Thursday 29 September 2011
We had a slow day of hanging out at the beach and doing computer stuff (mostly, catching up and slightly redesigning the blog site), some swimming in the calm, warm, gorgeous green Adriatic -- our first dip in the Greek-side Adriatic, after so much enjoyment of it in Croatia and also Montenegro. We ordered a cappuccino, a spaghetti and another 'cino, all the while taking in the unending stretch of sea before us, but hey, sacrifices must be made. (Joking, but we do count our Euros pretty carefully, or we wouldn't be making this trip at all.) The Kentrikon, a bit north of Igoumenitsa, was one of the classiest beach bars we'd encountered -- restrooms alone could win design awards. The slow day also gave Nicole a chance to rest her poor pink eye, which seemed already to be improved, thanks to pharmacist Vasilis.
The weather was a major factor for us every day. We knew we'd soon be dealing with colder and colder weatheras we drove north in Italy toward the Alps, and that we would encounter some challenges, until we got further south (Morocco, we were hoping) where the weather was similar to good old Santa Monica. But where we were was gorgeous. Charles had to shed jeans for shorts and flip flops. The last three days on Ikaria were, just as David predicted, the beginning of winter, the end of beach days. Sleeping in the van was more difficult in warm weather, especially when there were mosquitoes about (nearly everywhere); you couldn't open windows and it got pretty steamy. We dedicated our imaginations to creating some kind of screen made out of mosquito netting, not easy with the van's set of sliding doors and windows that didn't open. We vowed to prevail though. Those mosquitoes didn't have a chance, especially against lightening quick and ruthless killers like Nicole and Dian.
Finally we headed into town for a bite before having to validate our ferry tickets. As we cruised the short main street, we were driving opposite a demonstration on the other side, a peaceful, organized march, it seemed, most likely about the Greek economy. Not wanting to leave our van in the area, we grabbed some souvlaki pitas, ate them in the car and headed for the port.
Then began the long, not-funny show. Let's just say this ferry departure was, in comparison to the one out of and back to Pireus/Athens, like the difference between the Marines and the Cub Scouts. Maybe they're all like this out of Igoumenitsa, but we definitely recommend avoiding the company Endeavor for your sailing displeasure. With three different inquiries at their office that night and one the day before and three different arrival/departure schedule electronic signs posted inside and out at the port office, not one single piece of information agreed with any of the others. Where the loaders at Pireus were frantic yellers and arm-wavers to get the vehicles on and off, the ones at Igoumenitsa were doing it two at a time, chatting with customers and their co-workers, not even noticing when there was a huge gap. Dian and Nicole waited for almost an hour in line, arms loaded with sleeping bags, pillows, water bottles etc, then got hassled for their passports (only one other person was...hmmmm) and by the time they took off, the boat was four hours late.
The inside looked like a disaster movie, with bodies literally everywhere, on every available floor space, trying to settle in for a long night's passage (seven hours). Nicole and Dian cleverly found a nook outside but with no exposure to cool sea air that had a wicker bench to sleep under, but it was a little too clever: Charles couldn't find them when he finally got on board with the van and he and Dian wandered the decks for 45 minutes, unable to locate each other while Nicole stayed at "the fort" and tried not to worry until finally a cell phone message went through and did the trick of reuniting the Happy Trails Gang.
We had a slow day of hanging out at the beach and doing computer stuff (mostly, catching up and slightly redesigning the blog site), some swimming in the calm, warm, gorgeous green Adriatic -- our first dip in the Greek-side Adriatic, after so much enjoyment of it in Croatia and also Montenegro. We ordered a cappuccino, a spaghetti and another 'cino, all the while taking in the unending stretch of sea before us, but hey, sacrifices must be made. (Joking, but we do count our Euros pretty carefully, or we wouldn't be making this trip at all.) The Kentrikon, a bit north of Igoumenitsa, was one of the classiest beach bars we'd encountered -- restrooms alone could win design awards. The slow day also gave Nicole a chance to rest her poor pink eye, which seemed already to be improved, thanks to pharmacist Vasilis.
The weather was a major factor for us every day. We knew we'd soon be dealing with colder and colder weatheras we drove north in Italy toward the Alps, and that we would encounter some challenges, until we got further south (Morocco, we were hoping) where the weather was similar to good old Santa Monica. But where we were was gorgeous. Charles had to shed jeans for shorts and flip flops. The last three days on Ikaria were, just as David predicted, the beginning of winter, the end of beach days. Sleeping in the van was more difficult in warm weather, especially when there were mosquitoes about (nearly everywhere); you couldn't open windows and it got pretty steamy. We dedicated our imaginations to creating some kind of screen made out of mosquito netting, not easy with the van's set of sliding doors and windows that didn't open. We vowed to prevail though. Those mosquitoes didn't have a chance, especially against lightening quick and ruthless killers like Nicole and Dian.
Then began the long, not-funny show. Let's just say this ferry departure was, in comparison to the one out of and back to Pireus/Athens, like the difference between the Marines and the Cub Scouts. Maybe they're all like this out of Igoumenitsa, but we definitely recommend avoiding the company Endeavor for your sailing displeasure. With three different inquiries at their office that night and one the day before and three different arrival/departure schedule electronic signs posted inside and out at the port office, not one single piece of information agreed with any of the others. Where the loaders at Pireus were frantic yellers and arm-wavers to get the vehicles on and off, the ones at Igoumenitsa were doing it two at a time, chatting with customers and their co-workers, not even noticing when there was a huge gap. Dian and Nicole waited for almost an hour in line, arms loaded with sleeping bags, pillows, water bottles etc, then got hassled for their passports (only one other person was...hmmmm) and by the time they took off, the boat was four hours late.
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| Sleeping on the ferry |
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