Greece

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Howdy Folks

Today is our last day in Greece so thought we should give you the low down on what we have been up to.

We had a great ferry crossing from Ancona, Italy to Patras, Greece. The seas were really calm (nothing like the Cook Strait) and we sat in the afternoon sun drinking beer, writing postcards and playing cards. Very relaxing and a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Roma.

Had a bit of a mission trying to find some accommodation for the night in Patras and found that door knocking works really well (i.e. you dont always need to book in advance on the Internet)! Walking through the streets we saw a gang of youths being chased by the cops. It was rather weird as the youths appeared to be enjoying themselves and the cops were hardly anxious to nab them. In fact one of the coppers was busy eating his lunch whilst chasing them in the patrol car! About an hour later (and still looking for accommodation) I heard a sickening thud and the sound of metal on tarmac as a motorbike come to a sliding halt next to me. Alysha was walking behind me and I was hoping that she had not been somehow caught up in it all. As it turns out it was the coppers who were again chasing one of the youths who must have run into the path of the motorcyclist causing him to crash. Our start to Greece was starting to look a bit shitty, especially after having a wicked ferry crossing.

The next day we decided to train down to Kalamata (home of the Kalamata olive we guessed) where we thought we should stay the night before carrying on to Athens by bus (the only option as the train lines are being rebuilt). After arriving and finding somewhere to stay for the night we returned to the train station to book our bus tickets, only to be told that the bus service no longer exists! As a result we would have to backtrack to Athens via Patras. The train ride was very long and slow, but we had the company of two other Kiwis (Craig and Liz) who we had met on the ferry crossing. A very cool couple from the Waikato (mum - Craig knows Uncle Barry and Aunty Amanda). Anyway they decided on the spur of the moment to head through to Athens also so that night we headed out for dinner in downtown Athens with the Acropolis nearby on the hill. Unfortunately we we were there for only one night, so hardly any sightseeing, though managed to see the aftermath of a dust up between some locals. A group of guys were running away from a cafe one with a bloodied ripped shirt and another guy outside the cafe holding his nose! Don't worry we are all safe and sound and compared to some of the stories from Craig and Liz our trip has been rather tame when it comes to the bad stuff.

From Athens we took the train to Thessaloniki in the north of Greece and after some long train rides we decided that 2 days RnR was in order. Lonely Planet rates Thessaloniki over Athens as a place to stay and we have really enjoyed our time here. The accommodation was rather simple and included the weirdest shower curtain I have ever seen. It sort of unfurled around the shower basin yet missed it completely so rather than keep the water in the shower it allowed it to drain onto the floor! It was in Thessaloniki that we had our first Gyros, and for those who dont know it is like a kebab stuffed with meat, chips and red onions. It tasted great but like the humble mince pie probably not something you should have on a regular basis, though it was a very cheap option for a meal.

This afternoon we are catching the night train to Belgrade and arrive the next morning at 5.00am! We are going to spend the day looking around Belgrade before we catch another train to Zagreb later in the day where we will stay for one night before heading down to Split for 2 days.

Will look to write another report for you all at the end of the Croatia mission.

Later
Kibby and Lysh

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Comments

[Margaret]

Small World
Hi guys.. Wow what a small world it is. cant go anywhere now without someone knowing someone. Seems a bit scary some of your escapades but no doubt you are enjoying the experience. Bet you are not thinking of us poor workers back in good old NZ. Enjoy!