Samothraki to Eceabat, Turkey
By Helen Grubner. Filed in Uncategorized |
My final two days on Samothraki came and went without fanfare. Just as I wanted them to be… relaxed with time to reflect on the past three months and my travels around Greece. So many memories… something no one and nothing can take away. My diary being the 43 Blogs and endless Photographs I have added to my website for all of you to share and enjoy.
The early morning high speed ferry had me back in Alexandroupoli on the mainland before 9.00am. However, no advantage at all since I had to wait until 2.30pm for my bus to Kesan, Turkey. In fact, the bus arrived and departed several minutes earlier than scheduled and by 3.00pm we were at the Greek/Turkish border.
Just as well I had no idea what lay ahead or I might have had a panic attack! The English language was non existent and I was relying upon the head scarved woman sitting next to me to prod and poke whenever we were required to handover passports, show tickets, get off the bus etc. The opportunity for duty free shopping before leaving Greek territory was a nice surprise but then… as we all waited patiently for our passports to be returned, duly stamped by the Greek Police, the bus driver’s second in command boarded, pointed at me and uttered one word… Police! Shite!!! Naturally, I obeyed… got off the bus and was escorted to the Police. They asked “Do you have another passport”? “No”, I said, “You have my passport”. He, pointing at the entry stamp dated 24 April “you overstay”. Me “No, sorry I am allowed 3 months and today is 25 July”. Cutting a long story short, according to the new extremely strict rules and regulations, I was 92 days in Greece, 2 days more than is legal and liable for a 600 Euro fine. Somehow by smiling a lot, apologizing profusely and swearing I will never let it happen again (and I won’t) he let me off.
Entering Turkey was somewhat less stressful, however, not entirely stress free. The Turkish Police wanted to know where was my Visa? As I told them, my understanding is that New Zealanders do not need a Visa for Turkey. I am not sure what his game was as he stamped my Passport and sent me on my way. All of this carry on took 2 hours and we still had a trip of around one and a half hours to reach Kesan. Fortunately, the buses in Turkey are not only super comfortable but just like on aeroplanes, they have entertainment screens and passengers are offered cold water, as well as tea, coffee and snacks.
On arrival in Kesan, I immediately had my first taste of Turkish friendliness and helpfulness. A man approached me and asked where I wanted to go, then took my trolley case and led me to the appropriate bus company office. The man behind the counter was equally friendly and helpful, as was the attendant at the toilets who let me in without payment as I had no Turkish Lira.
I thought the fields of sunflowers in Northern Greece were amazing but in Turkey they are even more spectacular… passed masses on the way from Kesan to Eceabat. Arrived, disembarked, began looking around for an ATM or Money Exchange when a taxi driver approached me. Same thing, trolley case taken over, directed to the ATM’s then better still, to the Money Exchange. Charming young man there… gave me a pretty fair rate without a fee on top but mind you, I was not issued with a receipt. Stepped outside to meet the young man’s father who happens to be the Mayor of Eceabat. I then waited for Anil the kind taxi driver to fetch the car and take me to Casa Villa Hotel.
My 3 months, or to be exact, 92 days of travelling in Greece are over for this year. Since my website is set up for sharing My Travels In Greece, I will sign off for now but you can look forward to Postings on my Facebook Profile Page about my travels in Turkey over the next couple of weeks.
