Week 6: A pain in my Athens
I’m on the boat to Zakynthos Island after spending the weekend in Athens. On my last morning on Skopelos, I walked from Glossa with all my bags down the pedestrian path. I laughed to myself, thinking about a story Eleni had told me about a time she got cornered by a goat on one of these paths down to the port and had to turn and go back up towards the village to avoid this stubborn goat. I sat down on the concrete ground, surrounded by my bags, covered in sweat, while waiting for the ferry. An older Greek woman said something to me, and I responded in Greek that I didn’t understand her. A younger woman translated with a smile, “she wants you to sit on the bench”. I smiled at the woman and said I was fine on the ground. Well, that was not okay with her. She got up slowly and made everyone push over. She spoke to me again, insisting there was space for me to sit. I tried to resist smiling and moved from the ground to the bench. This is Greece. I had only spent one month on Skopelos, but watching the village of Glossa shrink from the ferry was strangely difficult. I had become so accustomed to saying “kalimera” to the people at the cafe and the grocery store in the mornings, and spending my evenings listening to traditional Greek music at Rouga with my new friends.
Metro station in Athens
Lucky for me, I had plenty to distract me as I made my way to Athens. If you've been following along, you know my phone became unusable while in Skopelos. So I had to get the ferry to Mantoudi Port, then a ~3-hour bus to Athens, then a taxi to my hostel, without a phone. Because everyone expects that you have a phone at your disposal, it’s really inconvenient not to have one. One of the girls I met from Skopelos, Melene, was also on her way to Athens, so she helped me throughout the journey, including helping me find a taxi. If it wasn't for her, the vacationing Greek family I sat beside on the ferry offered to drive me to Athens after only about 5 minutes of chatting, so regardless, I would've been well taken care of by the Greeks.
I stayed in the vibrant, student neighbourhood of Excharea, at the Nubian Hostel, which was the nicest hostel I’d ever seen. The staff drew on a map the location of two nearby places that might be able to replace my phone battery. Many people had warned me about staying alert while in Athens, so I was very concerned about looking like a tourist and only pulled out the map when no one was looking. (It’s worth noting that I felt completely safe my entire time I was in Athens, and used the same precautions I would in any city).
In the evening, the streets are flooded with laughter, chatter, and clinking drinks
This is where the fun began. Both phone repair shops had two storefronts on opposite sides of the streets. So I ended up walking into 4 different shops asking “milao Anglika?” (Do you speak English?) and if they had the battery to repair my phone 4 times. No stores in Athens were able to replace Google phone batteries. I ended up having to check both stores for a new phone and finally bought the cheapest Android I could get my hands on. (I think my grandma’s phone is nicer!) I went back to the dorm room in my hostel that I currently had all to myself, and spent a few hours working my last shift for my summer job and fell asleep around 1am. At 2am, I woke up to an American girl, whose flight had been very delayed, lugging her bags into the room and crawling into the bed next to mine.
Now, let’s pretend for a second that that is where my troubles end to talk about Athens! I went into this with no idea what to expect from this city. It feels difficult to assign words to this city or to put it in a box. In some neighbourhoods, 5-story faded pastel, concrete buildings with apartments above and store fronts at street-level had over-grown vines and grafiti clinging to the walls. Other neighbourhoods had the more classic architecture you’d see in Western Europe, large, fancy white buildings. And then there were the ancient churches, the trendy bars and cafes, a gorgeous small park with lush, tropical vegetation, situated beside an abandoned building. It all somehow flowed together seamlessly. There are views of small mountains around the city. I was walking down one street filled with restaurants and when I looked up, I was pleasantly surprised to see the Acropolis.
In the shadow of the Acropolis
Saturday morning, I woke up with 2 tasks to accomplish: buy a SIM card and camping gear for my volunteering trip to Zakynthos. Because I had a new phone, I could not use the electronic SIM card from my old phone (it seems like a rip off if you ask me). So I bit the bullet and bought a new one. I had been less attentive this time around because I’d already bought an eSim before and thought I knew everything I needed to. Turns out, when you are travelling, you are constantly being humbled. This cheap phone I bought does not support eSIM, and after a few minutes of feeling defeated, I was able to grovel for a refund.
So I had to do things the old fashioned way and go out to buy a Greek SIM card. Armed with my map, I was able to get a physical SIM card and felt like I was back to being a capable human being with a working phone. I spent the afternoon taking public transit to an outdoor shopping mall where I managed to buy a tent, sleeping bag and sleeping mattress for under $200. I hopped on the bus to go back to my hostel, and after a few minutes, the bus made a deep rumbling noise and then stopped. Announcements were made in Greek, and people filed off the bus.
“The bus has broken down, and they are sending another,” explained the guy beside me. Everyone else dispersed to a metro station while the two of us waited for another bus. A new bus sped towards us, pulling in behind and nearly hitting our broken-down bus. But after sitting on board for only a few minutes, they once again asked us in Greek to get off. Then both buses zoomed away, and the two of us were stranded. Luckily, I got stranded with a nice guy, and he helped me get back to my hostel and gave me a little tour of Athens along the way.
Athens is filled with rooftop bars. Pictured below, I stumbled upon a half-enclosed, half-open rooftop patio with a view of The Mnisikleous Stairs below. These stairs feel uniquely Greek. As you walk up the steps, on either side of you, people are perched on small pillows which cover the ground and wait for their drinks and food that servers from nearby restaurants bring them while they take in a view of the city. (Little travel tip: I found the stairs a little overwhelming mid-day, but the Mostrou rooftop patio was completely empty and had even better views!)
I learned an important lesson today about SIM cards. As I walked around the city with my new friend, George, I noticed my phone had prompted me to re-enter the PIN for my SIM card. The pin was located on a piece of plastic that came with my SIM card to activate it. The same piece of plastic that the cashier told me I could throw away. Without this pin, my SIM card, and by extension my phone, were rendered useless- once again. “I guess I’ll just go back to the store tomorrow,” I said, a little defeated.
George looked at me very seriously, “everything is closed on Sundays”. ... Of course.
I had to leave first thing Monday morning to travel to Zakynthos, where I am spending a month camping - so it was pretty essential to have a SIM card before leaving. Sunday morning, I ran around to little kiosks, selling souvenirs and cold drinks around touristy areas. After asking 5 vendors if they sell SIM cards and hearing “no” from each one, I decided to try one more kiosk. The vendor said, “yes I have one more”. I paid double the price that I’d paid the previous day, but at least I had a SIM card. My fourth one of this trip.
Once that was finally sorted, I did some exploring. I climbed up towards the Acropolis, through a cute neighbourhood of houses called Anafiotika. I read that it's supposed to have a similar appearance to architecture in some of the Greek Islands, with narrow pathways and colourful houses. It was definitely somewhat comparable.
I also took a walk on the outskirts of the Acropolis, as my brother, who is studying history, would surely disown me if I didn’t. But I didn’t feel like paying or waiting in line to get up close. I made the questionable decision to end my day of walking with a hike. I climbed up Lycabettus Hill around sunset and was greeted by a wave of shimmering white. The evening sun made the whole city glow with warm pastel colours, and the white houses and glass windows reflected the soft sunset as far as the eye could see. This view took my breath away and made me fall in love with the city. The Acropolis was about an hour walk away, but there was a fantastic view of the seemingly tiny monument perched above the city at golden hour, but I had to fight my way through a crowd to get the view. I think visiting Athens outside of the summer would be ideal.
The Acropolis
View from Lycabettus Hill at sunset
This morning I took a 5 hour bus from Athens to the ferry. I asked the driver at one point if there would be an opportunity to use the bathroom. He said yes, and a few minutes later, he started slowing down and yelled loud enough for the whole bus to hear, “TOILET, PLEASE, NOW!” As he pulled over, I jumped from my seat and ran into what appeared to be an outhouse off the side of the road. Now I am off to Zakynthos Island, where I will be camping for one month straight while I volunteer with the conservation project called Archelon, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece. I have no idea what to expect.
