Round Two Begins in Athens

Yassas! That’s Greek for hello. We arrived in Athens after a 30 hour journey, bleary eyed and punch drunk from lack of sleep. The last leg of our trip (from London to Athens) was on Aegean Airlines, and it was one of our worst flights in recent memory. The pilot decided to keep our plane in another plane’s jet wash for half the trip, making the trip extremely turbulent. We were glad to be on terra firma once again. 

Mark was in Greece nine years ago, and the first thing he noticed was how much the road from the airport to the Athens had improved (it was still mostly dirt in 2001). Greece hosted the 2004 Olympics, and it is evident that a lot of money was used to improve infrastructure, though some of the structures built for the Olympics apparently have not been maintained in recent years and are falling into a bit of disrepair.

Our hotel is about a mile from the Acropolis, and we have walked everywhere. Many streets around the Acropolis are pedestrian-only, and a long promenade surrounds most of the area. No buses or metro (subway) for us, as we’re trying to improve our fitness for our trek in Nepal…which is only three months away(!). Yesterday we walked about 10 miles, which included walking up Lycabettus Hill, the tallest hill in Athens. Walking is an ideal way to get around most of the city sights, as many of the roads are narrow and those that are wide are often clogged with traffic. We read somewhere that it is against the law to honk horns in Athens, which probably accounts for the relative quiet of the city. This is another major change from 2001, when city traffic was more like Hanoi – crazy, unpredictable and loud. The weather has been unseasonably cool, which means it is in the low 80’s (low 30’s Celsius) and intermittently rainy, admittedly a nice change of pace from 90+ humid Florida.

I’ve often heard California has a Mediterranean climate, but did not appreciate the comparison until seeing the flora here. Many public streets are lined with orange trees. Need a snack? Pick an orange. Olive and almond trees are in abundance, and oleander bushes – those same plants that brighten up California’s dusty I-5 and 99 freeways with their pink and white blossoms – grow to enormous heights here. More evocative than the plants though is the scent of Athens. There are places that when we close our eyes and take a deep breath, we could be hiking in the summer hills of Marin, or walking by the Stanislaus River. Olive trees, oak, dry golden grass, sage. Athens smells and in many ways looks like home (except for the ancient monuments everywhere).

Fashion is another matter. Not surprisingly, Greece is much more fashion-forward than any of the places we visited in Southeast Asia, and the warmer weather lends itself to more exposed skin than the Bay Area. The must-have accessory in Athens is a golden tan. Beyond that, a white skirt or sundress and strappy leather sandals for the women, and Converse low siders, dark jeans and white shirts for the men. Mark and I stand out as travelers with our sturdy shoes and large day packs, though Mark has acquired a lightweight white shirt since our arrival.

As for those ancient monuments, we’ve enjoyed seeing the Acropolis and Parthenon, ancient Agora (marketplace), Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian’s Arch, the Acropolis museum, and a handful of smaller ruins all over town. What strikes us is that pretty much anywhere you dig down 10′, you come across ruins of settlements from the past 5,000 years. There are few if any places in North America that can claim continuous inhabitation for that span of time, and it makes us wonder what other treasures are yet to be discovered here. There is also a sense of place and continuity that exists here, knowing that you’re part of a community that has lived here since the beginning of recorded history. One downside of the ruins being 2,000-3,000 years old is that many are badly degraded, some no more than outlines on the ground of what once stood. This stands in comparison to the temples of Angkor in Cambodia, where entire structures with even fine details are still present. The extra 1,700 or so years of weathering clearly have taken their toll on the ruins here.

Though the Euro has dropped a lot recently (in line with threats of Greece’s possible default on their sovereign debt), we are sticking closely to a budget to keep our travels going. Food can be a major travel expense, and one way we keep within budget is we typically eat out only one meal a day, usually dinner. For breakfast or lunch, we self-cater from the supermarket or get a snack from a food cart. Visiting the local markets is one of the best ways to get a sense of a new place and local tastes. The supermarket here has eight types of fresh feta cheese and an impressive olive bar. And only three chickens, but countless choices of lamb. Tomatoes and cucumbers – key ingredients for the ubiquitous Greek salad – are front and center in the produce section, and Mythos beer is on special. Greek red wine outnumbers other beverages in the liquor section. We are eating (and drinking) well!

We planned to leave Athens today for the island of Naxos. We got a surprise when we went into the ferry ticket agent’s office yesterday to purchase tickets, and the saleswoman said “You want to go Tuesday? No boats Tuesday. There is general strike.” Huh? What strike?

After a few more questions, we realized that Greece is effectively shut down today, with no ferries, internal flights, metro or buses. Many businesses are closing for the day too. We hadn’t seen a newspaper since we landed, and Internet at our hotel is too pricey ($25 / day – yeowch!) so we haven’t been online much, opting to use the free wi-fi networks in the city when we are out and about. So, we’re doing as the Greeks do, and effectively enjoying a day off to sit in a cafe and catch up on photos and our blog, watching Paraguay vs. Japan, with an appropriate helping of feta and red wine to pass the hours. Off to Naxos tomorrow!

View our Athens photos

Tagged as: athens, Greece, national strike