After Athens I spent a further 2.5 weeks in Greece. I’ve been a bit lax on including logistic details recently, so just to remind you of the realities of travelling over land I’ve included all the transport this time!
Week 1 - Crete
I took an overnight ferry from Piraeus (the port part of Athens) to Heraklion, Crete. It was surprisingly difficult to find the ferry at the huge port, with no information signs to be seen. I initially boarded the wrong one, but ended up securing a nice sofa seat on the correct one. I lay out my sleeping bag and got myself ready for bed, only to be told by a staff member that I couldn’t sleep until 11pm (it was currently 9pm). I found that very odd but was happy to watch some netflix until 11, before having a mildly uncomfortable night’s sleep. We arrived into Heraklion for 7am and I had all morning to kill so slowly walked in the direction of the bus station. Just up the road I saw the golden arches of a Mcdonald’s and realised that a maccies breakfast is exactly what I fancied! The bright 24/7 sign laughed down at me when I realised it was closed. But seeing as I really did have all morning with nothing to do, I decided to sit outside and read my book until it opened. 1.5 hours later, having finished my book, it finally opened. Very excited to eat the breakfast I’d been thinking about for so long it was a great disappointment to see that they were not offering a breakfast menu. With too much time invested in the venture I begrudgingly ordered a burger and a coffee and ate it. At least there was good wifi and I could work on some blog posts!
Now the reason I was in Crete was to meet friends from home for their annual holiday get together. They weren’t arriving until 2am the next morning so I was the first one to get to the hotel. I’ve stayed in some hostels which have left a lot to desire, this hotel was cut from the same cloth. Luckily I was there to spend time with friends rather than have a luxury experience! Going down in the evening to eat dinner at the all inclusive buffet was the first time on the trip I’ve felt self-conscious eating alone. In the middle of the night I woke to Sam arriving into my room, I gave him a sleepy hug and my time alone ended for a bit. We spent the next week doing all sorts of holiday activities - relaxing by the pool, going to a waterpark (my personal highlight surprisingly), hiring a car and exploring the island, playing lots of cards, spending time at the beach. It was so wonderful to see friends and spend time with them all. I wasn’t feeling homesick, but this banished any potential homesickness!
One notable event was the Queen’s death. The news came in just as we’d finished eating dinner. We crowded into the largest one of our rooms and watched the BBC news broadcast on the tiny TV. An interesting place to have been for the moment! The following day a slightly less notable event took place - my birthday! It was lovely to spend it with friends, with us going to the waterpark and out for a nice dinner and drinks.
At the end of the week I said my goodbyes to everyone and returned to Heraklion to get the overnight ferry back to Athens. Here it sunk in that I likely won’t see my friends until next July. Feeling quite sad I watched some uplifting tv to cheer me up and then made a bed out of two chairs (no sofas on this ferry).
The middle bit - Meteora
The ferry arrived late into Athens which meant I missed the direct train to my next location, Kalambaka. Once at the main train station I worked out my new route. It was only two trains so not too bad! This was my first train journey since travelling from Mostar to Sarajevo in Bosnia in June, and I enjoyed it hugely. The first train was late so we missed the connecting train, but luckily there was another train that arrived shortly after we did. Arriving in Kalambaka I immediately saw the reason I’d come here - the huge rock columns rising out of nowhere, with tiny monasteries perched on top of them. The rocks and monasteries are known as Meteora.
I stayed here for 2 nights, walking up to the monasteries to watch the sunset and hitchhiking back down to the town both nights (my first experience of hitchhiking!). It was so peaceful and like nothing I’d ever seen before. On my full day I hiked the monasteries with Pjotr, a dutch guy from the hostel. We walked to all six in the area, taking in all of the scenic points en route. We went into one monastery and one nunnery - St Stephens and Varlaam. Men had to wear long trousers and women long skirts to enter. They were both beautiful and interesting, with little museums. But the real treasure was the views. The huge columns of rock with the little monasteries stacked on top. The vibrant green forests laying in between.
There was a Lidl in Kalambaka which excited me a bit too much, and I enjoyed cooking a delicious and healthy dinner with Pjotr. It had been too long since I’d cooked, and I do really miss it.
Week 2 - Corfu
Next stop on my Greece trip was Corfu, to meet my family! I caught a bus to Ioannina which took 2.5 hours, then immediately a bus to Igoumenitsa. I caught a ferry to Corfu and walked to the airport, waiting for my family to land. Sadly, their flight was delayed by several hours (another reason to favour land travel!). Finally they arrived, and it was so wonderful to see them! It had been just over 4 months, but it felt like we had a lot to catch up on and it was very comforting to see them. We got our transfer to the airbnb and hurried out to eat before the restaurants closed.
Our villa was beautiful, perched up the hill with sea views to be enjoyed from the terrace which included a pool. This week was spent exploring nearby towns by bus, including the Durrells house, spending time on the beach, snorkelling, enjoying good food, chilling by the pool and lots more cards. My highlight was hiring a boat and speeding around the north east coast, stopping at tranquil coves to swim and snorkel, and learning how to dive in from the boat (thanks Dad!).
Spending time with my family was so restful and, like the time spent with friends, meant any potential homesickness was gone. Before leaving I washed all of my clothes, charged up all of my devices and replenished my toiletries. Both me and my backpack were refreshed and it felt like I was starting out fresh, rather than being 4.5 months in.
Onwards - Thessaloniki
My brother, Harvey, was joining me for Istanbul so we waved goodbye to our parents together as we got the bus to Corfu town. Here we caught a direct bus all the way to Thessaloniki, with it taking 6 hours. We got off the bus after a short time to get onto the ferry, and re-boarded back on the mainland. We spent one night in Thessaloniki, doing a whirlwind tour of the city which we thought was nice but nothing too special. It was a day of freebies: all of the historical sights were free to enter on that day for some reason, we accidentally went to a university freshers’ fair and got a free water bottle, we went on a free boat ride around the gulf. But some things really are too good to be true, and the boat ride was not really free, with us having to buy a drink onboard which cost an insane amount - 9EUR for a large beer! The main stand out for me was the food - all of our meals here were excellent.
From Thessaloniki we got an overnight bus to Istanbul. This was my least favourite overnight bus so far. It was way too hot and the lady sat behind me had stacks of bangles from wrist to elbow on both arms that made the most irritating noise when she moved her arms, which she seemed to do the entire journey. We had to wait a while at the border, being forced to go into a duty free lounge which was strange. The bus arrived 1.5 hours early, which is usually a great thing but when it means you arrive at 5:30am rather than 7am and with 1.5 hours less sleep, it’s less fun.
Overall
Greece was a weird one, it was a time spent seeing friends and family more than travelling. I didn’t fall in love with the country, a part from Athens. I was surprised at how much I loved the food, and how varied Greek cuisine is. An absolute stand-out dish was the lamb Kleftiko. It was one of the best dishes I’ve ever eaten. I ate three in my time in Greece, and they were all quite different with one important similarity - they were full of the same amazing flavour and were truly delicious. I will definitely be attempting to cook my own version at home. I also enjoyed the hospitality in Greece, with it being common to receive a free sweet treat after a meal, or a drink, or a platter of fruit.