Despite the hour's delay in departure, the captain seemed to have put his foot down, as we arrived to Pireaus port after a 'rosy' sunrise not long after 8am. Athens, like many great European capitals, is well covered in terms of touristic advice on the internet. I will just provide a little logistical information and my highlights. From Pireaus port, on the West side of the Attican peninsula, don't fret - as I did- there is a free bus waiting to take all passengers towards the nearest metro. Get off at the last, or perhaps only, stop, and follow the crowd of people heading towards Pireaus metro station on the green line. Tickets: Plan now to save money and get either a 24 hour or 5 day ticket pass. There will be a machine to get integrated metro and bus tickets. So you can use this ticket (don't lose it) as many times as you like within the period you choose, allowing you to move about freely. At the time of writing there were no barriers or ticket checks on the metros but they are in the process of installing automated ticket barriers like those in London as I'm pretty sure many cash strapped Athenians and travellers alike don't bother with the ticket. it's all Greek to me...If you hadn't already considered the extent of the difficulty of the Greek language, then your troubles will be soon fully realised. This is not a matter of pronouncing a bunch of letters in your best Greek accent, or vaguely noting down the sounds of what you heard when someone told you the name of a station. It really might as well be 汉语. (If you speak Chinese, then replace accordingly!) The metro map and many signs, helpfully or not, are written in both Greek and Roman alphabets. However, even if, as I did, you think you have knowledge about the letters enough to work out the English equivalent, BEWARE! Many names are so long you've no hope of guessing correctly which syllable wins the right to be emphasised; and a confusing range of sounds and uninterpretable diphthongs will ensure you flounder regardless. Two useful stations you may need are: Μοναστηράκι 'Monastiraki' a very central area near markets and restaurants and where the Green line changes with Blue, and Σύνταγμα 'Syntagma', the 'Constitution Square' in front of the parliament and not far from the national gardens, where the Blue line meets the Red. I always thought that so long as you could see a metro map, it was hard to get lost in a city. But I managed to do some bizarre loop the loops and taking of trains in wrong directions from Monastiraki, as not all the signs are intuitive and sometimes they only give one 'direction'. So... be flexible, and if in doubt, ask - most people speak pretty good English. My hopes of picking up some conversational Greek already squandered, I was fortunate enough to be guided here and there by a local friend. I recommend walking up through the olive groves from a central station when you decide to splash on your Acropolis ticket (€20 full price), instead of using the namesake metro which will take you to the new museum instead. If you head up there middle-late afternoon you'll be able to hop up the nearby 'rock' as everyone enjoys the sunset, and -if you're lucky like us- a gust of vomit, as it seems to be a night spot for a few drinks...or more. Once you step through the gates to the Acropolis and make your way up to enter the territory of this historic place, I advise you to take as many silly photographs as possible. There is a squad of casually dressed wardens, armed with whistles, ready to blow til they're faint, should you venture to strike a pose, or -god forbid- sit with two feet off the ground on a wall. You'll never know who you're standing next to and where the next shrill peep will come from next, but as I rambled slowly back to stop via a certain corner I hadn't seen, 15 minutes before closure, I was stopped by a treble call of 'lady! lady, no, you must go this way!'. An experience to be oft repeated in my trip through Greece: from eating a snack while waiting (12 minutes) for a metro (yes, twelve), to huddling my cold knees to my chest thus placing my toes upon the bench where I was sitting, - I constantly found myself being told what I must not do, by people with no apparent authority, nor particular stake in what I was doing! To complete the Acropolis experience you might want to visit the new Acropolis museum down below. But you might also do better to go to the British Museum (London), where the marbles, comprising exquisite statues and enormously long friezes, stolen by Lord Elgin from the Parthenon building at the beginning of the 19th Century, are kept to this day. Carefully arranged plaster casts are positioned in the bright, modern purpose building, along with a thorough archeological history of Athens. Expect long queues, and intense air-conditioning. Here I take the opportunity to display a very large painting I did many years ago, inspired by the Parthenon friezes at the British Museum. It involved photographing a schoolmate from above, as she replicated some dramatic poses of the horses! Below you can see an extract of the frieze from the Acropolis museum in Athens. Other spots to take a walk which I particularly enjoyed include:
Sounion's CapeIf you've a few days in Athens, it's a good base from which to head down and visit Sounion, the Southernmost point of the Attican peninsula, and home to the Temple of Poseidon. Although, all down the coastline the shimmering sea and enticing little pebbly beaches may seduce you, once at the bottom itself, Sounion offers very little, so don't plan to spend a day there. In fact, the time to go, as you can see, is sunset. Place me on Sunium's marbled steep, Legendarily this is where some say King Aegeus, looking out for the safe return of his son, jumped off the cliff into the namesake Aegean Sea, when Theseus forgot to change his black sails as he returned, bride in tow, from slaying the Minotaur in Crete. If you're fortunate enough to be able to drive with a friend - or perhaps a newly met Athenian acquaintance - in an open top car, winding your way along the dazzling coastline and stopping here and there for a dip in the sea, then I recommend it! Otherwise you can find the bus information, with times and departure points here. These timings may vary with the season and it gets very busy around sunset so make sure you have a ticket and remember not to miss the last bus back. Although in the worst case it might be easy enough to hitch a ride! If you do a search for the destinations I write about, as I certainly advise for your travel plans, 'Andros island' will lead you to an island in the Bahamas. Once you've dipped into the Caribbean sea you might not want to return, so I'm warning you now to type directly 'Andros, Greece' to save any tempting deviations. This Andros is a lot cheaper and the sea is still a lovely aquamarine colour. Usually. Getting there The ferry to Andros, which continues on to Tinos and Mykonos, departs from Rafina port which is still considered an Athens port but isn't really near Athens at all. On the Eastern side of the main peninsula, you can get a direct KTEL bus, departing regularly but randomly and taking under an hour. I bought my ferry ticket from one of the numerous sale points at the port and then had plenty of time to hang around so even walked along the seaside to a little beach with some sunbathers where I took a dip to cool off.... ....Still, probably best avoid the swimming in ferry ports..! Or perhaps the sea altogether, as I thought when I saw this pretty mess on my way back towards the boat. It's a giant ferry as big as the overnighter, so I knew my way round, but just a 2 hour trip bringing you into Gavrio port from where you can take a bus all along the island to the capital (Andros, or Chora as we've now learnt). I knew now to take my seat and wait for an elderly man to come and give me my ticket later in the journey. Arriving It turns out there's just one winding road along the island so you can pretty much get to where you need to go. It stops at Batsi, the most glitzy and buzzy town on the island (although they don't really seem appropriate adjectives in the grand scheme of things) on the balmy sheltered side of the island and ends on the windy East coast. I'd got a last minute host with a sculptor in a little village on the hilltop called Pitrofos, but when I gave the address I had half the bus discussing where I should be getting off. One man was so concerned he didn't rest for the whole journey because he said I'd have to walk a long way from where the bus stops, while the ticket man dismissed this. As it ended up, I was deposited on the edge of the road on a particularly windy (in both senses) part, but fortunately within a few minutes a dusty van with a panting dog out the window appeared and took me up the hill some more. I was a little concerned because there wasn't much in the way of shops or cafes...well actually there was nothing, but happily my host had some rice stuffed vine leaves for me to dine on. Chora The next day I got a ride to Andros (Chora) the main city, on the East side of the island and worked my way into the centre where I finally got a little feel of 'Greek island' as you see on postcards or as is somehow summoned to mind from some subconscious source when people refer to 'Greek islands'. (With 6000 islands in Greece I'm not quite sure how such a term can be seen to represent even a single quality). Anyway as you can see, it was quite picturesque. And I began regretting my decision that I don't need sunglasses, as I squinted my way through the blinding white paths and buildings in the blustery sunshine. A little Art... You'll also find Greece's first 'Modern Art' museum, founded by a collector and shipowner "Basil" Goulandris, aptly named the Museum of Contemporary Art Andros. It has two wings for a reasonable €5 ticket: a permanent collection containing the work of various Greek and international sculptors and painters, and also a large exhibition building. I really enjoyed the Nikos Engonopoulos exhibition, enhancing my understanding of surrealism with the Greek contribution. Hiking If you enjoy a hike then Andros is famous for it and has 100km of routes maintained and organised by volunteers. You can check out this website for information on the routes, get hold of a map, and to get an idea of what to expect. We drove down one of the most precipitous cliffs in the van to get to a private beach in a desperate attempt to escape the wind. Instead we were plagued by searing hot sun (and the wind kept blowing away our makeshift shade). You can't actually tell in this picture but I am standing on a very high stack of rocks. There are some incredible rock formations like this to be found. After my first night in the village I decided to go in search of a bit more life and just as the moon was rising and the daylight fading, I re-deposited myself on the edge of the only road, bikini, sundress, and backpack-clad and, thumb out, hoped for the best. As the first few staring faces ignored my waves completely, just as it was really getting dark, a rickety open back truck slowed up and two radiant faces asked me where I was going. Well, there is only one way to go and sure enough the one young French couple were passing my intended destination of Batsi. With only two seats, I had to clamber in the back with the luggage and we rattled along. They were also travelling around large parts of Greece, had just been on a full day hike, and mentioned some of the highlights of their travels. I could scarcely remember the places they named but memory of the mysterious word 'Pelion' which I later googled, gave a total new direction to my tour. Beachfront Batsi I had already found where I would stay in Batsi, a charming little hostel of rather ramshackle facilities with a personal welcoming gesture of a glass of lemon juice on the roof terrace and a bracelet. The Lemon Tree hostel has a big 'dorm' sleeping 8 in bunks and a couple of little but hot rooms, an outdoor kitchen situated tightly between the two bathrooms. If you're up in time there's tea and toast for breakfast. It's not luxurious, rather on the 'hippie' side, but the vine-wreathed roof terrace with a view over the bay is lovely, as is the quietly gentle sloping walk down to the sea-front bars, laced with fresh running streams. For a cheap quick bite to eat (me almost every meal) head straight down and first place on the left does a souvlaki for €2, I alternated between mushrooms and halloumi. This is the ONLY place I found halloumi throughout the whole odyssey! You can walk both ways along the seafront, open sun loungers on the beach are free to the extent that someone will come and take an order for a drink from you. Otherwise help yourself to the plentiful sand. I walked right round the bay to a little shrubbed peninsula, meeting some goats along the way, where the water was a very satisfying turquoise and dived right in. There are multiple beaches, rocky, pebbly, and sandy along towards the south as well and the last I tried happened to be a nudist beach where I encountered the owners of the hostel not long after checking out!. To get back to mainland or to your next island, you climb onto the packed bus right on the edge of the water by the bars and in 15 minutes you're at the port where you can buy your ticket again. I prefer to buy at the port in case you're late or early and because you can pick up any offers they might have.
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