Day 12 - Patras/Ferry

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This was the beginning of a two-day adventure that I just completed.

Sidenote: I lost the camera cable, so I'll have to find another way to upload the photos (maybe someone around the hostel can help... I'll check tomorrow).

Day 12 started out in Athens. I crawled out of bed in the hostel, still groggy and fighting off the cold. Also, the guy from Brazil was coughing all not... sounded pretty bad and so I tried to stay away from him.

The girl in the room (mixed dorm - him, her, and me) was from D.C. We caught the bus to the train station at about 7:40 am. I tried to catch an early train to Patras, but missed it, so I went to a cafe and got breakfast. Not too eventful.

The train to Patras follows one coast of the other pretty much the whole way (it runs east to west). And, also, most of the way there are mountains... some still with snow. Lots of orange, lemon, and olive farms. The terrain was similar to that in Athens - rocky with low foliage/brush. The ocean was beautiful.

Mini-tangent: All the way the cigarette smoke was killing me. The Greeks (and all of Eastern Europe) have a serious problem and need to find the 21st century health standards. They just don't get (or maybe care) that it really bothers some people and is invasive. With my cold, I think I have been more sensitive to it than usual... Thank God the U.S. (and Western Europe) have made so many advances in getting out of public places and making people aware of how harmful it is...

At any rate, I made it to Patras about 2 am... wandered around and found the Superfast Ferry (www.superfast.com) office and reserved my ticket (in addition to paying about 16 Euros in taxes and a fuel charge).

Then I walked a little ways and found a walkway/park along the coast. Greece is in full springtime -- the grass is green, flowers are out, etc. Also, it seems like it is the making-out season. The Greeks and Serbs aren't bashful about that in parks. They even seem to be evenly spaced... like they have their territory. But, at least they seem to be enjoying themselves in the beautiful weather.

The ferry was amazing. I was thinking like some smallish, uncomfortable (yet fast) ship. Instead, it was like a cruisliner, except that over half of the ship is reserved for cars and transport trucks.

The passenger area had a bar, mini-disco, mini-casino, Internet computers, a shop, and a restaurant. There is also a pool and hot-tub up top, but they aren't yet open (too cold). Lots of deck space on a few different levels.

I was staying in the dormitories, which were six beds to a tiny room... and about six rooms (so, about 36 beds). Well, there were three of us... a guy from Japan and a strange, old guy that looked kind of Danish and wondered around the deck with binoculars. The guy from Japan had just quit his job in Canada and was moving back to Japan... the next day I think I saw a purse when he was packing his stuff, and he did kind of act effeminate... but, I did accidentally leave Duckie and Paddington in one of the common areas, and he brought them to me.

I played 5 euros at the casino... video poker, slots, and roulette... didn't take long to lose it all. Didn't really expect otherwise.

Had some salmon and wine and then went to bed. I was not feeling well, at all. I took in a lot of sun walking around Patras, and with the cold and cigarette smoke (almost all of the common areas on the ferry), I had a headache and just felt out of it. Tossed and turned for probably 45 minutes before finally dosing off...

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Photos

Greek Countryside - 2
The train from Athens to Patras follows the north shoreline most of the way... Greek mountains on the south side.

Comments

[Augusta]

Bummer
Bummer, dude.