We woke up at 7:15 AM to leave at 8:00 for the beach. Apparently all of the Athenians head to the coast on the weekends, so Katula said we had to get there early. It was chaos catching the bus because we went to the wrong ticket stand and then all had to hurry to rush onto the E22 for Varkiza. Everyone was grumpy. As the bus was pulling up, all of these people were scrambling to get in front of the doors to get on quick for seats; so much so that two old men got into a screaming fight! The Greeks do love a good argument.
So it was a nice hour-and-fifteen-minute (standing) ride to the beach in the absolutely jam-packed bus. I have no idea how that many people fit, but it was disgusting. The Europeans don’t believe in hygiene the same way as us Americans, but it was well worth the trouble because it was beautiful! The water was crystal clear and there weren’t any fish, sharks, creatures, etc. because the Aegean Sea is too salty. It kind of felt more like a lake; just so refreshing!
The beaches charged us 4.50 euro for entrance, and that was the student deal; adults were 8 euro! And then on top of it, you pretty much have to rent a beach chair because there’s no space to lie in the sand, and that’s 5 euro. So the beach is not cheap fun in Greece. I napped in the sun for most of the day, but was in the water a good amount. The boys and I swam all the way out to the buoys separating the boats. We grabbed lunch at the “taverna” and I had spinach pie, which was delicious and reminded me of home. We also had these giant ice cream cones, kind of like the ones you just buy at the grocery, but they were huge and so good.
We stayed until probably 4:30 and then had to catch the bus back on our own because Katula had left earlier in the day. Despite having to stand again, the ride home wasn’t nearly as bad and we arrived about 6 PM. We set out in search of some drinks because buying them at the bars/clubs is way too expensive at about 8 euro a piece. Then we got all dolled up, grabbed gyros from our favorite place, and ate on the roof.
So this had been planned as our big night to go out dancing in Gazi, the clubbing area in Athens, but it didn’t turn out quite the way we’d planned. Niki met us at 10 PM in the lobby – she is 29, lives here, and will be joining us next week as our guide; the boys drool over her. All 22 of us took the metro (subway) over to Gazi and started out at a pretty chill bar called "Socialista," where we sat among three big couches and had some drinks. Around midnight, everyone started to get a little restless and wanted to go dance, like we’d been told. So finally we headed out to another place, but it was a rock bar that was too crowded to even move.
At this point everyone was starting to get frustrated, and I was so tired that my contacts were drying out; I could barely keep my eyes open. We were only at this place long enough to use the restroom before we explained to Niki that we had to dance … now! So we left and headed to this all-white bar that turns into a club at 2 AM. Niki finally mentioned that nobody starts to “club” – dance – until 2 … 3 … 4 in the morning. What?! How do the Greeks do it? I was wiped out by 1 AM!
At that point my objective was to get back to the hotel and go to bed. Everyone was just in a bad mood, so eight of us took the subway home at 2:30, and another few followed in a cab. Half of the group stayed out until 4:00 or 5:00 AM, and two crazy girls until 7:00!
It was disappointing that the night didn’t go as planned, but in hindsight I can’t say I’m all that surprised. I mean, going out with 22 people is not ideal; in fact, it’s way too hard. It's impossible to please everyone. And if the party doesn’t get started in Greece until 2 AM, we shouldn’t have met up until midnight. Basically we had expectations of going dancing and that wasn’t met at all so people got frustrated. Bummer, but oh well!
Sunday (today)-
I had set the alarm for 8:40 AM to go back to the beach this morning, but either I slept through it or Sarah turned it off right away, because I didn’t wake up! Apparently the girls also called our room and still we didn’t wake up. They left, but eventually some of the others knocked at 10 AM and that finally worked. We got ready pretty quickly, then ate some breakfast here, and ran across the street to get a Nescafe frappe. The people there were not very American-friendly, giving Sarah a very hard time because she asked for an “iced Nescafe frappe” and “frappe” means iced.
Six of us managed to buy ourselves tickets and find our way onto the bus back to Varkiza. This time when we got on, the foulest smelling body odor hit me like a wave. It was repulsive. I think I was standing right under this guy’s arm pit. We arrived around 12:15, so not too late. I was worried it would be too crowded to get chairs or anything, but we were able to find some and even located the rest of our friends. I spent most of the day reading from my National Geographic guide book about Greece. My favorite fun fact: Back in the early Olympic days, the men’s wrestling event was performed in the nude.
It was a little cloudy today, so I didn’t swim as much because I wasn’t as hot. We had lunch there again, and today I had the cheese pie (a lot like home) and strawberry granita (a lot like Italy). A bunch of people played beach volleyball, and commandeered a paddle boat from a group of Pakistanis. I just observed.
We left about 4 PM and suffered the most unbearable bus ride yet. Thank God it was our last! We were hot, sweaty, and crammed into this bus. I swear, it’s so ridiculous -- I’m jammed up against the five people surrounding me and there’s not another inch of space left … and then we stop and the doors open … and I think, “there’s no way even one more body can fit” … but it does. It smelled so badly and my skin was literally sticking to the girl next to me. At one point I was butt-to-butt with an old woman. It was an interesting experience.
Tonight we decided to do an exclusive dinner, which I feel bad saying because we didn’t include everyone, but it’s at that point where we all need our space. First, I ran out with two of the other girls because I had to purchase some essentials, like sunscreen and shampoo. We ended up in Monastiraki, but successfully navigated our way over to Plaka to meet the three others. We went to the trattoria place for the third time, and the six of us shared three Greek salads and three pasta dishes – pesto, carbonara, and veggie. It was really nice to just be the small group and not have to stress about paying and taking too long. It was so weird though, at dinner it started pouring down rain! We were sitting outside under a tent, but even got a little wet – it was certainly the first time we’ve felt anything close to a chill in Greece. Our professor said he hasn’t experienced rain in Greece in 17 years of spending summers here.
Tonight we just hung out and packed up. Tomorrow morning we are taking a coach bus to Napflio and stopping to see the Corinth Canal. It is going to be much different from Athens – not an urban area. Apparently we will be two miles from any stores, so we had to stock up on any necessary goods, like toiletries and/or snacks. We won’t have to take public transportation to the beach anymore either, as our new bus will take us everywhere. The downside is that we will no longer have internet, so no blogging for at least a week. I will keep writing in a Word document though, and post as soon as I have a connection again. I can’t believe week one/Athens is over! 23 more days…
I just thought I’d take this moment to reflect on how poorly I packed for this trip. Having already done a trip to Europe in the summer, I thought I knew enough to start packing only hours before I left. That was stupid!
- I brought the outlet converter but forgot the crucial piece that fits in European outlets – Thank God for my roommate.
- The hair dryer I brought is over the max of 1800 watts – again grateful for my roommate.
- I somehow believed that two tiny, samples of sunscreen would be sufficient – I’m burnt and out 17 euros for a bottle of sun lotion!
- And at the airport, my suitcase weighed only 17 kilos when we’re allowed 25. I could have brought so many more clothes!
- It’s so hot here that I shower twice a day (so I’m going through my shower supplies in half the time) and I wear two outfits a day. I’ve been doing laundry in my sink but it takes a couple of days for the clothes to dry. I’m officially on "wardrobe repeat" … only three more rounds to go. I will be very dirty by the time I get home.
Until I get internet again…
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