Sifnos - Athens - Ferndale

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Off to Pireaus/Athens today. Lazy morning packing up and then down to the Konaki Cafe for breakfast. Another awesome omelet, cappuccino and greek yoghurt with fruit around 9:45am. Finished the blog for Sifnos and then about 10:15 our taxi driver arrived!! WHAT??? we said 11. He comes up and ask if he can come back between 11:15 & 11:30 as he had another fare. We assured him that we were fine with that and he took off. Maria came and collected the key and we said our goodbyes. After a bit Popi came out with a bag full of rolls & bread. She told us it was for our trip…so we wouldn't be hungry. One loaf had orange and vanilla in it and the rolls had anise. Trev isn't a fan of licorice so we shall see. George is back at 11:30 so we say our goodbyes to the cafe staff. George is a Greek maniac taxi driver. He teased me about always typing on the computer. It does take a bit of time to type out thoughts, impressions and of course opinions!! Oh no there is a scooter wanting to come out of a side road. George hits the horn but the scooter takes off anyway!! Turns out it is Spiros & Tabini. Spiros has a huge grin on his face making George slow down. They holler back and forth at each other and then George takes off. We follow a motorcycle into Kamares and George tells us that the rider was crazy. He loves Hitler!! So he drives up on his left, hollers out the window and then gives the guy a Hitler salute! Chuckling loudly George says again,, the guy is crazy. We arrive at the port about 11:50. Our ferry is to depart at 12:30…well that time comes and goes, no ferry but a slow boat to china type ferry arrives and takes forever to unload and load. That ferry was 30 minutes late. Our boat arrives and has to wait in a holding pattern until the other leaves the dock. There is only 1 spot for docking. These high speed guys don't waste anytime getting the boat in position. We get loaded and are off in very short order.

Very efficient taxi process at the port. We were off in the taxi within 5 min. He took us directly to the apartment that was only about 15 minutes away. Very dirty, graffiti covered, old, falling apart area of town around the port. Glad our apartment was NOT there!! New building, very modern and secure. Fenia saw the taxi arrive and met us at the door. Gave us instructions, keys, offered to book our taxi to the airport on Monday and then left us to it. We enjoyed the a/c for a bit waiting for the temp to cool down and then grab the map and took off walking! IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. Well sort of, it was the right direction for the super market she told us about but the wrong direction for the Acropolis. We were checking the map trying to figure out where we were when an older gent asked us if we were looking for the super market. We said yes, he motion to follow him. Very chatty bloke and when we got to the store we let him know we weren't ready to buy anything then but were going to the Acropolis. This is when he told us we were going the wrong way. Follow me. Turns out he just lives up the street from us. He offered to lead us but we told him we were fine. He loves America! We found the SMILE restaurant that the map say was an amazing restaurant and had dinner. Connie, our server, was a hoot. She told us that Greece would fold up and die without American, Canadian & Australian tourists. It takes 3 German tourists to spend the same amount as 1 American!! Fun addition to the meal was taking colored markers and embellishing a white stone. These stones are collected on the window ledge, in columns etc. She went and hunted for a stone from a couple that had just left who were from British Columbia. She was thrilled that our stone had 3 flags. A first she said. She brought us this clear liquid in a shot glass and I though oh no!! Ouzo ….blech. No she said it is Mastica - it is a liquid from the Mastic tree that they distill. Not much better!! Fed and fortified we were ready for the trek to the Acropolis that is said to be gorgeous in the evening. About a 10 minute walk and we were there. Pretty amazing and so impressive with all the lights shining on it. Plan to do the tour tomorrow morning. Wander the streets sort of lost but found a great shopping area, streets full of tables with people eating dinner and a very friendly lively environment. Our navigational noses were heading us in the right direction this time and we made our way back to the apartment.

Up early to beat the heat and the crowds at the Acropolis. Found a spot to have yoghurt & fruit with cappuccino and then the trek. Have to say we are a little off our walking best seeing as we have been laying at the beaches for 2 weeks!!! We don't know how to stroll or saunter like the Europeans, especially the Greeks & Italians. Full steam ahead and get there..places to go, things to see, food to eat! The Acropolis is amazing. So hard to believe that these massive structures was built by hand without cranes etc. Wandered around the area for awhile and then headed to Plaka….the old Athens with all the shops, restaurants and interesting side streets. SCORE…found a pastry shop and my pain au chocolat along with an iced cappuccino. More walking and just absorbing this city and back to the apartment to cool off and rest.

Out for our final wander around the Plaka district. Found some last minute goodies and had a wonderful meal out on the street at Yappa Tabepna. Trev had a baked lamb dish that he said was incredible…lamb and I are not gastronomic best friends. I had beef that was fork tender along with roasted potatoes. Tzatziki of course along with Greek salad rounded out the meal. Strolled home and stopped for our final Gelato and it was delish.

Taxi was waiting for us at 8:30am when we came down and it took bout 35 minutes to get to the airport. US was on heightened alert because of terrorist chatter and had closed 24 embassies in the middle east. Security was pretty tight right from the check in counter through the boarding gate. LONG uneventful flight from Athens to Philidelphia (11h15m) waited 2 hours 6 hours to Seattle waited 2 hours and why no end our trip with ONE MORE BIT OF DRAMA!! Alaska Airlines and SeaTac computer systems were down! We had no boarding pass as the ticket agent in Athens was unable to print them. Your man at the desk says that if we were not "checked in" on the flight prior to an hour ago we WILL NOT be able to get on the plane to Bellingham as they had to refer to manual lists an our name would not be on it. Hard to believe that we might not get home.....We decided to go for a coffee and snack and come back to check on the "list". WE ARE ON THE LIST!!! We can relax now as we know we will make it to Bellingham. Flight left about 5 min late and Julie LaVergne picked us up. Bless her heart as it was 12:30am before we left the airport.

As I look back at these 6 weeks there a few observations that come to mind. We have soooooooo much room in North America. Even our crowded densely populated cities still have way more room than the big cities of Europe. We are fortunate the rest of the world learns English!!! We had no trouble communicating at all. Everyone seems to speak a bit of English…don't get me wrong lots don't understand it well and many of the merchants and restauranteurs know canned phrases and not much else. Tourists from other countries communicate using their broken English with the locals speaking in broken English. Gas is about 1.88Euros per litre which is $7.10US per gallon so puts our sub $4.00 into perspective!!!! Ouch.

Human interaction is the same everywhere. Human nature is consistent in every country. Kids whine/pout the same no matter what language they are doing it in, people smile for the same reasons, affection is demonstrated the same way, vocal tones and nuances portray the same feelings and body language communicates the same way. Families play together on the beach and in the parks and so many of the games are the same. It really is amazing that we can travel and communicate with our fellow man and use so few words but by using all of our other methods of communication we can be heard and understood! We loved experiencing the different cultures, food and daily life of each country we went to. We met wonderful people at each stop, had lots of laughs and fun with them and feel enriched by this experience. There is no question we both will appreciate the "comforts" of home more than ever before. Airbnb and VRBO worked really well and each apartment we stayed in was great.

Definitely a trip we will remember for the rest of our lives. Who knows were the next trip will take us....Australia/New Zealand, South America, Africa, Middle East, Asia or maybe just out to the garden to have a cup of home roasted coffee and enjoy the fragrance and foliage.

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Photos

Kamares Ferry Dock
Passenger waiting area

Kamares Ferry Dock
A peep hole to check and see if your ferry has arrived. Ours is the one on the right

Athens Port
Mass of people walk off the ferry ahead of the cars

Athens Apartment
LOVE it!! fabulous location about 10 minute walk to the Acropolis and Plaka district

Athens Street Scene
Our self appointed tour guide. Neither Trev nor I could understand his name!

Athens Street Scene
SMILE restaurant rock art.

Athens Street Scene
Canadian, Irish & American flags

Athens Street Scene
our rock is in the lower right hand corner

Athens Street Scene
Greek donuts - Loukoumades! Delicious

Athens Street Scene
Connie our server

Athens Evening Scene
Acropolis

Athens Evening Scene
Acropolis

Athens Evening Scene
Water fountain

Athens Evening Scene
Acropolis

Athens Evening Scene
Aropolis

Athens Evening Scene
Acropolis

Athens Evening Scene
Athen's skyline