Hoorayus Piraeus!

Pleased to discover how easy it is to take public transit from the airport all the way to the Port of Piraeus with two fully loaded bicycles, we decided to celebrate with a delicious gyro and a look around the Port of Piraeus. Piraeus gets a bad rap, but we both enjoy the ethnic diversity of the area and the many small shops stocking unusual food stuffs. I'm a personal fan of the American House Toast sign. It seems they might give degrees in hamburgers? I'll stick to working on my gyro diploma.

Not so sweet spot

It was evening and I was pretty sure we had located the sweet spot for travelling deck on the ferry from Iraklio to Athens. We had arrived an hour and some before departure and so we had plenty of time to scope out the ship and find the perfect sleeping cove. Sofas, sheltered benches, and soft carpeted areas underneath stairwells, in quiet alcoves, and in unobtrusive sections are snatched up fast - so we had to act decisively.

Basil located a nice, quiet, dim spot under the two staircases in the main lobby. We rolled out our sleeping bags and mattresses to claim our place and we retired to a couch upstairs with a view of our gear. In no time, territorial Basil was sprinting down the stairs to hurl Greek insults at a burly group of young men who were standing on our stuff and looking like they might get comfortable. Basil snarled the intruders away and having reclaimed our turf, we sat and waited. Word circulated that the ship would be a hour late in it's departure because a football match had gone overtime and we were waiting for the team.

A little peeved, I settled in with an eye on the door and prepared to at least have the pleasure of feasting my eyes on the arrival of a pack of athletic bodies.

I was not to be satisfied. As the numbers crossing through the doors increased, so did the size of the waistlines bound in tasteless red football wear. I was confused and angered. I'm not sure where my head was, but, of course we weren't waiting for the athletes, we were waiting for the fans, the spectators! Now, while Greeks are no English hooligans, let me assure you, the arrival of the spectators of a Greek football game is no feast for the eyes - or the ears.

Our pleasant ship turned unpredictably rowdy, we were now an hour and a half late for departure, the lobby was full of loud, drunken, macho men dropping food wrappers and looking to bed down a little too close to us for my comfort. I was not happy that this was eating in to the early morningness of our bike ride across traffic congested Athens. So, I snapped at a particularly surly gang who decided that "next to my pillow" was a better location for their shoes than "next to their own pillow". Having defended our home, I slept well and then charged across Athens in record time - even with traffic.

Acropolis Now

The things that surprised me the most about the acropolis were that I could see the sea, that I would never see the real acropolis unimpeded by cranes and scaffolding, and that the city of modern Athens literally floods out in all directions engulfing everything in it's path. I've been told that Lycabetus hill used to be inhabited only by wolves. Today those wolves have been reduced to licensed street dogs.

Wild oats

The roadsides in the outskirts of Athens are covered in wild oats. The empty hulls capture the late afternoon sun in the most magical way. I can't wait to be casting my long shadow over them as I learn how to bike tour in Greece.

Sexy little caper

Nature continually amazes me. While out hiking with a family friend of my beau, the plant that produces capers was casually pointed out to us. I must admit that the caper is such a simple little tasty thing whose origins I had never contemplated. To see this wild creeping vine exploding with stunning flowers I was delighted to realize that the caper is a sexy little flower bud.

Athens is dog heaven

"Athens is dirty." "Athens is chaotic." " Athens is ugly."

I had pretty low expectations for Athens. The main piece of advice I got from people who have visited before me was to,"see the Acropolis and get the heck out of the place", but Athens is stuffed with amazing food and historical sights and modern points of interest that extend way beyond the Acropolis. Offering a sample of the house wine to go with your gyro or an extra container of rice pudding to go with your profiterole, the Athenian people are extremely generous with their hospitality. Impressively, this generosity extends all the way down to their four-legged friends and it goes far beyond the occasional table scrap. I've been to my share of countries whose urban centres teem with packs of mangy dogs, but kudos to the Athenians for really figuring it out.

It was the Olympics that spurred Athens into addressing their stray dog population. The impressive thing is that the strays were not rounded up and shot in a back alley or lethally injected behind closed doors, they were and still are taken in and spayed or neutered and then returned to the same place in the street with a shiny new collar and a dog license. How civilized! Today you see a backdrop of healthy, well fed dogs, that are clearly an accepted piece of the cross patch of fabric that makes up modern day Athens. It adds some humane character to what many see as just dirty chaos with an acropolis on top.