Friday 14 June
This morning we were all awake early and packed ready to go. However, there was a problem - our ferry had been cancelled. Dad received a phone call at 7.30am to say that "our excursion" was not going, so what to do now?
The situation filled us with blind panic at first, as the Naxos Star was our only way off the island in time for our flight from Mykonos. As it was so early, we were unable to phone anyone, so we met up for a very poor breakfast on the terrace, where the staff had got themselves into a tizzy as well, forgetting the coffee cups and milk. The only options open to us were flying by helicopter to Mykonos or taking a ferry from Parikia to Mykonos. Once we finished breakfast (and our appetites had disappeared anyway) we started to call around for help. The receptionist checked the ferry schedules and discovered that the only one going to Mykonos left at 3pm, two hours after our flight was due to leave!
We then tried to arrange for a helicopter to take us and the receptionist came back with a price of £1400... probably the same as new flights and the ferry but the timings were all wrong. We wouldn't arrive in Mykonos until 12.15pm and our flight left at 12.50pm. We abandoned this idea. There wasn't enough leeway should anything go wrong, and we would have parted with £1400 for nothing and be in exactly the same position.
After a lot of thought we decided to take a larger ferry to Piraeus and then try and get new flights to London from Athens. We took the minibus to Parikia with heavy hearts. The holiday wasn't meant to end like this. I just worried about the children, as we didn't know how long it was going to take us to get home.
Once in the busy town of Parikia we bought tickets for the 12pm ferry to Athens. We had a drink in the bar overlooking the port and stowed our luggage by the entrance to the ferry terminal. It was very noisy and hot, and there were loads of people milling about waiting for ferries to take them to different islands.
At 11.30am we lined up and to our surprise met the American couple who were also going to Athens. It was lovely to see friendly faces and we chatted about what had happened. They were staying overnight in Athens and then flying to Thessaloniki the next day to finish their honeymoon.
We waited for ages to board the ferry with the local Greek women trying to get in front of us the whole time. When they opened the gates to let us on, we all surged forward to embark, pulling our luggage behind us, with me pushing Michael in his pushchair as well. I got the wheels stuck in deep grooves on the portside, and just as we made it to the ferry a gust of wind blew a cloud of dust in our faces. Everyone cried out and Michael screamed as the dust went into his eyes. It was horrible!
We left our luggage in the hold and scrambled up the stairs to the lounge. The ferry was very similar to the cross-Channel ferries, and we found seats quickly in a lounge at the top of the stairs. Later, we found a better place to sit which was very quiet, except for the sound of the World Cup being played in the background! After a quick lunch of baguettes, we settled down for the crossing, which was very boring. We would be on the ferry for five hours, and luckily both children went to sleep. Michel stretched out on the floor while Sophie curled up on a seat with a jacket over her head. By now, the sea had become rough, and I began to feel queasy! I tried to explore with Keith but that made me feel even worse, so I just sat quietly and closed my eyes, managing to nod off at one point.
Fortunately, after about an hour the sea became calmer, and we all woke up feeling refreshed. Mum and I went off in search of cakes and bought some biscuits instead. The children were still sleeping, so we had a drink and something to eat and then the American couple joined us until we reached Athens. They planned to visit the UK next year as they loved all things British, including digestive biscuits! I gave them my email address and our normal address, and then we said goodbye.
Getting off the ferry was a lot easier than getting on, and once we had retrieved our bags, we waited by the taxi terminal while Keith and Dad went off to one of the many ticket offices to see if we could buy tickets to London (or anywhere in the UK). The port was busy with lots of taxis picking up customers from the ferries and a constant stream of traffic flowing past. We could see large buildings and blocks of flats in the distance but none of the sights of Athens. It was hot and Mum and I stood with the children by a wall covered in red ants, which fascinated Sophie.
After a long while Dad came back with the news that they'd bought tickets from Athens to Heathrow the next day leaving at 8am. The cost was just over £1000. We moved the entire luggage to the bus stop from where we could get a shuttle to the airport and a hotel overnight. After another agonising wait in the heat, we boarded the bus and waited for the bus driver to extinguish his cigarette and stop chatting to his mates! We also played musical chairs with Michael who kept changing seats.
The journey to the airport took just over an hour and we saw lots of cars, buses, trucks and some very ugly buildings, but no ruins or famous sights. Parts of the journey passed along the coast and this area was very pretty - we later come to know it was Glyfada where a lot of hotels are situated. Athens is a manic city, and the traffic was appalling. However, it was nice to experience a new city and one that I would have otherwise not visited.
The new airport is situated outside Athens and has been built for the forthcoming Olympics in 2004. It's brand new and very smart and we were glad to see a Sofitel right next to it. We wearily took all our luggage off the bus and hired two trolleys for two euros. We made our way to the hotel reception where soft music played in the background and each table had a beautifully artistic display of flowers. They were just at the right height for little hands to touch!
Keith wandered off to find out the cost of the rooms and we had another shock - a normal double cost around £300 a night! Keith and I would have to have a family room or two doubles, so we estimated it would cost us about £700 just for one night, or ten hours! On top of this would be dinner and drinks and the cost was already approaching £1000! We turned around and Dad went back to the airport to see if they had an information desk. A kind man gave him a list of hotels and we went to queue at the taxi rank. We chose the Hotel Glyfada as it was a C Class and therefore shouldn't be too expensive. We knew that getting to the hotel in two different taxis would be tricky so when we got into our car, I told the driver to take us to The Glyfada. He asked if we had a reservation and we said we hadn't. At this, he immediately began to dial a number on his mobile and obviously booked us into another hotel for the night! While he was doing this, he was veering all over the road and I thought we were going to crash!
Further down the road, Mum and Dad's taxi flashed us to pull over as our door was open (Michael again!) and I hoped that our taxi driver had told Mum and Dad's driver where we were headed. Just after this, we lost them in traffic, and I kept peering over my shoulder to see if they caught us up, but they never did. The journey was interminable, and we passed the same scenery we'd seen earlier. The traffic was terrible as most of Athens seemed to be out and trying to get to where the nightlife was.
After a while I became very worried, especially as it was now past 9pm and the children hadn't been fed or bathed. I was on the point of sending the driver back to the Sofitel when we eventually pulled up at a hotel right on a busy three-lane motorway. There was no sign of my parents, so I did the girly thing and burst into tears, which set Sophie off as well. We took our luggage out of the car and Keith went to check in. It wasn't the best place in the world, but it looked clean, and we were so tired that we couldn't face going anywhere else.
We hauled the cases into the tiny lift and found our room which resembled a cell. There was a louvred door to get in and our room was visible from the corridor. It was also hot, stuffy and noisy with a small balcony overlooking the side of the hotel. We dumped our things on the bed, and I changed Michael's nappy. Just as we were doing this the phone rang and it was my Dad calling from reception. They'd found us!
Apparently, our driver had been going past The Glyfada when he had seen them and had taken them to The Mirada. They weren't very happy as The Glyfada looked beautiful. We asked at reception for the nearest restaurant, which was about half a kilometre away via a narrow path alongside the main road, along which thundered masses of mad Greek traffic. It was a hair-raising experience, and I was convinced a speeding car would kill us all.
We emerged from the wasteland of the main road into a small parade of shops and restaurants. Keith took out some money from a cashpoint and we went off in search of dinner. Everywhere was full and bustling with people and cars out in search of a good time. We eventually found a steak restaurant on a side street that was packed. We drank ice-cold beers and shared a large Greek salad before tucking into steak and chips. The children were tired, and I dreaded the walk back along the crazy road.
The night wasn't a comfortable one, but at least we had a couple of hours' sleep and a shower. Roll on tomorrow!
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