Itisallgreek2me

Anek Lines ferry boat "LATO" - Port of Piraeus

It was with a degree of sadness, that after sixteen fantastic days I said my farewell to Spetses and Costas yesterday, in order to make a return visit to Crete to see the family in Kastelli and my friends in Hania. Leaving on the 1700 hours hydrofoil, allowing time to catch the 2100 hours ferry from Piraeus to Hania, it was a ride when my feelings were engulfed with thoughts of – why did I have to leave now when I was so happy and content there?  But it is okay, I have so many wonderful memories of our time together – such as occasions at Spiros’ bar after closing of Bar Spetsa, sitting out on the balcony under the stars with the lights shining and shimmering on the water.  Leaving there for me to make the short walk home, with Costas riding ahead on his bicycle singing “Raindrops keep falling on my head …” – he would often pass by the bakery to buy fresh Spanakopita which we would devour before retiring, so yummy! 

These days one’s only choice to travel from Spetses to Piraeus is by catamaran or hydrofoil – both expensive at 35 Euro for a two hour trip.  Yesterday it was a quiet and peaceful ride as far as Hydra, then hordes of rather noisy people boarded, almost filling the vessel to capacity.  I have never much liked Piraeus, it can appear grey, dirty and always the traffic is chaotic, however, I set out on foot to walk from Gate 8 to Gate 4.  I was almost there when I remembered there exists a free bus service to cover the distance but it was too late and I had a blister.  Purchased my ticket for Anek Lines ferry boat “LATO” – 28 Euro for an 8 1/2 hour journey – we would arrive in Hania at 0530 hours this morning, Saturday.  No shortage of passengers who were mainly Greeks, including one disagreeable moron who decided he wanted a particular seat someone else had already claimed and he continued to be obnoxious.  The final straw – click, click with his worry beads when everyone wanted to try for a little sleep! 

Thankfully I had packed a jacket in my day pack as where I sat in the lounge reading, the air conditioning was freezing cold.  Also grateful to have a book to read – “Greece On My Wheels” by Edward Enfield – which I had picked from one of Costas’ many well stocked bookshelves.  I am enjoying reading another person’s travel writing.  When the hunger pangs arrived in my tummy, I headed off to the self service restaurant for a plate of Fasolakia me Patates (green beans with potatoes) – overly oily and costing 6 Euro, I did not much enjoy them.  As midnight approached, I found a space on the floor to curl up, with a magazine over my head to partially keep out the light and protect my neck and shoulders from the cold air conditioning.  Having recently become accustomed to late nights, i.e. retiring early morning, as well as the hard floor, meant very little sleep was forthcoming.

When the announcement came that we were only a few minutes away from arrival in Hania, the passengers began making their way to the exit.  Forced to wait at the top of the stairs down to the lower deck, I could sense the impatience building up in these weary travellers and for a time, feared there might be a stampede once the gate was opened.  By the time I realised Anek Lines were offering small glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice, there was no way I could forge my way back through the crowd so went without.

Assuming I would have no choice but to take a somewhat expensive taxi ride from the port to the Hania Bus Station, once off the ferry I was overjoyed to find a local bus operating the route at a cost of only 1.30 Euro.  When I arrived at the bus station it was 0615 hours – perfect timing to catch the first bus of the day to Kastelli at 0630 hours.  Lucky enough to procure a front seat directly behind the driver, I stood up just before we reached Kastelli and asked “Please, can I get off at Kamara?” – which I did, the bus stop located near the family home.  It was 0730 hours and Katina was awaiting me for coffee and breakfast.  Now it is midday and lunch will soon be served.  Anna the family matriarch is in Hania at present so it feels somewhat strange without her here.  This morning I saw Katina’s son Vassilis and an old friend of this family’s Costas.  He has lived in Sweden for the past 20 years but remembers me well from when I lived in Kastelli back in the early 80’s.

It is now 1800 hours.  This afternoon I spoke briefly with Costas who told me around 0400 hours this morning, unbelievably, another deluge hit Spetses, similar to the one 2 weeks’ ago on the evening of the Armata.  He has mud in Bar Spetsa and flooding in the house – I wish I was there to help him.  He will telephone me again in a couple of days.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 25th, 2010 at 3:41 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.