I Missed the Bus (cue Kris Kross)

Warning: Colorful language

You know the feeling. You open your eyes, look out the window, and say, “That’s too much sun.”

I sent a “fuck,” out into the universe when I saw the time was 8:30 a.m. My bus left for Delphi at 8:30. Money down the drain. No Oracle of Delphi. I set two alarms. I remember hitting my phone, but I must’ve turned that one off. I didn’t remember the second alarm sounding. I would later find out it’s because I didn’t set it for a.m. Again, shiiiiiiitttt!

Swear I can’t go on vacation without some b.s. It never fails.

I immediately went into problem-solving mode and then realized it would be to my benefit to drink some coffee and eat breakfast before I made any irrational decisions. I couldn’t get bent out of shape. After my initial shock and disappointment, I remembered where I was. Greece. How could I be grumpy for too long?

I quickly changed and walked to the Pantheon for brunch. They served American coffee and my kind of breakfast food.

The options:

1. Rent a car and drive to Delphi

2. Hire a driver

3. Choose another adventure

I chose 3. One and two were either too expensive or too time consuming. 

I quickly decided that I would explore the Acropolis Museum since I missed it yesterday. Then, I Googled, “Day trips from Athens.” It stung a little when Delphi appeared. Again, three options:

1. Take a ferry to Egina

2. Take a bus to Corinth

3. Hire a driver and visit Corinth and Mycenae 

I sent my local driver, Leonidas, a WhatsApp message and asked his availability for the day. 

While I awaited his response I toured the museum. More geeking out ensued. Most of the artifacts in the museum were taken from the Acropolis after the Pelopponesian War destroyed the temples and statues. I really hate war.

Athena

Roman baths 

Leonidas pings me back. He asks what I have in mind, and I float the idea of Corinth and Mycenae. It was too expensive and not enough time. How about Corinth or Mycenae? Leonidas suggests Corinth, and I agreed with the price. He was outside the museum in 5 minutes.

Off to Corinth we go! The first thing I thought of when heading towards Corinth was the Bible. I’m pretty sure Paul preached to the Corinthians. Corinth is about an hour west of Athens, with coastal views almost the whole way. We stop at the canal which links the Gulf of Corinth with the Aegean Sea. 

There was a nice rest stop at the canal, and thank the good Lord, a market. For one, I was already out of water, and I was hungry. Two, my phone battery doesn’t stand a chance out here, and I didn’t have time to stop by the apartment to grab my cords before leaving, so I bought a new charger cord.

When we get to Corinth, Leonidas tells me we’re going to Acorinth. The location of Acorinth and my knowledge of words, led me to believe the stood for, “Top of Corinth,” and boy was I right.

First of all, I was so happy to hike and explore an old city/castle. Second, the views were out of this world!

On my way out I experienced a pleasant encounter with the local who works the gate. He sits in a wooden shelter and distributes tickets to visitors so he can keep track of how many people are on site. Well, my ticket flew out of my bag and I let him know as much. His name, by the way, is Shotiris (Show-teer-ees). The way I spelled it is absolutely not how you write it in Greek. Shotiris gave me a hard time, but invited me to sit and have a drink. He offered me water, Raki and coffee. “What was the second drink you said?” “Raki,” says Shotiris. Folks, Raki is the Greek equivalent of vodka, and Shotiris poured me a taste.

We then worked on pronouncing each other’s name. He’d never met and Audra, and struggled with pronouncing my name like I struggled pronouncing his. He apologized for not speaking English well, and I was floored. How lucky am I to visit a foreign country where everyone I’ve met so far speaks English well enough to converse. I told him I was the one who should be apologizing. I know four Greek words and phrases. Sotoris asked me about American, we talked a little politics, and I told him the other places I planned to visit. He gave me his friend’s number in Antiparos, who runs a taverna. I had to go, and we shook hands. Shotiris kept saying how happy he was to talk and meet me. He said, “I love meeting people. There are no differences. We’re just people.” I knew what he meant.

Next, Leonidas dropped me off at the Corinth Museum where I was again blown away with the relics and temples.

I then headed back to Athens to prepare for my final night in the city. By the way, Leonidas will get his own blog post. We covered a lot during our trip.

Plaka is Athens’ prime real estate. Restaurants and shops abound. It’s mostly pedestrian traffic, but a car or moped sneaks by every once in awhile. 

I knew I wanted some wine and dessert tonight, and hiked it over to Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro. Unfortunately, they were closed. Just up the street, thankfully, was Heteroclito. No dessert, but lots of tasty wine and appetizers.

I walked through Plaka more, captured some amazing pictures of the Acropolis at night, grabbed a scoop of cookie and caramel gelato, and headed back to the apartment.

What a day. Tomorrow begins a new journey. I’ll be back for Delphi another time.

Cheers,

Doc Aud