Fast times in Greece, Croatia and at Sea

After 33hours on a ferry from Venice, which included two nights spent sleeping on the floor as we had the cheapest fare possible so it did not include a cabin, we arrived at the Greek port town of Patras. Unfortunately though I left my sea legs on the boat and within ten minutes of landing on Greek soil I managed to fall over carrying my huge backpack and three pieces of hand luggage with my forehead and nose breaking my fall. However, after a quick assessment by pharmacist Zara to ensure no concussion had been suffered and the fast raising bump on my head was iced, we found the bus terminal and were on the road to Athens. Our two days in the hectic, hot and slightly dirty city were spent seeing most of the ancient sites including the Acropolis, Parthenon, Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and generally just wandering around and enjoying our first taste of Greece. Like most tourists we also couldn't resist the lure of all the excellent hawkers selling everything from fake brand name bags to glasses and we all purchased a glorious pair of faux Ray-Bans.

After two days it was time to swap from big city to island living and we caught another ferry, though this one was only a nice short three hour journey, to the Greek island of Paros. For four days we achieved little more than chilling at glorious crystal-clear water beaches, wandering around the quaint town centre and enjoying cocktails and Greek treats. The only hitch in our wonderful island holiday away from our holiday was the accommodation; although cheap our campsite was extremely basic and lets just say that after four nights sharing a small pop tent and sleeping on thin yoga mats we were glad it was the only time in our trip that we would be camping.

From Paros it was back to Athens for one night before beginning a rather long and arduous journey to Croatia...two hours by bus back to Patras (this time I managed to make it onto the ferry without falling over!), a full day and night on a ferry to Italy (again spent sleeping on the floor), one day and night spent in Ancona - an absolute hole of a port city in Italy, another ferry of one more night spent sleeping on the floor and then we finally arrive in Croatia! After waiting a few more hours in our arrival port city of Split we finally boarded one last ferry for a short one hour trip to our final island destination of Hvar. Although long and tiring this journey could not have been more worth it as Hvar was incredibly beautiful. Like Greece we just spent our three days beaching and chilling during the day and at night experiencing the great nightlife Hvar had to offer. Our accommodation added to our Hvar experience instead of impairing it like Paros, as we had a great room at a hostel where Ive, the Croatian owner, was extremely tall and skinny and wore the worlds shortest and most brightly coloured shorts. He also regularly joined us on the deck whilst we were enjoying a quiet drink to share tales of his latest eye-infection - truly hilarious and one of our favourite characters of the trip so far!

From Hvar it was back to Split for one night to await our return ferry to the awful Ancona (honestly please never go there unless absolutely necessary!!). After two weeks on our own and of lengthy trips at sea, sleeping on floors and having to carry our packs for long durations we were all rather relieved to be once again joining the Busabout network and after one night in Ancona heading onwards to Rome!

---

---

---