Welcome to Athens: pick-pocketed

While we have met some of the most incredibly kind people along the way, we also have now experienced some of the world's worst: pickpockets. Throughout the world we have encountered folks who told tales of taking precautions and being on alert for criminals and still were crime victims. Guidebooks tell you to be on the lookout as well. We have usually been obsessive-compulsive about theft prevention. But we've now joined the ranks of pick-pocket victims.

Subway trains, tourist attractions, crowded shopping areas are all ripe for the picking (pun intended) and we usually are on high alert when in those places. I have a lock-hold grip on camera and purse, with bag clamped under the arm. Joel has hand in pocket and similar grips on bags. But we weren't on high enough alert in Piraeus as we caught the metro into Athens.

Hindsight is 20-20. I thought the man that blocked my way out of the doorway and down the isle was simply being rude. He continued to be 'rude' to Joel not letting him move past with suitcase and bag. I was so focused on Mr. Rude that I didn't pay attention to his two sidekicks; one of which removed Joel's wallet from his pocket so swiftly that he didn't realize it was gone until they had hopped off the train at the first stop out of the port.

I can tell you I am no longer the nice traveler on metro trains or buses; look at me for more than 30 seconds or glance at my purse, and I am likely to start swinging my umbrella at you.

Off to Athens

We head to Athens on Thursday after a far too short a stay in Naxos, another delightful island in the Greek Cyclades islands. After all my writing about short notice hotel bookings, we found a boutique hotel on line that sounded so good that we booked it several days in advance just to make sure we had a room in it. So much for advance bookings -- after we had it confirmed, they wrote yesterday saying they really had no room and we were out of luck. We are now booked in another boutique hotel, this one only 400 meters from the Acropolis. So we may have inadvertently lucked out again. More details to follow on the hotel after our arrival.

We travel there by ferry leaving at 9:30 a.m. and five hours later arrive in Piraeus.

The Baptism

Baptisms are second only to weddings around here - very important and very special and for that reason the entire town turned out for the baptism. Anna told us we were invited, we all went. We joined the townsfolk in the climb up the hillside walk to the cathedral and attended the ceremony in the cavernous Greek Orthodox Church.

Angels among us

As I left the previous post I was considering ditching myself or the bags at the side of the road on our hike up the hill and into town. . .after all Joel had pointed out, it was only 3.3 kilometers up the hill and we walk that much all the time. . .

A car passed us, slowed and came to a stop and the man from Spain hopped out of the passenger side telling us to pile the bags (and me) into the car - a lady from town had agreed to give them a ride and since bags and people didn't all fit, the bags got shipped as well as me. Joel and Rob would follow.

The lady, Anne (Anna) I've decided is one of those angels among us that seem to suddenly appear when you need them and then do incredible acts of kindness. She deposited three of us and our bags at the appointed spot but when we asked for a hotel recommendation she winkled her brow, had an animated chat with two ladies sitting on a balcony above and said, "I am sorry there are no accommodations." A bit of a problem as the next ferry was the next day.

Finally after much conversation with the ladies Anna said, "I have a hotel. It is closed but I will open it for you." She took the three of us into her car again (and the two ladies watched the bags) to show us her hotel. It is absolutely spectacular with views of the town and see and surrounding hillsides.

The reason the few rooms still open were not available was because a baptism was being held Saturday night and guests from all over had taken anything that might have been available. So the five of us have become Anna's guests and had the hotel to ourselves. Today she insists that she take us to the ferry, she wouldn't hear of us riding the bus.

The hotel is Ampelos Resort (http://www.ampelosresort.com/) and is owned by her brother who lives in Santa Rita CA and owns Ampelos Cellars, a winery in Santa Barbara CA.

As a side note, the article I had clipped didn't fully describe this magical place. We all have vowed to return again and hopefully in the not too distant future. Photos are of our hotel and looking down from the town (I wasn't joking - it is high in the hills).

No reservation? No sweat. . .

Actually our trip to Folegandros has proven that statement incorrect. . .we did sweat a lot, quite literally, on this segment of the trip. Folegandros, as I wrote before, is a Greek island we booked ourselves to pretty much on the basis of an article I had clipped from the Seattle Times and an outdated guidebook entry we read in Santorini. Folegandros is on the cusp of tourism with delightful small resorts, rooms to let and a selection of restaurants found in the maze of the Kastro, a maze of small alleyways past plazas, homes and businesses in what was once a Venetian village. We had been warned in Santorini that we might find limited accommodations here this late in the season.

We were among a dozen or so who got off the ferry at the port - most went to waiting cars. But five of us went in search of the bus - the one we all had read met each ferry. After 20 minutes the realization was clear that the bus that would take us up the 3.3. kilometer stretch to the town wasn't coming. Our band of five had made introductions while waiting and we consisted of a couple from Spain, a man from Australia and the Smiths.

At the news finally that the bus wouldn't arrive for nearly two hours and with rain clouds threatening, three of us decided to walk, make that hike, to the town. That is where the sweat comes in. Under cloudy skies, in muggy conditions we began the trek, looking much like donkeys as we pulled our suitcases like carts and laden with those ' lightweight' Bagallini bags, I've been bragging about throughout the trip. After 30 minutes I was trying to remember what the symptoms of heart attack or stroke areas my heart pounded and the sweat dripped. (sometimes being a traveler isn't pretty).

This photo is of Joel and our now new friend Rob from Australia. . .as we set off for town.

Island Life

When we started planning this extended stay, we were counting on low season (end of the tourist season) rates to keep the budget from going bust. Joel had anticipated room rates at 50 to 60 euros a day. The current exchange rate is 1E=$1.48US. We've been pleasantly surprised to find accommodations at below that rate; the most we have paid per night was in Iraklio at 52E per night and the least in Santorini at 28E per night.

We've had no itinerary so therefore we've had no reservations with the exception of our start in Hania and we made a reservation in Iraklio just to be sure we were within walking distance of the ferry terminal. We had debated between a 90E per night hotel and the one we booked for 52E - we were upgraded to an oceanview room with a wrap-around balcony that provided stunning views of the harbor and coastline. We made the reservation the day before we arrived.

I am writing this post from a two-story home we have occupied since our arrival in Folegandros (that will be the next entry). We have enjoyed this unstructured island lifestyle - but as I've said before it isn't for everyone. Those who need to know where they will be would be most uncomfortable traveling with us. We've chatted with some American tourists on the ferry who have relied on their travel agent to plan their trip and haven't even looked up the hotels to see where they have paid to stay - that type of travel is not for us.

I can imagine some of you are wondering what kind of accommodations can be had for only 28E per night so I've included photos of our room and view at Manos Villas in Santorini . We had television, air conditioning, a pool and hot tub there.

Folegandros bound. . .maybe

While searching our file folder for ferry schedules we ran across a clipping from the Seattle Times travel section that I had been saving since last July about an island, Folegandros. Turns out to be the island that we view from our deck in Santorini. So we headed to the travel agent (they are the ones who sell the ferry tickets) and booked ourselves there, with plans to leave on Saturday morning.

While it is a great example of going where the winds blow us this trip, it may be the winds that keep us from getting there. A tremendous wind storm is currently raging its way through Santorini, kicking up dirt from the fields and whipping trees with gusto. So we may not leave if the ferries don't go tomorrow. Will keep you posted on where the winds take or leave us.

The photo is sunrise over Folegandros and the one of us was taken en route to Santorini on the ferry from Iraklio

Greek beach wear

Several of you have asked about the one bag packing we've done and how it is working. Again, photos say it best. This one of Joel shows not only the versitility of the tee-shirt when worn on the head, but also reflects the carefree attitude we've adopted here. Rick Steves had best watch out -- we may be able to do even a better packing job than he does. By the way, the beach was pretty spectacular -