My air-conditioned room didn’t. Between sleeping poorly and the uncertainty of the day, I left by 7:30 am. Traffic was every bit as bad as I expected (if not worse) for 20 km. One-way streets, and intersections where the only way I could make the turn was to pull over and use pedestrian access to switch sides of the street. At least the traffic distracted from the climb.
I arrived in Rafina by 10:30. Wandering over to what looked like a ticket office, I purchased a ticket to Paros, and a return ticket to Piraeus. I didn’t enjoy the ride into Athens from Piraeus, but I preferred it over the ride today.
After that I just waited for the ferry. My stomach had been crampy the past two days, and I just wanted to relax. I went ahead and reserved a bed at Vassiliki, a B&B in Paros. At one point I had a plan of island-hopping, switching islands every day, but I decided I’d rather not make life that complicated.
The ferry made stops on Andros, Tenos, and Mykonos, so I at least got to view them from the sea. A fast ride, the ferry would swoop into the pier with the ramp lowering as it pulled in, and pulled away with the ramp still rising. I had an uneventful ferry ride, with one exception. Somewhere along the way when I stepped away from my seat, one of the “helpful” staff cleaned up my seat by throwing away my half-pack of cookies and Sprite bottle. I carry the bottle into airports and around when I need a portable water bottle. It’s also my water reserves. That Sprite bottle has a history of being thrown out. I think this one was from Eastern Europe somewhere. Easily replaced, but by the time we landed I was starving.
Not feeling great, I had selected a B&B over camping. Only a little more expensive, and gorgeous. Tomorrow I might just wander about in town a bit, taking the day off. The strand looks just like you’d think a Greek island would look – a cross between Greek and Caribbean. Alternately, the other side of the island looks to be an easy climb and less than 15 km. I have a 10:45 am ferry back to Athens in a couple of days on Sunday, only a few minutes down the road.
