Sunday the 15 was our day of leaving Santorini; though we wouldn't head out till that evening on an overnight ferry.
So that morning Marika took us into another travel agent (she doesn't issue ferry tickets) and we purchased tickets for the 4 of us on the overnight ferry - leaving 10:15pm and arriving in Pireaus at 7:25am the next morning. Tickets we EU$28 per adult - giving an indication of how a standard ticket is on these things. After a wander around a little hidden village (Marika was looking for uniqur photos) it was home and a lunch of huge pork chops which we cooked.
Then, while Grant played his last game of soccer with the village
boys, Maria, Zoe and I wandered the heights and by-ways of Pyrgos - our farewell to this strange land of enchanting whitewashed houses and contrasts.
For dinner we had pretty much the same meal as we had on the first night of arrival - Souvlaki from Mythos grill (just 50 metres up the hill from their house). Then it was time to say goodbye to Stavros who was off to a soccer dinner. This was particularly hard for Grant who had become very attached to his older 3rd cousin. Tears from Grant became a theme of the entire trip to Athens.
Then, before we knew it, it was time to head down to the port for the ferry. So one of Marika's
mini-buses arrived and down down we went along the winding port cliff-face in the dark. Marika had to leave us at the port as she had another transfer from the airport at the time of our departure. It was another tough farewell for us - we'd spent far less time with Marika than we would have liked due to her extreme work ethic and passion for doing the best job; but we felt very close to her and very sad.
The ferry boarding and seat finding was another of those experiences that made us feel dumb outsiders and out of rhythm with the Helenic way. There was the usual rush of people, trucks and cars to leave the newly arrived ferry, then an equally mad rush by those waiting to get on when it was our turn (trucks were loaded on first). So there we were in packed corridors and
stairways with stacks of luggage. It nearly killed Maria hauling her bag up 2 steep decks (very large cargo hull decks) to get to the passenger level. Then as people vanished off to their seats (or so we assumed), we stood around in bewilderment and a diminishing crowd till it was just us. Quadruple checking our tickets and the various signs over the passages from the central area we discoverd that we were in the smoking section (statistic: The % of Greeks that smoke is over double the EU average and it is found everywhere - restaurants, public etc.) up the back in airline like seats (whos arms could not be raised), and it was already filled with smoke. So, we made the bold move (so we thought) of going and sitting in the much smaller non-smoking section. A ferry like this is large; it has a bar, an all-night disco (with a very funky 70s style announcement that it would be running all night, so why not come dance the night away), a cafeteria, some sleeper cabins for the wealthier, and several decks.
Taking a stroll I noted people already lying on blankets under stairwells, talking and smoking in
corridors etc. I also noted that the cafeteria was not serving any food, lightly populated, and possessing green sofas on one side - as ideal a sleeping location as we could hope for in the circumstances. And thats how we spent the night - sporadically (kids slept well) sleeping in a brightly lit cafeteria with airline sleeping masks on and the throb and shudder of the huge ship engines both in our ears and our bones. In was a very surreal experience; particularly when I took a walk around 2am. And thats how we travelled from Santorini to Pireaus.
So that morning Marika took us into another travel agent (she doesn't issue ferry tickets) and we purchased tickets for the 4 of us on the overnight ferry - leaving 10:15pm and arriving in Pireaus at 7:25am the next morning. Tickets we EU$28 per adult - giving an indication of how a standard ticket is on these things. After a wander around a little hidden village (Marika was looking for uniqur photos) it was home and a lunch of huge pork chops which we cooked.
Then, while Grant played his last game of soccer with the village
boys, Maria, Zoe and I wandered the heights and by-ways of Pyrgos - our farewell to this strange land of enchanting whitewashed houses and contrasts.For dinner we had pretty much the same meal as we had on the first night of arrival - Souvlaki from Mythos grill (just 50 metres up the hill from their house). Then it was time to say goodbye to Stavros who was off to a soccer dinner. This was particularly hard for Grant who had become very attached to his older 3rd cousin. Tears from Grant became a theme of the entire trip to Athens.
Then, before we knew it, it was time to head down to the port for the ferry. So one of Marika's
mini-buses arrived and down down we went along the winding port cliff-face in the dark. Marika had to leave us at the port as she had another transfer from the airport at the time of our departure. It was another tough farewell for us - we'd spent far less time with Marika than we would have liked due to her extreme work ethic and passion for doing the best job; but we felt very close to her and very sad.The ferry boarding and seat finding was another of those experiences that made us feel dumb outsiders and out of rhythm with the Helenic way. There was the usual rush of people, trucks and cars to leave the newly arrived ferry, then an equally mad rush by those waiting to get on when it was our turn (trucks were loaded on first). So there we were in packed corridors and
stairways with stacks of luggage. It nearly killed Maria hauling her bag up 2 steep decks (very large cargo hull decks) to get to the passenger level. Then as people vanished off to their seats (or so we assumed), we stood around in bewilderment and a diminishing crowd till it was just us. Quadruple checking our tickets and the various signs over the passages from the central area we discoverd that we were in the smoking section (statistic: The % of Greeks that smoke is over double the EU average and it is found everywhere - restaurants, public etc.) up the back in airline like seats (whos arms could not be raised), and it was already filled with smoke. So, we made the bold move (so we thought) of going and sitting in the much smaller non-smoking section. A ferry like this is large; it has a bar, an all-night disco (with a very funky 70s style announcement that it would be running all night, so why not come dance the night away), a cafeteria, some sleeper cabins for the wealthier, and several decks.Taking a stroll I noted people already lying on blankets under stairwells, talking and smoking in
corridors etc. I also noted that the cafeteria was not serving any food, lightly populated, and possessing green sofas on one side - as ideal a sleeping location as we could hope for in the circumstances. And thats how we spent the night - sporadically (kids slept well) sleeping in a brightly lit cafeteria with airline sleeping masks on and the throb and shudder of the huge ship engines both in our ears and our bones. In was a very surreal experience; particularly when I took a walk around 2am. And thats how we travelled from Santorini to Pireaus.
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