The Dream of all dreams
Trip Start
Aug 21, 2008
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24
32
Trip End
Nov 18, 2008
Patras, Peloponnese, Greece
Saturday, October 25, 2008
After Croatia, we took a ferry from Split to Ancona, Italy.
Excerpt from Scooter: Well... Our original plan to see Europe included Italy from top to bottom. However, as we snaked through Austria, Hungary, and Croatia, our plan to extensively see both Greece and Italy became less and less realistic, given the fact that we had to be back in Germany in early Nov. to catch our flight to Israel. So in what could be our best decision or regret we decided to skip most of Italy, (we both have already seen a bit of it) and make it to Greece to island hop and relax through the next week and a half. So far its been a great decision, but I will let Laura elaborate on that story.
So from Ancona, we took a nearly 24 hour ferry to Patra, the port city on the Peloponnese island. The ferry reminded us a bit of the cruise ship we took on our honeymoon, just at a much smaller scale. There were decks with cabins, two or three eating places, a gift shop, casino and pools on the top deck. We were originally assigned to the "top deck", being the cheapest option on the ship, however when we found out there weren't actual seats on the top deck, just floor space under a flimsy canopy, we hightailed it back inside and found some unoccupied seats. We had some fun making forts among the seats for us to sleep in before finally staking out a place on the floor along with everyone else.
After arriving in Patra in the afternoon, we quickly found out that there was only one youth hostel in the town and went to check it out. I suppose this hostel felt that since it had a monopoly on the hostel business, it could be as disgusting as it wanted. Thank goodness we requested to see the room before committing to stay there because the sheets were stained and the bunk beds were flimsy, rust-stained metal with cobwebs hanging from them. No thank you. We walked out with the landlady just shaking her head like she knew we'd be back eventually.
Unfortunately, every other hotel or pension (guesthouse) cost about twice as much as that nasty hostel, but we were willing to make the sacrifice. Down a couple of streets we found a decent hotel and found safe haven in it. By this time it was late evening and we headed out to find dinner and to scout out a place to do laundry the next day.
Another excerpt from Scooter: As you may have gathered from what Laura wrote, Patra is not exactly a tourist destination, but a necessary entry point into Greece from Italy. We had to stay one night in Patra to get to Athens the next day. (almost all public transportation in Greece excluding the ferries are striking) While in Patra however we observed an immigration crisis up close and personal. The actual port of Patra is surrounded by high fences and barb wire. But once you exit the port to get to the city you have to walk along the fence line for about 1/2 a kilometer. What we saw along that narrow strip was incredible. Immigrants stow-away on ships coming from Turkey, Afghanistan, Palestine, and all across the Middle East and Africa. Then in large groups they climb the fence line to finally get into Greece. Greek police officers and immigration officials vigorously patrol the kilometer or so of border line, with little or no success. Everywhere you here sirens and see immigrants scaling the fences.
We saw right in front of our eyes a truck come out of the port and past the security checkpoints only to park on the street, open the back of the truck and let a flood of immigrants out. All through out the city there are groups of immigrants in the streets and parks. The police officers chase them down and arrest them. (also what we saw with our own eyes) We spoke with a local that worked at a detention center on a Greek Island. She said the come in droves and are often brutally treated by immigration officials and police. If successful they try to them board ships going to Italy to make it to the rest of mainland Europe. Shocking to say the least, and so similar to our immigration issues.
The next day we were at the laundrymat when it opened and dropped off our several weeks worth of dirty clothes with the really nice lady. We set out in search of an internet cafe and coffee when we noticed streets being blocked off and several policemen lining the sidewalks. Then we heard loud chanting and drums being beaten before we actually saw the mobs of people coming towards us. There were three large groups of people protesting in the streets. After asking around about what they were protesting, we heard several explanations. The groups were representing three different political factions: the Communists, the Socialists, and the Extreme Liberals, and they were protesting work pensions and teacher salaries among other things. To be honest, Scooter and I had a sick desire to see a skirmish or two, but the groups were just yelling chants back and forth and holding their signs and flags high. No blood shed.
As we walked around Patra, really a lovely place when you stay in the right neighborhood, I recalled how Paul had once been in Greece and was disgusted with what he saw there. You can't help but notice how much porn is being sold and passed around in high amounts in Patra, and later we saw the same thing in Athens. It was really disturbing how men will just come up to people sitting in outside cafes selling porn dvds. The whole time I was in Patra, I wondered what Paul would think of the place now. Thankfully once we got to the islands we were free from that.
We broke away from the crowds and spent some time catching up on the internet downloading our pictures to clear up our memory cards and waiting for our clothes to be ready. In the evening we boarded a train to Athens.
