Piraeus, Greece

Just a short bus ride away from the center of Athens we were docked in Piraeus, Greece. This has to be one of the ports that I was looking forward to the most. Second to Egypt though,  it was a sad day when they took that port away. But Greece was an experience. With all of the trouble that they are going though we were warned that we might have not even been able to go – luckily we did. However there were many obstacles that we encountered while in port like taxi strikes, the metro not running, busses not on schedule and the threat of a potential ferry strike.  Nevertheless we all anxiously awaited debarkation. Piraeus was also the first port to stamp our passports so we were pretty stoked on that. 

Day one for me consisted of an FDP for my theater class, a trip to the Acropolis. It was really an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone – three even.  First off it was required for my theater class, secondly it’s a UNESCO heritage site which I needed to visit for my Global Studies class, and lastly I wanted to go to the Acropolis regardless so it all worked-out. Interestingly though, the FDP was at 1pm instead of the morning which I found odd particularly because it was wicked hot in the middle of the day nearing 100 degrees. We left and got a little briefing from our tour guide as well as a lot of input from our theater professor. When we got there we got to the Theater of Dionysus and it was… amazing. I love that you’re still able to see all the marble and original wording inscribed on the seats. It was also our professors first time to the Acropolis so he was overly excited giving a mini lecture in the Theater of Dionysus.  He kept urging us to be in the moment and to remember the significance of theater to the Greeks and the impact that they had on so much of modern theater. It was definitely an intense feeling. One of the theaters is still used for summer a performance which says a lot about the stability of the structures built as well as the influences of theater on modernity. Hiking up to the Parthenon and the Eretheion was an adventure in itself. Not only was the path slippery so it involved some actual effort but it was also hot and on a bit of an incline. When you finally do reach the entrance to the Parthenon you have to kind of stop and just admire the sheer magnitude of it all. Everyone kept questioning how these things were built and the time that it must have taken to build them. After Rome, many people were fed up at the sight of seeing more ruins but having been in my theater class, and on a trip for that class just made it all the more real for me. Understanding the influences of Greek theater has been intense. It really makes you think – it also allows you to appreciate the fact that theater is everywhere.  After about a half hour at the top a classmate, Gerdai and I ventured back down the mountain in search of water. For some reason, it seemed like a much longer hike down. When we finally got back down, we ventured into some little souvenir shops and then found some… can you guess? GELATO. It was epic. I’m not 100% sure if I liked it so much for the sole reason of me being so ridiculously hot, but nevertheless it was awesome. I’ve taken a liking to pistachio flavors for some reason. I haven’t come across a bad one.. yet. While wondering the streets a little bit, Gerdai and I kept seeing more and more police – and after the constant briefings on staying away from the city center due to possible out-breaks because of the current economical state of Greece, we were a bit confused. All of a sudden, we see the riot police show up with their shields and batons and helmets on just posted which raised even more questions in our minds. The final straw was when we see S.W.A.T show up now we’re all really like WTF is going on. Taxis and tour busses are being waived away and there were roads being blocked off. We then found out that Hilary Clinton was speaking at the Acropolis Museum shortly and was being brought in – therefore there was  a need to amp up security. We got back to the port at about 6pm where my roommate and I met up with Mama Sylvie, Smeebs, Danielle & Miranda to go over our island plans. We then decided to meet at the gangway at 6am to try and get ferry tickets so I didn’t go out into Athens that night like others did. I was a bit sad I didn’t though because a bunch of people went out to watch Harry Potter in the outdoor amphitheater – they loved it. But it’s alright.

The next day the alarm clock going off at the early hour of 5:30am I got to packing and was at the gangway to meet the rest of the group at 6. Anyone that knows me knows that I am not the cheeriest of morning people out there. But we ended up getting our tickets at about 7am for a 7:25 ferry. We had to book it to the ferry – but we made it. Leah and Kelsey came with us as well totally our group up to 8 members.  (*side note – as I’m writing this, a friend of mine just yelled at me to eat my cookies… HAHA! It was too funny not to say; cookie police in the piano lounge.) ANYWAY! It took us 4 and a half hours on the fast ferry mind you, to get to Mykonos. Once we were there we were greeted by Maria who was more than happy to see us. She drove us into town and told us how to get around and to call her if ever we needed something while we were there. Greece has proven to have some of the most amazingly warm hearted people around. We dropped our stuff off and walked into down town in search of some food. We found a place with the most amazing Gyros for 2 euro which was the perfect price for me. I also got in on some Tziki which was awesome. From there we bought some bus tickets to Paradise Beach where I once again sat in the water for hours. We all managed to somehow find ourselves perched on a rock in the middle of the Aegean as well. It was a mission and a half to get up it though with all the algae. After a few hours of sun fun we headed back to our hostel and got ready for dinner. It took us a bit because 8 of us had to go through the shower. Come dinner time, however we found this AMAZING restaurant that was on the edge of the mountain side. It over looked the Aegean Coastline of Mykonos and we were there just in time for sunset as we ate. Our night ended out dancing and back at to the hostel where I made the decision to head back to Piraeus instead of continue on with them to Santorini. It was just too expensive especially when taking into consideration the crappy exchange rate between the US dollar and Euro.

The next day brought us bright and early to the harbor where 2 of our group headed to Ios, 5 of the others to Santorini and I back to Piraeus. I met a guy who was traveling alone through Europe who I ended up talking to a bunch of the 6.5hour ferry ride back. He was on his way home to South Africa after traveling for 2 months. What I love most about talking to people traveling is you get to see what their experiences have been like as well as potential places to visit. It’s also a challenge when you have a language barrier. It was cool in Italy for example – on our way to Pompeii, a friend I was with Ben – an American/German was speaking to an Italian women. He spoke no Italian, and she spoke no English so the conversed in French. When I was in Florence I ended up talking to 2 guys who were traveling who were from France and spoke no English, and I speak no French so we spoke in Spanish. Interesting how it works out. But you do discover how useful a second, third or fourth languages are.

The last 2 days in Greece were mainly spent around Piraeus and Athens. It was a bit difficult to go out because of the congestion in traffic with taxis striking and such. But I was able to get postcards and stamps as well as some really crappy internet so it was alright. I was also able to get in my Gyro and Gelato fix before we left so I was content. I also got to spend some time with Abby since it seems like I never see her so it was nice.

All in all, Greece wasn’t what I expected – but it has such rich history I just wish I was able to get to Delphi, Olympia as well as Santorini and Hydra. There is so much I was unable to see, I most definitely have to come back. I also wish I knew that Bon Jovi was playing in the Olympic stadium the night before we left. Haha! That would have been epic to go. Some SASers did end up going however. 

Today was C13 which means we have one more class day until Bulgaria. We passed through Turkey tonight, from the Aegean to the Black Sea. It was a sight to see. European Turkey on the left, Asian Turkey on the right. No words can describe it. It was incredible. From the bridges lighting up to the random bursts of fireworks. There were a bunch of SASers out on the deck excited to pass through the straight. I wish the photos I took could do justice to the sight – it’s just gonna have to be something you all experience one day on your own. It’s now 11:20pm and I am officially updated with my blog. HOW EXCITING! We’ll see what Bulgaria has in store, but I am most excited about Turkey after that little excursion. I’m also excited to be able to get to see my cousin Kayla hopefully!

29 days, 10 class days, and 3 countries to go.