We left our Naxos apartment at about 8:15am for our walk to the ferry. It was sunny and already warm, so we chose a quick stop at a bakery for some breakfast items and then took a shady path toward the boat. We quickly waved goodbye to the Temple of Apollo and boarded the Superrunner by Seajets.
We took a fast ferry but it makes 4 stops before arriving at the Rafina port near Athens. That makes it a 4.5 hour trip so plenty of time to do a little reading/napping/gaming etc.
This is our last ferry ride of this Adventure and on those trips we’ve pulled into port 12 times total. Some ferries have ramps on the front and back so they never turn around but none of our Greek ones do. Essentially they get about 100 yards from the dock and do a quick 180 degree turn and slide into place. It’s a surprisingly quick rotation. You can almost imagine the Captain pulling the emergency brake like he’s in a gravelly parking lot trying to do donuts in a car. (Or so we’ve heard, we would never be part of that kind of thing).
Temperatures topped 100 degrees this afternoon in Athens so we took a taxi from the port to our apartment in a ‘cool neighborhood-adjacent’ location. That means it’s nearby to the good part of town, but cheaper and typically a little weird.
This apartment is accessed by going into a row of somewhat run down commercial shops and then going up an elevator. The directions were provided via a series of photos but they came through every few minutes while we waited like 7 drawn out clues to a scavenger hunt of some sort. The first one was just a gate and a code and they didn’t get less odd.
The host apologized, saying that she was in a slow internet area, and that was the reason for a trickle of photo instructions, but we’ll see how the rest of our stay goes.
After a short rest in the apartment, we headed out for another Adventurer’s tradition. We’ve done cooking schools in 4 countries but we’ve been to a McDonalds in at least 8 as of today. Sometimes we get unusual things to try, but although it was fresher than we usually get at home it was pretty much the same menu. Brian refused and ordered something from the place next door.
We wanted to squeeze another experience into the end of the day. We joined a small group tour with two stops. The first was Lake Vouliagmeni or ‘Sunken Lake’ about 30 minutes south of Athens. This lake was formed over 2,000 years ago when an earthquake collapsed a large cavern the walls of which are still discernible today.
The lake has unique conditions that make it a popular spot. It is supplied with fresh seawater through underwater channels which keep it warm – 70 degrees or more. it also has a generous supply of small fish that are happy to nibble on your feet. Suaram was particularly thrilled with the fish, much like she was during her first fish spa in Thailand.
Our last stop was a beautiful spot at the southern tip of the Attica peninsula called Cape Sounion. Other than being quite picturesque surrounded by the Aegean Sea, it is famous as the site of the Temple of Poseidon.
These majestic white marble columns have graced this point since the mid 5th Century BCE. It is believed to have been both a spot to worship the God of the Sea as well as a strategic military vantage point over the ancient ship routes.
We did a lot of traveling today – about 7 hours on the ferry, a taxi or the tour van. But we’ve made it to Athens and can’t wait for more adventures tomorrow.
5 Adventures Together 