Warning – this one is a very long (and possibly depressing) post.\u00a0 Plan your reading accordingly!<\/p>\n
On paper, it seemed like an easy enough day.\u00a0 We\u2019d sleep in until 9 am, catch a taxi from the hotel in time to catch our short domestic flight to Athens at 11:20.\u00a0 The first sign of trouble occurred at about 8:30 am.\u00a0 I was up a little earlier while Kuniko was still sleeping, and suddenly our power went out.\u00a0 The sun was already out, so it didn\u2019t really make much of a difference, and there was still plenty of hot water.\u00a0 I thought it was curious, but since we were leaving soon I didn\u2019t think much more about it.\u00a0 We brought our suitcase upstairs to reception and I found out that our room was not the only place without power – apparently the whole island was blacked out.\u00a0 But I figured that it was part of being on a tiny island in the Mediterranean Sea.<\/p>\n
We handed over our credit card to pay for our room, and the hotel owner told us that since the power was out they couldn\u2019t run our card.\u00a0 Instead he brought out an old machine that made an impression of the credit card on carbon paper.\u00a0 It was clear that he hadn\u2019t used it for more than twenty years, and it was an absolute comedy of errors to watch the old guy trying every orientation of the card and the carbon paper.\u00a0 My card info was always in the wrong place, or backwards, or upside down.\u00a0 As he struggled I thought through the possible combinations – four different orientations of the card, four for the carbon paper, plus the front side and back side… how many more times, do you think?\u00a0 Luckily the pressure of the arriving taxi sped things up, and when we left he at least had written down my credit card numbers and expiration date, so one way or another he\u2019d get paid.<\/p>\n
Our taxi driver made lots of stops on the way to the airport to pick up other people (and pad his income) so by the time we arrived it was just an hour to go until our flight.\u00a0 Once we got out of the taxi, we realized that we were in big trouble.\u00a0 It was clear that the power outage was happening here, too, and there were hundreds of people lined up in two or three big lines outside the tiny airport.\u00a0 There were no staff outside directing traffic, and no signs explaining where to line up.\u00a0 I peeked inside and could understand that at least we needed to be lined up on the left side, but it looked like we were in for a long wait.<\/p>\n
Later I realized that this is where we made our big mistake.\u00a0 At that point we should have walked past all those people, found a ticket sales agent (instead of a check-in clerk) and probably they would have let us cut through all the mess.\u00a0 But we didn\u2019t – we waited in line like good customers.\u00a0 The flight screens did have power, and I guess the airport had power for some systems, but our flight was listed but showed no status.\u00a0 As we got close to the front I realized that the check-in signs didn\u2019t show our flight anymore, so I left Kuniko in line and made the trip up to the Aegean ticket agent to ask what was going on.\u00a0 She looked at me with surprise and said that our flight had already left.<\/p>\n
What?\u00a0 I looked at the time, and sure enough, it was 11:10 am.\u00a0 They had taken off without us.\u00a0 The agent said that they had been walking up and down the airport making announcements and trying to find us, but we had been there and either we didn\u2019t notice or she was telling stories.\u00a0 Anyway, we had missed our flight, so the agent started looking into other options.\u00a0 Unfortunately there were no good ones.<\/p>\n
Later that evening Aegean had another flight, at around 8 pm, but it was sold out.\u00a0 We could try to get on stand-by for the flight, but we\u2019d have to wait at the airport all day and maybe not even get on the plane.\u00a0 We could try another airline, Olympus Airlines, but it turned out that their flights were sold out as well.\u00a0 The next day there was only one flight out, and that was sold out as well.\u00a0 Ugh.<\/p>\n
I told the agent that I would look into other options at Olympus, and went to give Kuniko the bad news.\u00a0 She was as shocked as I was – angry at the agent, and frustrated at the airport.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t blame her.\u00a0 So we got out of line, set up on a bench, and plotted our next move.\u00a0 It looked like if we were flying out it wouldn\u2019t be for another day at the earliest, which meant we\u2019d have to find some lodging at a hotel during high season.\u00a0 I also knew that there was a port on the island, and so we considered whether it would be worth it to find a ship leaving today instead of a plane.\u00a0 We went back to the agent, and she called the port and said there was a high speed ship leaving in 30 minutes with some space available, and if we hurried we might make it.\u00a0 We rushed outside to get a ride to the port, wherever that was, but there was no transportation available and a huge taxi line.\u00a0 Only 38 taxis on Santorini, you know.\u00a0 When we went back inside to ask the ticket agent about another ship, she had pulled down the shutters and gone on break.\u00a0 Smart lady.<\/p>\n
It was pretty clear we weren\u2019t going to make the next ship departure, but we decided that the airport was not going to work for us, at least today.\u00a0 We made a stop at the ATM for some cash (this turned out to be a life-saver) and then got in line for a cab to take us to the port.\u00a0 After waiting for a while we made it to the front of the line, and the guy working the taxi line was grouping together passengers into areas of the island to use the available taxis more efficiently.\u00a0 We were assigned a taxi with two young women from Italy who were going to their hotel.\u00a0 Their luggage completely filled the trunk of the taxi, so our suitcase was tied to the roof.\u00a0 As we raced up and down the hillsides above the ocean, I could only envision our black suitcase tumbling over and over through the air towards the beautiful blue sea.\u00a0 Our day was going like that, and I figured it was only a matter of time until the next disaster.<\/p>\n
We talked a little with the women from Italy, and they said that they had heard that the power outage was all over Greece.\u00a0 Apparently sometimes Greece doesn\u2019t pay for the energy it imports from other countries, so the countries cut their power to try to induce them to pay.\u00a0 What a mess!<\/p>\n
First we dropped off the Italians at their place, and they wished us good luck.\u00a0 Then we took a long, curving road from the top of the eastern side of the island all the way down to the area with the port.\u00a0 As we arrived there were two huge ships in the harbor, with loads of people streaming off.\u00a0 It seemed like we might have a chance to catch a ride from here after all, but our visit to the ticket office quickly dashed our hopes.\u00a0 The next available ship to Athens was leaving that night at 1:30 in the morning.\u00a0 It was a six hour voyage arriving in Athens tomorrow at 8 am.\u00a0 That was it – nothing else available that day.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t really have any better options, so we went ahead and bought the tickets (which were quite cheap) and then found a caf\u00c3\u00a9 with internet to see how to kill the next twelve hours.<\/p>\n
The port area was actually more active and lively than the airport.\u00a0 There seemed to be a lot more foot traffic with people coming off the boats, and plenty of open-air restaurants and tourist shops nearby to arrange expeditions and such on the island.\u00a0 The caf\u00c3\u00a9 we chose had some customers but it wasn\u2019t overly busy, and we ordered some beers and some snacks and set up shop.<\/p>\n
Our mental state at the time was not so great.\u00a0 The biggest issue was that we had mentally finished with Santorini last night, and now it looked like we were going to have to stick around.\u00a0 There was nothing else that we wanted to do here – we just wanted to leave.\u00a0 But leaving was something that we couldn\u2019t hurry up, no matter how much money we threw at the problem.\u00a0 It kind of felt like we had lost control of our holiday – which is a feeling that we weren\u2019t really used to.\u00a0 In addition we were weighed down by our suitcase.\u00a0 Anywhere we went we\u2019d have to take it along or worry about it, and there was nobody around that we trusted to watch it for us.\u00a0 The longer we stayed at the caf\u00c3\u00a9, the more I worried that they\u2019d be pressuring us to keep ordering or leave.\u00a0 We sat and thought about our options, and while we watched the ships came and left port with passengers who had bought tickets before us, and soon the port was pretty empty.\u00a0 It got lonely quickly, but the caf\u00c3\u00a9 staff didn\u2019t seem to mind us sitting around nursing beers and staring at the ocean.<\/p>\n
So with nothing to do but wait, we started waiting.\u00a0 Twelve hours is a long time to sit around.\u00a0 Kuniko played Sudoku.\u00a0 I read books or surfed the web.\u00a0 We both stared out at the ocean and watched ships sail by in the distance.\u00a0 We ate and drank now and then.\u00a0 Sometimes one of us would walk up and down the port side, while the other watched the luggage and held our seats.\u00a0 The walk from one side of the port to the other took about two minutes, so it was a very short break.\u00a0 We watched other customers and staff in the restaurant.\u00a0 I gave each one a name in my head and tried to imagine their history.\u00a0 How did they end up here?\u00a0 How did we?\u00a0 Being stranded on an island does wonders for your philosophical side.<\/p>\n
After three hours or so of sitting around I was really worried that the staff would kick us out, but they seemed totally oblivious.\u00a0 They were sitting around waiting for ships to come in, and if we ordered a beer once every couple of hours it was OK by them.\u00a0 As long as nobody was sleeping we didn\u2019t have any problems. The power seemed to be on here, but I wasn\u2019t sure exactly when it had come back.\u00a0 Small ships came in from the big cruise ship offshore, shuttling tourists who boarded a fleet of full size tour buses to take them off to the villages around the island.\u00a0 We watched the tour guides eating a quick lunch before joining their groups onboard.<\/p>\n
After five hours of sitting there the late afternoon sun started to slant across the front of the caf\u00c3\u00a9, and the sunlight started to hit our table and legs.\u00a0 It was surprisingly hot once the sun started shining on us, and we relocated to another table at the back of the restaurant, along with some other customers.\u00a0 It was discouraging to hear that all the other customers were waiting for an 8 pm boat, and even after that boat arrived we\u2019d still have to wait another five hours.\u00a0 Often the boats arrived later than expected, so I was thinking that our departure could be even later than 1:30 am.\u00a0 Ugh.<\/p>\n
At seven hours I was officially sick of sitting around at this restaurant.\u00a0 We decided to pay the bill and move on.\u00a0 It was a good decision if only for the change in scenery.\u00a0 We walked around a while to stretch our legs, and then found another restaurant very close to the departure area that was about half full.\u00a0 I was thrilled that there were new faces to watch, new staff to name, and we celebrated by eating dinner there.\u00a0 I had a cheeseburger, Kuniko had risotto that was actually just rice, and we had some water to try to balance all the beer from the afternoon.<\/p>\n
Soon the 8 pm ship came in, the customers all disappeared, and we were the only people left.\u00a0 It was a very lonely feeling.\u00a0 All the shops were empty, and some of the shops were closing.\u00a0 The guy running our restaurant said that he was staying open until our ship came in, so we were welcome to sit around, and he also said we didn\u2019t need to order anything.\u00a0 We thanked him by ordering some Greek frozen yogurt, but otherwise we just held the spot for the next four hours.\u00a0 The sun went down.\u00a0 Some stray dogs ran back and forth.\u00a0 If there was tumbleweed on the island it would have blown by right then.<\/p>\n
Kuniko and I tried to maintain our sanity by playing word games, doing quizzes, practicing using English and Japanese and English again.\u00a0 At nearly midnight, we saw some people slowly start to appear.\u00a0 From our position we could see every time a car\u2019s headlights came down the long winding road.\u00a0 Friends of the shop owner came by with a sleepy kid and they put him to sleep on a bench near us.\u00a0 Still we sat and waited and waited.<\/p>\n
Finally around 1 am we decided to move into the departure area.\u00a0 The departure area was inside a long room that was air conditioned at full power, so before long we were pretty cold.\u00a0 Kuniko and I hadn\u2019t dressed for a cold evening – but I had a long sleeve dress shirt in our suitcase that I lent to Kuniko.\u00a0 I made do with shorts and T-shirt.\u00a0 It was still summer, after all.<\/p>\n
At 1:30 am there were a lot more people walking around, and they started to crowd into the departure area.\u00a0 Late at night people were tired, stressed, and not in a good mood.\u00a0 Combine that with close quarters and the stress of trying to get a seat once we entered the boat – some bad situations were bound to occur.\u00a0 There was a crazy lady that thought everyone was cutting in front of her, and kept pushing people ahead of her.\u00a0 Some people had crying babies, some had barking dogs.\u00a0 Some stray dogs were interested in the domesticated dogs, and it got a little dicey for a while.\u00a0 Then the ship came in.<\/p>\n
In front of the passengers was a big parking lot, and the lot was full of trucks and cars waiting to drive on to the ferry.\u00a0 By now the passengers had made a huge crowd inside the freezing building, and they opened just one door at the end to let people through.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t checking tickets at all, just metering people in to make sure there wasn\u2019t a mad rush.\u00a0 Once we made it through the gate, passengers with luggage had to store it below decks, and others could go inside and find seats.\u00a0 We split up here, and I brought the suitcase to an area where the crew directed.\u00a0 I locked up the suitcase just in case, but there really wasn\u2019t anything more exciting than dirty underwear.\u00a0 Everyone was hurrying to get done as quickly as possible, because they wanted to get a comfortable place to sleep during the overnight trip.\u00a0 Pressure, pressure!<\/p>\n
When I went above to the passenger area, I was surprised at the interior.\u00a0 They had designed the ferry to be much like a floating hotel.\u00a0 Some private cabins (all reserved previously) were upstairs, and otherwise people tried to sit where they could.\u00a0 I could tell right away that there weren\u2019t many comfortable places.\u00a0 Soon, I spotted my wife – Kuniko had grabbed two chairs in hallway leading to the main seating area.\u00a0 People were starting to fight over the remaining chairs, and if I hadn\u2019t arrived Kuniko might have had to beat some people up to keep my seat.\u00a0 I\u2019ll never forget the look on her face when I saw her holding those spots.\u00a0 Worry, relief, determination.\u00a0 This is the woman I love.<\/p>\n
Once we settled into our chairs, we ventured out inside the ship to see if we were missing anything better.\u00a0 Unfortunately, there wasn\u2019t anything else.\u00a0 In the main seating area many people had reserved empty seats for themselves so that they could stretch out later, and that had other customers mad enough to shout at the staff to do something.\u00a0 For a while it seemed like we were on the edge of a riot, but cooler heads finally prevailed.\u00a0 We were lucky to get our seats, and we set about trying to get as comfortable as possible.<\/p>\n
The ferry was huge, and so there was absolutely no sense of motion.\u00a0 We were in a hallway with no windows, and outside was pitch black anyway, so I think we might have departed soon afterwards, but I wasn\u2019t sure.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t anything to do here but continue waiting.\u00a0 The chairs were better than the floor but certainly not comfortable enough to sleep in.\u00a0 We took turns drifting off during the night, but I didn\u2019t get much rest.\u00a0 People walked back and forth through the hallway in front of us, so that kept me entertained for part of the trip.\u00a0 There was a snack bar where we could buy coffee and a croissant, and that helped pass the time as well.<\/p>\n
We drifted in and out of sleep for the next couple of hours, and eventually I figured I should see if I could get to the top of the ship and see what was going on.\u00a0 I went upstairs, and was surprised to find that the sun was coming up outside.\u00a0 The view from the ship was just water – I couldn\u2019t see any land anywhere – but I was relieved to confirm that we had indeed been moving the entire time.<\/p>\n
Downstairs we woke up with a couple of hot coffees, and after another hour or so the engine noise made a change, and we figured we were getting close.\u00a0 By chance our position was quite good for disembarking from the ferry, but we still had to stand in line for another hour before they properly docked.\u00a0 Our suitcase was undisturbed below decks (I had nightmares of it being soaking wet), and we joined everyone else in getting off at the port in Athens.\u00a0 We made a beeline to the taxi stand, and caught a taxi right away before others could get there.<\/p>\n
The taxi driver had no idea where our hotel was, so we gave him the address, and with shaking hands he pulled out an old map and figured things out.\u00a0 I was a little concerned about the shaking hands, but he turned out to be a decent driver.\u00a0 After 30 minutes or so we arrived at our hotel.\u00a0 Back at the port on Santorini we had used the caf\u00c3\u00a9\u2019s WiFi to send an email to the hotel when we learned we wouldn\u2019t make it that night.\u00a0 We still had to pay for the night we missed, but the good news was the room was empty and waiting for us even at 9 am.\u00a0 The clerk was professional and provided us with everything we needed.\u00a0 Right then, mainly we needed a shower and a nap.<\/p>\n
So we went upstairs, entered our hotel room and locked the door, and we could finally decompress.\u00a0 It was an unexpected journey, but we had finally made it to Athens, and we had only lost a day in the process.\u00a0 It was time to rest up a bit and then get back to enjoying our holiday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Warning – this one is a very long (and possibly depressing) post.\u00a0 Plan your reading accordingly! On paper, it seemed like an easy enough day.\u00a0 We\u2019d sleep in until 9 am, catch a taxi from the hotel in time to catch our short domestic flight to Athens at 11:20.\u00a0 The first sign of trouble occurred […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pOpl7-HY","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bryan.fredricks.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bryan.fredricks.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bryan.fredricks.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bryan.fredricks.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bryan.fredricks.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bryan.fredricks.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2726\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bryan.fredricks.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bryan.fredricks.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bryan.fredricks.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}