murphy89

Ok, I’ve got a coffee and its time to start this puppy! If you followed the first part of my trip report than you know I am a 28year old female Murphy who has recently returned from a 3 month solo trip to France and Greece.

The link to Murphy’s Great Adventure Part I http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34823999

The link to Murphy’s Trip Photos: France http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34828804

So to recap, I finished off last leaving France learning some important lessons about solo travel and having reflected upon some of the more unflattering aspects of my personality. So, with my attitude readjusted and my body somewhat less saggy and out of shape, I arrive in Greece ready for a fresh start.

For those skipping though these are the places I visited in Greece, I will cover them in order:

Athens
Santorini Monemvasia Gythio
Vathia Aeropolis
Sparta
Mystras
Koroni/Langada Pass
Pylos
Nafpaktos
Delphi
Lesvos
Chios
Mykonos (Delos/Tinos/Paxos/Parga Day Trips)
Trikala/Pilos
Kalambaka/Meteora
Corfu
Naphlion (Mycenae, Tiryns and Argos)


<font color="blue">A Perfect Moment</font>

I found it impossible at times to take in all the wonder around me. I mean to really stop, appreciate and savor a moment – it is just not in my nature. Every once in a while I would be walking through cobblestone streets and say to myself: <font color="green"> “Can you believe how cool this is? I mean really, you could be doing a lot worse.”</font> But on the whole I must admit to not being a master at enjoying the moment. I can point to a few on this trip though that did not escape even my television shaped brain. Surprisingly, my first night in Athens elicited just such an exclamation. Clearly Athens’s appeal is not universal considering some of the posts on this forum. I understand this. All in all on the surface it certainly does seem like a big dirty concrete city, but even in the short time I spent there I discerned some of its charms too. Arriving in the evening, I was nervous about finding my hostel. I needn’t have worried at all – the new metro is super easy, signs all over the airport are in English and Athenians themselves know English in vast numbers. Hoping off the metro at Syndagma Square my hostel was just a short walk away in the heart of the Plaka (the area around the Acropolis). What a contrast to France. Paris oozed with regal beauty and sophistication, Athens with warmth, fragrance and “lived in” appeal. Both wonderful in their way, but on this particular night Plaka was a joy and a relief. These are the things pictures cannot capture: savory scents that mingle with floral ones, candles glowing softly from table lined streets and greek music that follows you gently on your ramble. Paint in warm air and a starry sky and the scene is set. You can’t help yourself – all of a sudden you are in a perfect moment and you didn’t even see it coming. You know hon, I say to myself, “you really, could be doing a lot worse”.

Next up the skinny on Athens and Santorini....

murphy89

topping

gertie3751

Go go go Murphy. I'm an avid fan of Greece, also a woman (though a tad older than you!) who travels alone. Looking forward to reading your insights. I'll bear them on mind when I set off for my trip in September.

laartista

Oh, good, I've been waiting for the rest of your report. By the way your pix on the other thread are fantastic!

SandyBrit

murphy89 - I just looked at your France photos, well done.

Enjoy the moment - how true. When we can see the glass half full rather than half empty we reap the benefits.


Looking forward to the skinny on Athens and Santorini.

Sandy

LoveItaly

Hi murphy, I am waiting, tap tap of my finger on my laptop, for your report of your time in Greece. And don't make it short please..I so loved your report of your time in France, along with your beautiful photos of course.

P.S. If you don't get tons of responses it may be because Fodor's website is sort of acting up again. I have found that if I click &quot;Post a Reply&quot; at the top of the screen all is well but if I click it at the bottom of the screen it is impossible to post.

AnselmAdorne

&quot;And don't make it short please ...&quot;

Perfect, LoveItaly. I couldn't agree more.

Murphy, I'm not even all that interested in Greece, but I truly enjoy your style. Use all the words you need.

Anselm

murphy89

Thanks for the tip LoveItaly - I was trying to post this earlier without success.

I stayed in Athens for one night before heading for Santorini for 5 nights. Seeing as my flight to Santorini was in the evening I spent my day touring the Acropolis and surrounding slopes. I was excited about the Acropolis, but didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Pictures do not do it justice I think – stunning. The sites situated on the surrounding slopes are nestled in a pleasantly unexpected amount of green space, making the area picturesque and a joy to explore. It seems obvious, but I will reiterate that the Acropolis is best visited early to beat the crowds and the heat. Please resist the urge to stand and climb on things for the sake of this important historical site and to save everyone the irritation of listening to you get whistled at by those guarding the area. Even meandering I easily saw the Acropolis, Stoa, Roman Agora Roman Tower of Winds, Hadrians Library (interior closed to public) as well as the surrounding shopping streets in just a few hours. The crush of the crowds is at a high on the popular shopping streets in the Plaka so it is a good idea to be aware of your purse and wallet.

I stayed in the Student Travelers Inn hostel right in Plaka. It was ok – hard to beat the location. I disliked it because it was a hostel but then…it was a hostel. My particular room was for 4 people and I paid a bit of extra for a room with a toilet/shower en-suite. Even sharing with just 4 people the bathrooms seem to get disgusting in no time. In part because people don’t seem to understand that you cannot flush toilet paper in Greece. YOU CANNOT FLUSH TOILET PAPER IN GREECE – so don’t. What is more disgusting – blocking up the toilet with your business or discreetly putting your paper in the bin provided? Contributing to the yucky bathrooms is the style of shower you find in Greece – namely, a shower with no tub surround and a useless shower curtain (or just no shower curtain). These features always seem to turn the bathroom into a small lake which is unfortunate for those who don’t take the first shower. I had an entire day to kill in Athens before my flight to Santorini. The only problem was I had nowhere to put my backpack. Technically, I should have taken my bag when I checked out but I snuck it into the luggage room instead and just picked it up later by confidently looking like I belonged there. It turns out there is luggage storage by Syndagma square that would have worked as well. FYI, there is also luggage storage at the airport. All in all it was a great day in Athens. I return to Athens after Santorini so there is more on the city to come.

<font color="black">Ok, I advertised some tips so here is some practical advice (IMHO of course):</font>

<font color="green">Greece Versus Your Luggage</font>

<font color="green">A. Luggage @ the Hotel/Hostel:</font>
Luggage storage poses a problem in Greece. I never encountered storage at any bus station on my entire trip. So as mentioned previously, if you are traveling by public transportation you need to plan around dropping off your luggage first. As for hotels/hostels I met several travelers who had their bags broken into – at both hostels and hotels. I always locked my pack to the bed with a cable lock and then used small locks for individual pockets. I either carried or tried to creatively hide important documents/extra visas or other valuables (the trick is not to forget them though). This will not keep a really determined person out of your bag, but it may ward off random sticky fingers. I was strictly budget hotels and gave up even asking if there was a safe available for use. If you show up to a hotel and your room is not ready, the hotel will allow you to leave your bag with them – without fail it will be just left in the lobby, so you will have to decide about that yourself. I made an attempt once to insist that my bag be locked somewhere – or even just left behind the counter and was met with a sigh and look that imparted <font color="purple">a barely suppressed eye-roll</font>(a common facial expression that I both received and saw other tourists receive on a regular basis).

<font color="green">B. Your Bag @ the Beach:</font>
I would pack a backpack in the morning with my beach attire etc and then go off to visit sites, hike and explore. Along the way I try to find a good beach....so of course I always have my wallet and camera with me. What to do? Well, as mentioned I had a cable lock and several backpack locks with me - when possible I would pay for the use of a beach chair and lock everything to the chair (always one by the water) then keep an eye on it while swimming. I was often at beaches with no chairs, but these were usually more secluded spots with few other beachgoers (I was traveling in off-season too) – in this case I would carefully swim around in front of my day pack.

<font color="green">C. Your Bag @ the Bus Station:</font>
It really freaked me out at first – the bag you’ve spent all month carefully guarding/locking and supervising, being chucked into the underneath luggage compartment where it sits vulnerable and exposed for anyone to take. The doors to this storage compartment sit open and inviting while the bus driver chats and smokes wherever it strikes his fancy. This is just the way it is, so if you have valuables and you are a likeminded worrywart, keep a small pack with you and tuck it away under your feet. Nobody ever did take it, so eventually I stopped thinking about it.

<font color="green">Your Bag @ the Gates of Hell</font>

After carrying it up 500 stairs to get to your hotel then down and back up another 500 stairs when you realize you’ve taken a wrong turn – don’t mind those visions of your bag burning in hell. This too shall pass.

murphy89

Oh sorry - I didn't cut and paste my Santorini bit in above, so I will do so now...

Famous Santorini. It is very pretty. I sense this is an understatement, but the human brain is only capable of processing so much beauty at one time. Thus, I remember it as: very pretty and quite pleasant. Classic postcard Greece complete with whitewash houses and those churches with the pretty blue domes. I arrived at night therefore didn’t see much of anything but darkness and my hotel room the first night. So imagine my surprise as I walked out of my Oia hotel room to find myself face to face with endless ocean lapping against endless blue sky. Standing on a rooftop clinging precariously onto the side of a sheer cliff, I specifically remember unceremoniously declaring “oh” (Perhaps I burst a blood vessel right there) “that’s nice”. Santorini doesn’t stand out as my favorite place in Greece by any means, but I did have a great deal of fun there to be sure.

I stayed in Oia and felt this an excellent choice. Santorini marked my first departure from hostel living and outside of Athens it was all budget hotels for the rest of the trip. I got a great deal (35Euros/night) at Delfini Villas (www.delfinivillas.com). I learned of the hotel via this website (thank you). Words cannot express the amount of happiness those little hotel soaps and shampoo containers can provide after a month of hostelling. Admittedly, I had some mixed feelings though – I had bad luck meeting other travelers at hostels in France, but I at least met some people. Traveling in hotels only meant meeting others was bound to be even more difficult. In Santorini however, I had a stroke of luck. The hotel owner Rena was concerned (and baffled) that I was alone, so on the spur of the moment she went ahead and pushed me into joining the two French girls from across the hall on a hike. As embarrassed as I initially was to have someone set up a
play-date for me, it turned out to be a fortuitous turn of events. I really hit it off with those two and we ended up spending the entire 5 days together. I have never met two people with more phobias – heights, small spaces, steep hills, waves, fish, thunder – even sun exposure. Nonetheless, I enjoyed their company immensely. I helped them navigate their fears and they worked on improving my French. Together we hiked to Ancient Thira (from Kamari then up and over to Perissa), found our way to Red Beach, mangled the hike to Fira – which is supposed to be 2 hours but took 3 because we never did find the path and took the customary boat tour to the volcano. All were good ways to spend a day. 5 days was a good length of time for Santorini. For the island itself I would not have chosen to stay longer in the grand scheme of my itinerary. It was a shame the gals were returning to France but I felt satisfied by the time I left.
If you have any questions let me know.

Life insists I continue this tomorrow.

Cheers,

Murphy

LoveItaly

Cheers to you murphy, again I am enthralled by your trip! A time you will remember forever I am sure.

FauxSteMarie

Just to let you know I am still following your reports. Having done the hostel bit when I was a spring chicken, I would opt for budget hotels at this point. Did you have problems with flushing toilet paper in the hotels as well as the hostel?

mileaday

I'm following your Greece report for ideas for my Sept. visit to Athens and Santorini. Hostels are great for the budget but they are thankfully a distant memory to me now. How tough would you say your Santorini hike would have been with a bad knee? Had surgery recently and it is doing ok but I haven't been on any 3 hr hikes. Could you swim on your boat trip to the volcano? Anxious to see your pictures - the ones from France were great.

LCBoniti

Love your continung adventure and looking forward to more . . .

murphy89

Hey guys, thanks for your feedback!

mileaday: Well from Kamari to Ancient Thira we followed the road that others were driving up, so that is an option. The road is windy (switchbacks) so not terribly steep, just long. On the way down to Perissa on the otherside of the mountain we followed a little dirt trail which was steep and uneven so more difficult if you have knee problems. Beautiful view!

FauxStMarie. Other than Athens I stayed in all hotels while in Greece. As far as I know you cannot flush toilet paper anywhere - hotels, restaurants or sites - there may or may not be a sign - if no, that doesn't mean your ok to flush. It is just common practice throughout Greece - apparantly the pipes just can't handle it. There is a little garbage bin in the washroom, you put your toilet paper in there.

Cheers,

Murphy

FauxSteMarie

Thanks. I have never been to Greece but it is on the list. Sort of disgusting information but necessary. Terrible job to empty the bins!

murphy89

Lol! Yes, it is different. But actually for the most part I found bathrooms in Greece very well kept, so no worries.

Jespere

Can't wait for more! Murphy, you're so talented - I so enjoyed Part I AND your photos. I took 200 photos during our June France trip, only to discover when we returned home to Sacramento that my 17-year-old had (at some point prior to the trip) set the image size on my 5-MP Nikon to &quot;extra-small,&quot; thinking we could get more photos on the disks that way. I never noticed until I downloaded them at home. Oh well - a reason to go back!

BTW - I traveled solo for 15 years, now happily drag family along. Both are good.

Thanks again! J.

TexasAggie

Hi Murphy,
Your time on Santorini sounds just heavenly. Fabulous France pics as well Looking forward to more!

murphy89

Sorry for the delay in response. Be patient with me – I am away at work and will have spotty internet access for the next 3 weeks. I am excited now though because I am heading into the Peloponnese part of this trip and am happy to talk about it. First though a 3 day stop in Athens for the Greek Orthodox Easter celebrations…..

<font color="green">Greek Easter in Athens</font>

My Lonely Planet has me salivating at very thought of getting to spend Easter in Athens. I actually shortened my trip to France to ensure I would be there. LP describes candle light processions, fireworks and a magical feeling. Perhaps I was in a different Athens. There were some candle light processions and some brief fireworks but I think the beauty of the Easter experience is for residence with friends and family to share the occasion with. Easter is the most important holiday in Greece, there seems to be a mass exodus out of the city to visit family in smaller home towns. I have heard there are very special celebrations in many towns around Greece that in hindsight may have been more interesting to attend than those in Athens. I contemplated this while standing Mount Lycavittos waiting for the magical feeling express to make its stop. There is a small church on top of Lycavittos and about three hundred dressed up people were crammed around it to listen to the service – well, actually they were talking on cell phones and chatting with each other but the service was audible to the multi-taskers present. There was a moment of sort of darkness, then candles were lit and everyone left – not really a procession but a partial semblance of one….until people hit the car park anyway. For those traveling alone, I should mention that the walk to the Funicular was uncomfortable – seemingly endless, extremely dark streets – I very nearly gave up, but happened upon the station while looking for a decent way out of the area. I would at least ask for better directions than the ones my hostel provided.

<font color="blue">Getting Directions from the Greeks</font>

I often contemplated that considering the quality of directions I was often given I could have (and maybe should have) just used a magic eight ball to get around. I found the Greeks such a mesh of contradictions – an interesting mix of laid-back and incredibly impatient – yeah, yeah it is (ambiguous waive of the hand) over that way. How far is it? You ask. Shrug, hand waive – 10-15mins he replies (aka an hour – uphill). Should I go left? Right?....”Ask again later”.

I was pretty much marooned in Athens for 3 nights. Buses were sold out solid to the Peloponnese. I expected this problem though so wasn’t too upset about it – I was able to get a ticket to Monemvasia for Easter Monday. The only way for you to buy KTEC long distance bus tickets is in person, at the station. Period. This is inconvenient for the Greeks too. Consider that you are from Poros and you want to visit you mom on mainland in say, Ioannina – you will not be able to buy your ticket until your standing at the Athens bus terminal. Thus during a busy time such as Easter, it is sort of a game of chance. 3 full days felt like a bit much in Athens considering all of the sites closed early all weekend and weren’t open at all on Easter itself. To occupy myself I wandered around the hills in Athens (worthwhile), wandered around Monstriaki’s shopping streets (stores closed early) and rambled around the national garden. On Good Friday and Holy Saturday, I was able to see some sites in the morning and everything was free which was nice. It was a stretch though and I was very ready to get started on the Peloponnese first thing Monday morning.

<font color="green">Monemvasia</font>

Wow. Monemvasia is cool. Really. A 5 hour bus ride from Athens, this giant Greek rock-of-gibralter is a wonder – on my top ten favorite sites in Greece list to be sure. From mainland modern Monemvasia it just looks like an impressive rock, follow the causeway around though and through a little tunnel - bang! You have stepped back in time. Tucked away on the far side of this impressive geological feature is a well preserved Byzantine city – complete with actual residents and the remains of a crowning kastro. Delightful. I wandered around all day and took in a leisurely lunch, returning to the modern town in the late afternoon. Modern Monemvasia has nothing in particular to offer visitors – a little town there is a long tavern lined pebble beach (blue star apparently).

<font color="blue">As for Beaches…..</font>
Personally, I like my beaches more secluded – I may allow these thighs to parade around in a bathing suit on a beach, but I don’t need spectators sitting 5 feet away, giggling into their margaritas.

At any rate, it was too cold in April for swimming so it wasn’t an issue. I think Monemvasia is fine for a one night stay. I wish I hadn’t stayed two – not necessary. I wont be as afraid of one night stops on future trips – I think it is best to be flexible and move on when your ready. The only consideration I would have is my bag – what are you going to do with your bag today? I returned to the Byzantine city at night for a change in atmosphere – there isn’t a great deal of lighting which makes it creepy or interesting depending on how you look at it. Also, there are no lights along the causeway to return so I recommend taking the little bus that runs back to mainland (I didn’t, but should have – it was a “what are you doing” type of walk back). I stayed in an inexpensive hotel across the street from the train station – small, clean and functional. Hotel Akrotiri I believe it was called – straight out of my guide book (25euros/night single room with a bathroom and a tv).

<font color="blue">The Bus: How to Get a Door Slammed in Your Face in 1 Easy Step.</font>

I have a lot to say about this. I imagine anyone traveling around the Peloponnese by public bus does. A constant source of irritation, yet a surprisingly punctual, well run system once you understand what is going on. I am going to dip into generalizations here so please forgive me. Yes, there are many nice bus staff in Greece. Yes, there are many unhelpful, rude bus staff in Greece. Things you should understand when using the long distance bus system:

1. You are not a priority. Nobody cares if you know where you are and where you are getting off so be responsible for yourself. You are just a tourist and there are lots of self sufficient locals relying on their bus system today so don’t be a pain in the ass.

2. Try not to talk to the bus driver. Try not to ask the bus driver questions. Most often there is someone on the bus who sells/checks tickets and deals with luggage – if you have to ask a question ask him. The bus driver is not a customer service agent and doesn’t usually deal with tickets which is why he will often only open the back door of the bus (aka don’t bug me). He drives the bus. He is not required to be polite or helpful. Neither is the ticket guy but he often seems more open to the idea.

3. <font color="red">DO NOT</font> hold up the bus. <font color="red">DO NOT</font> do this. You WILL get yelled at. If you stand in the door asking questions and the bus driver starts to yell “ella, ella” it means look lady, get your incompetent North American ass on this bus before I push you off of it. In my travels I had any number of doors slammed in my face – even when I just needed to ask a quick question like – “Gythio?” (aka is this the bus to Gythio?), a simple “ne” or “ohi” would suffice but even that can upset some surly bus folk. I had a bus driver actually push me once – really. I fumed. I am not a difficult person (yeah right you are thinking to yourself….). No really, I’m not. Unfortunately, the bus is set up so that a traveler often has no choice but to ask a question or two. You’ll need to balance out being assertive enough to get where you are going and polite enough to not be a jerky traveler. If there is a station, try to ask the station agent all of the questions you may have – especially about schedule, transfers etc.

4. Understand what the Greek spelling of the town you are going to it so you know what bus to get on. Not everywhere in Greece is geared for tourists the way Athens and many of the islands are.

5. If there is a bus station where you are, you will be expected to buy a ticket at the station (sometimes but not always – so you will have to ask). If you are catching the bus from the side of the road somewhere you can buy your ticket from the ticket guy on the bus (unless there is no ticket guy, in which case you will have to buy your ticket from the driver). Try to note what others are doing. Generally, you get on and sit down, then the ticket agent will come to where you are sitting and you can give him your money etc. There is almost always a ticket agent on the bus but early in the morning and so forth the driver sometimes takes care of it. Do have reasonably close change.

6. When you want to get off, tell the bus driver (yes, you will have to talk to him here) – not the ticket agent (“Sta-ss-ee Parakalo” or press the button). You can go up to the driver and ask him to tell you when your in …whatever town your looking for. Still, stay aware – look for road signs etc to stay orientated. Its not his job to hold your hand so be polite and say your please and thank-you’s (in Greek of course).

7. You are welcome to flag down the bus (or get off) wherever you like. Just stand on the side of the road and signal to the driver that you to get on. Just be aware that sometimes a bus will go into town via one route and out of town via another – so either ask, or more simply catch the bus at the main square/bus station.

8. Bus schedules are often not posted in small towns. This means you will have to ask a few people to get a concensus on when the bus comes. Arrive early, as buses sometimes leaves early. I rarely encountered late buses (except in Pilos but I will get to that), the system is surprisingly efficient. This explains why drivers are in a rush – they have a schedule to meet.

My first while in Greece I felt sure I was going to be killed in a bus accident (or taxi accident). On one of my earlier bus rides a woman next to me sat down and made the sign of the cross. I though to myself – feel free to pour it on thick sister, every little bit counts. The apparent disregard for any kind of traffic law was concerning at best. I would sit and watch my bus driver with a smoke in one hand and a cell in the other driving the buses standard transmission while tottering us all on the edge of a cliff - a bead of sweat would make its way down my forehead. However, I came to truly respect Greek bus drivers. They are unbelievably skilled drivers. Ignore for a moment that they often pass slower cars by honking incessantly while driving over the center line forcing oncoming traffic onto the shoulder. Ignore this and consider the tight narrow streets that they navigate in both forward and reverse, the switch backs, cliffside roads and the other crazy Greek drivers – honestly I feel a fondness for these fine men. By the end of my trip, I felt completely at ease on the bus and could just sit back and enjoy.

Up next Gythio….

bailey6325

very enjoyable read - thank you!