to get into back home. Windsurfing, unlike when I tried kite surfing, involves a sail being attached to a surf board where you lift the sail and glide along the water in the opposite direction of the wind. It took me a good half hour to find my balance and the wind direction, but once I was going I had an absolute blast. I met a local named "Paskalis" who gave me some advice for areas to go out in the city as well, so everything turned out quite well for the first day. On the way back after walking the city, we took a metered taxi which turned out to be half the price of the taxi we had taken from the ships port, but I suppose I'll chalk that up to me being antsy about leaving the dock as soon as possible and being willing to pay a price for the right beach information.
Later that night, after a pre-gaming nap on the ship, a crowd of about 8 of us headed to a local shisha (hookah) bar in town, but it was closed (later we found out it was fully booked anyway) so we found a local club to dance at next to a carnival. We ordered a "pot of shots" and soon decided that we should take our new found energy to the best place that we could find, or rather that "I" could find, and that would be the bumper cars. There's nothing better than a bunch of DUI's on a carnival ride! My friend Anna had been chatting with the bartender the entire night, so after the club had closed, he and his friends drove us from Piraeus to Athens to show us some night life there. The convertible we were driving in was amazing, and I had a full view of the Acropolis as we sped by to his friends hookah bar in town that was owned by an Egyptian friend. I ended up getting back around 5am from a blast of a night. The next day, after sleeping until noon and then heading over with pat, Bobby, and Mariah for some free internet, I took the subway with Bobby to Athens to research a few travel agencies to find stuff for us to do with Jono the following day when he and his family fly in to Piraeus. The travel agency "Trekking Hellas" that I was searching for ended up not offering the tours I wanted, but we would at least be able to see the Acropolis with him and tour the city. I also finished planning out an adventure for Croatia while I was there, thanks to the power of cheap internet at the travel agency. The other option was to go bungy jumping at the Corinth Canal.
I woke up on the third day for breakfast and to grab some free internet, though I mainly wanted to confirm plans for Croatia and ensure that bungy jumping was still an option. As far as lackluster days go, this may have been one of them. In fact, this country may have (I should have just gone to an island and beached it). After staying in the previous night with a few friends, the three amigos (pat, Bobby and I) set out today but split ways as I went to the Isthmos-Corinth canal to attempt a bungy jump and they went to Aegena Island to relax. They wound up spending their time at a café so I didn't feel too bad about missing out on an island paradise, but my day wasn't much better. You'd think that a business that charges over $100 USD for their attraction would take a credit card! Unfortunately, when I arrived there I realized they didn't take Visa/Mastercard and I didn't have my ATM card with me to take out the extra cash needed. Instead of sulking too much, I hiked along the canal itself and then as I was about to board a bus back, I noticed a mini-water park about the size of "Water-Wizz" with a lazy river on the side, so I took advantage of it and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon before catching a ride home (it makes me miss 6 flags!). I was beat after a day in the sun so I immediately passed out on the bus back to Piraeus, though I suddenly woke up when the bus lurched and everyone got off. In my half slumber, I exited the bus and then as it took off, I realized people were still on it and I had been dropped off in Athens instead of Piraeus. I decided to walk around the city, went through some slums and took a lot of photos of cool graffiti street art, played a game on a street corner (name?) where the dealer tosses around 3 cards and you have to guess which of the three was your card, got a henna tattoo on my arm to cover up a sunburn, and then headed back to meet up with our friend Jono from the first voyage who happened to be in town. We met up with him and his family and then grabbed a few beers before making plans for the following day.
On our last day, after meeting up for an early brunch, we headed off to the Athens Olympic stadium from the 2004 summer games. We walked around and I must say, for being 4 years old this place is desolate. There was absolutely nobody there and the facilities seem to be an absolute waste of space for what I'm sure cost millions to build. The stadiums were fantastic and the pool was still functioning, but they were not in use and aside from the one security guard and five other tourists, the place was empty. We took the subway afterwards to the last place on my itinerary and that would be the Acropolis in Athens. The Acropolis or "High City" is a hill that overlooks the entire city and houses the Parthenon, the temple of Athena Nike, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It is a true testament to the Golden Age of Greece. It was easily over 100 degrees Fahrenheit today, so while the sights were wonderful, it was miserable to be traveling the city instead of relaxing by the beach like I did the first day. Oh well, the sights were breathtaking and I did enjoy my time in Greece, though a few more beach days would have been nice.
...off to our final port in Croatia!
