The ferry to Athens goes smoothly enough. Blue Star Ferries is very accommodating and the views of the passing islands inspire serenity and tranquility. We choose not to pay 9 Euro for 90 minutes of internet access on the ferry, even tho we don't have a hotel room booked in Athens as of yet. The girls seem disinterested and unconcerned about finding a room there. I am confused and perturbed by this. They believe there will be a Starbucks on every corner in the port town of Pireus - where we will be docking. Athens is a short train ride away from Pireus. The girls want to save money and try to utilize our internet access cards that we purchased from Starbucks back in the islands. This makes sense for Katie since she has no cash and must conserve any way she can. But I don't understand why Christine would want this. I am finding that these girls are great to travel with because of their adventurous spirit, but at the same time, they are tough for me to travel with because I like to take care of logistical issues before I can relax and enjoy the adventure.
When we arrive in Pireus, of course, there is not a Starbucks in sight. The girls are dumbfounded and appear to be slightly concerned now. They look at me. I look at them. We look out to Pireus. We do this a couple of times. No one seems to have a Plan B to offer up. The only building that has a recognizable function is the train station. I know from the Lonely Planet book that the best way to get from Pireus to downtown Athens is the Metro train. So we walk inside the station and ask an elderly lady if it was the Metro to Athens. She concurred. So I presented a plan to take the Metro to downtown Athens and look for hotels, or a Starbucks, from there. The girls agreed, and we were off.
I do believe that had I not been there, the girls would have taken one look at the dirty and crowded urbanity of Pireus and walked immediately into a Blue Star ticket office and booked a ticket back to the islands. I, however, was exhilarated by the crowds and the smells and all the beautiful women all packed into the city.
the plan evolved as we found a map of the trains circulating thru Athens. We were going to take the Green Line to the major transfer station. Then hop on the Red Line to the City Center. But when we got to the transfer station and walked to the platform for the Red Line I noticed 3 kids with large backpacks, cargo shorts, and flip flops. I listened to them talk for about 10 seconds and it was clear that they were Americans. I asked them what their accommodations were and they told me that they were headed to a hostel. I asked my girls if they wanted to follow the Americans to their hostel and their response was total ambivalence. Thus, I made the executive decision to follow the Americans.
We all board the Red Line and take it near the City Center. When we walk up to the surface there is a Starbucks staring us right in the face. At this moment, my decision-making faltered. My girls wanted to go back to the original plan and try to find a hotel on the internet in Starbucks. It was getting late (9pm) and dark, so I thought the safest idea would be to continue following the American kids to the hostel. I thought it was close and it would be a definite place to stay. Who knows if we would find anything definite on the internet? I talked my girls into following the Americans because it seemed like the most convenient option. Turned out to be not so convenient.
Katie and Christine were both pulling rolling suitcases and it didn't take too long for that to become an enormous burden. Especially since Christine weighs about 95 pounds and her suitcase weighed just over 105 pounds. That is no exageration. She got blisters on her hand just from pulling this thing. And it was absolutely impossible for one person to carry this suitcase up a flight of stairs. It was so cumbersome we began calling it, "The Bag of Death". Traveling with this bag could easily result in death...or hernia.
so Katie and Christine are rolling their luggage down the streets of Athens. The are both wearing little sundresses, they have make-up on, and their hair is done up just so. Me and our new American friends - one guy, two girls - are wearing shorts, t-shirts, and carrying backpacks. It is about 90 degrees outside and about 100% humidity.
When our street comes upon us, we rejoice. Then we realize that we are at address 150 and we need to get to address 75. And unlike America, this does not mean one block away. In Athens, there are 3-5 numbers per block and one succeeding number after another. No skipping. This means that we have to walk somewhere between 15 and 20 blocks. Not only that, this street is on a gigantic hill. It appears to go straight up.
Its not long before Katie and Christine fall behind. To be fair, they were both fighting illnesses and had trouble summoning strength. I decide to go on ahead and scout out the hostel. This is pointless because we've been walking for almost an hour and hadn't seen a single hotel along the way. We were staying at this hostel no matter what. Unless Katie and Christine don't survive this death march.
The hill eventually peaks after about 10 blocks. The rest of the way was straight downhill. We arrive at the hostel and it is the biggest piece of shite I've ever seen. I remember thinking that the girls will not be pleased when they arrive...in about 2 hours. We secure a dorm room with six beds. Our 3 new American friends; Donald, Bennett, and Kelli. And then the 3 of us; Joe, Katie, and Christine.
I go back for the girls and find them tired and haggard and severely famished. But they are still walking and still have their luggage. The walk from the train station took between 1.5 and 2 full hours. None of really cared that the hostel was a piece of shite, we all just wanted a bed. We settled into our wonderfully hot and old dorm room with no air circulation, no locks on the doors, cold showers, shared toilets, and 150 year-old pillows.
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