Greece, together with Egypt, are two of the places I’ve always wanted to visit. This is April 2000 and I finally made my dream come true (when it comes to Greece that is) thanks in particular to my friends Stella and Sergio.

I was a bit worried about the weather though. We were well into spring but weather throughout Europe seemed to be a bit wild. England of course was no exception, and although I’m used to the extremes in this country, it surprised me to watch the snowy scenery just outside London. Even more, Luton airport was closed due to the heavy snow! My only hope was that everything would be alright the following day. The fact that the plane was delayed "only" a couple of hours didn’t surprise me much after all. I was kind of expecting it since I bought my ticket with EasyJet. It’s not that bad really, and considering the price I was more than happy with it!

We reached Athens at dusk and Sergio was waiting at the airport. He’s a friend of mine from Lima and has been working in Athens since 1999. It was nice to see him after almost 2 years. Suddenly I heard my name being shouted... it was Jenny, a friend from Lancaster. I knew she’d be arriving on the same day, but considering my late flight I thought she’d probably be in town by now. Never mind, we got into the car and drove to the city centre to look for a hotel for Jenny. My first impression on Athens were... just like being at home! It was like driving along La Marina Av. in Lima, same buildings, lots of ads everywhere, bumps on the road, terrible traffic, thousands of motorbikes crossing on your path when you least expect it (that’s more like Iquitos, not Lima), and the same people (physically speaking).

Well alright, that was just the beginning, then we passed by the Old Olympic Stadium (U-shaped, all in marble!), ruins of the Zeus Temple and saw the Acropolis in the distance... that’s when the similarities ended and when I was more than amazed with the view around us. It didn’t take us long to find a parking place but it took us a while to find a hotel for Jenny. Everything was fully booked or extremely expensive. People told me it is even worse during summer... don’t even think about getting there without booking your place in advance!

After leaving all my stuff at Sergio’s place we decided to go out. It was still early for Greek standards (they don’t leave home before 11pm or mid-night... what a difference with Britain, uh??) so instead of heading for the clubs, he took me to Lycabittus, a hill in the middle of the city from where we had a great view of the illuminated surroundings and of course the Acropolis. It looked tiny from that distance, but I couldn’t wait to take a closer look soon.

By midnight we went into a club and it was quite busy for a Wednesday night, though not as busy as we thought and after a drink we headed for another pub. This one was busier. We ordered a drink in English and the barman replied something in Greek... Sergio translated as “why are you pretending to be a foreigner? Why don’t you speak Greek?”... he thought I was Greek!! This happened several times in my trip and it was funny most of the times. Anyway, after it was more than obvious that we came from “far, far away”, the barman kept talking to us and was kind enough to bring a bowl with strawberries... yeah strawberries, odd, right? But they were delicious!!

The next day Sergio went to work early in the morning and I went for a walk around the city. The main square, the parliament, and then the tourist area, Plaka. It was full of small roads, shops, restaurants and tiny churches. I kept walking until I reached the bottom of the Acropolis. There was no point in going up at that time when I should be back the following day with Jenny and Hanjali. Talking of which, I had to go to the airport to pick her up. She didn’t want to arrive into a country without being able to understand the language... if only she knew that everyone spoke English in Athens! I promised her I’d be at the airport and Sergio explained me where to take the bus. Only problem was that the same bus stop served at least 15 lines, and although they all said the destination on the front, it was in Greek alphabet!!! I had been studying the alphabet and some basic phrases, but by the time I finished reading the destination the bus had already left LOL

My only chance was to ask some one but you all know how shy I can be when it comes to that kind of things (believe it or not!). At that point a bus arrived and many people carrying bags approached it. Quite obvious, right? But I wanted to be sure and decided to ask a girl who seemed to be local. In my best Greek accent I asked her whether this was the bus to the airport and she replied in a very strong American accent... she happened to be an American girl born to Greek parents!

We ended up talking all the way to the airport (her name is Tina) and we found out that the friend she was going to pick up arrived in the same plane as Hanjali’s... isn’t that a coincidence? And just like me, she took the precaution of getting early to the Airport “just in case”... there we were the two of us waiting for a plane that wouldn’t land for at least 2 hours!! We spent most of those hours in the bar on the top floor of the airport (probably the only good thing of that airport... I can’t believe how small and ugly it is). The view was great... the blue sea was only a few yards away with dozens of ships, big and small.

I finally met Hanjali and Tina met her friend too. We took the bus back to Athens (we won’t mention that you didn’t pay for that trip, right Hanjali? LOL) and then we decided to take the underground... no point in carrying the bags all the way back home. One thing about Athens’s underground... it is the cleanest, tidiest underground ever... well alright they opened the stations not long ago, but still. There were people cleaning up at all times.

The following morning I went with Hanjali to Jenny’s hotel to pick her up. The Acropolis was our first stop of course. At the moment of buying the tickets we sent Hanjali first because she was the only one with a valid ISIC card (to get the student discount). Jenny and I waved ours very quickly and they never noticed the expiration date... hope they never read this!!

We were really hungry by then... well you know me, I'm always hungry! so we walked back to Plaka and entered one of those typical restaurants aimed for tourists. We got the bill and Jenny took her calculator out... what a blasphemy according to Hanjali!!! Mind you, if I’m on holidays I’ll use the calculator or any other means as long as I don’t have to think by myself... that’s what holidays are all about Hanjali!!! LOL As it turned out, they were charging us some extra thing we never asked for. Hanjali was more than angry and went inside the restaurant to complain about it. We followed her just to realise that they were charging us the bread and butter... I wouldn’t mind if they mentioned that somewhere in the menu!

After that it was shopping-till-you-drop time. Did I buy anything? No. Did we visit all the shops in the area? Hell we did! Don’t know what’s this thing with women wondering from shop to shop. Don’t worry girls, I did enjoy that afternoon, but I had to be sympathetic with my gender LOL and I particularly enjoyed those two jewellery shops, remember? The one with the girl talking about Greek costumes and the other one in the corner (Hey Jenny, did we tell you that we came back 2 days later just to “take a look” inside?).

That night the campaign for Greek election was closed and they celebrated with fireworks which we could see from the balcony at Sergio’s home. Illuminating the sky just above Lycabettus hill... it was really impressive! After that we went to the “old city” where many houses have been refurbished into trendy pubs and clubs. Parking was a nightmare... it took us ages! You have to be really lucky to spot a place in this city. Despite the fact that we came back home at 4am, I woke up early... don’t know why!! Anyway, it was pouring down that morning so nothing much to do. It wasn’t till later that day that we took the car and drove along the beach. It wasn’t raining anymore and the contrast of the blue sea with the bright rays of light shining on it was amazing. Sergio took us to Sounio, where the Temple of Poseidon is located on top of a cliff. By now the clouds were almost gone... you won’t believe the view we had from there.

Then it was Sunday... election day in both Greece and Peru. Sergio had to work all day in the embassy and Hanjali and me intended to visit the museums. No surprisingly everything was closed due to the elections. What else could we do but walk around the city? I know you hated me for that Hanjali but you can’t say you didn’t see the whole of Athens!! : ) Probably that was the reason why she was so tired that night and didn’t want to go out with us... or was it that you got bored the other night? Nah, it seemed like you were enjoying yourself. Remember when we saw the show with that singer? And that song... they kept playing it everywhere!!

So anyway, she stayed at home and Sergio and I went to another club. I was there enjoying the good music (they even played Thalia!!) when I looked outside the window... just to get the best view of the Parthenon I had ever seen so far. It was fully illuminated, dominating the whole area. Almost at that moment new fireworks exploded on top of the Acropolis. The results of the election had been released and they were cellebrating. I was more interested on what was going on outside the club than inside it!

I don’t know how I managed but I woke up early again and after thanking Sergio for being such a good host Hanjali and I went to the rail station. We bought our tickets two days ago... the guy didn’t speak good English and my Greek wasn’t that good either but we managed to get the right tickets for the right price on the right day. But we didn’t know which coach we had to take! We had the number on the ticket but the numbers outside the train were completely different. I approached a guard and handed him my ticket, he said something in Greek before turning to help some one else! I did the same operation twice and he replyed twice in Greek... I am not Greek!!! Can’t you just see that? Finally he pointed at the end of the train so off we went... just to see the number on our tickets written on a piece of paper and glued on the window. They really make it easy for tourists, don’t they? LOL

Needless to say I spent most of the 6 hours sleeping. Hanjali brought her book from Lancaster and she was studying... or pretending she was anyway! I woke up only when they served lunch (duh!). It was a nice surprise since none of us was expecting it. Now that’s service for you guys at Virgin Trains! To be honest the food was even better than the one they serve in the plane.

We arrived to Thessaloniki (Salonica in Spanish) at 4ish and Stella was waiting for us with her dad and Marcel, a friend of her from Germany. It was nice to see her after so long! (well alright, a week and a half, but still count doesn’t it?). Her parents were lovely, very kind indeed! And her sister, Anny, she took us out almost every day.

Stella and Anny speak German and so do their parents (sort of), so it was easy to communicate with Marcel, but Hanjali and I had to practice our Greek whenever we were having lunch or dinner! It was lot of fun and after a while we were able to guess what the question was and answer in our (by now) perfect Greek :-)

Anny took us to Vergina, where the tombs Macedonian kings were found years ago. It was impressive since we had to walk into a man-made hill and find the almost intact ruins of buildings and monuments. It was good to be in there though since the weather was not very good in the outside. We were going out that night and when Anny’s mom saw me wearing a t-shirt, she insisted in me wearing a jumper and didn’t let me go until I did so! I guess moms are the same around the world... it was nice of her!

The next day the dad took us up in the mountains to a small village where we took some pictures. Then it was off to a kind of country side place where you’d expect to find horses, streams, small lakes with swans and so on (think of Chosica for those of you in Peru).

We spent Thursday in Thessaloniki. Anny took us there early in the morning but couldn’t stay long due to her work. We took some pictures and visited Stella’s University before going to a restaurant for some typical Greek food. Later that afternoon we went to the communications tower from where we had a great view of the city and the harbour... really great! We had Greek coffee: very cold coffee with plenty of sugar, quite nice.

Friday was a quiet day, mostly enjoying the sun, playing with the cats (or rather trying to avoid the scratches!) and with the dog. It was funny because the first day the dog was barking at us all the time, but by now all he wanted to do was playing with us and wouldn’t let us go! The rest of the day was spent in Veria, shopping (the girls) and looking for a travel agency to book my trip to the islands. No one spoke English in the first agency (how do they expect to make money???) but in the second one there was this nice girl who spent so much time trying to help me just for nothing... you see, I wasn’t sure what I wanted (no comments!) and I kept trying different alternatives: “ok, what about flying to Rodes and then taking the ferry to Athens? How long would it take and how much?... well no, better make it on train to Athens and then by ferry to...” poor girl, I think I was driving her mad. Anyway, we were too far away from where I wanted to go (Rodes or Crete) and I decided to go back to Athens and try better luck from there.

We spent the last night in Veria together at home. The dad cooked a very good barbecue with suvlakis (Greek anticuchos!) and some other typical Greek dishes. We even had some Uzo, a very strong liqueur. Hanjali took the flight back to England that night and I was supposed to take the train the following morning from another town. Stella and her dad drove me to Plati but as soon as we arrived to the station I saw a train leaving the station. Now, how many trains would pass by in this tiny station in the middle of nowhere? Well exactly, only my train to Athens. Anyway, the next one was in three hours so nothing else to do but wait. I tried to phone Sergio to let him know that I was coming that night but the telephone was not working (surprise!). I decided to give him a call when I arrived in Athens.

It was a quiet trip. This time I was awake all the time and I could enjoy the great views, from the calm see only a few yards away from the rail to the snowy peeks as the train crossed the mountains. I called Sergio again as soon as we got to the station but he wasn’t home and didn’t even answer his mobile... after all it was just before 11 on a Saturday night, what were the chances to find him at home? I decided to look for a hotel and try to contact him again the morning after.

I took the tube to the city centre and went straight to Jenny’s hotel. To my surprise it was fully booked so I decided to try another hotel, and another, and then another one! Well maybe it’s time to give Sergio another ring... still not at home, damn! Alright, there must be plenty of hotels around. Yes indeed, and I visited each and every one of them carrying my bags, just to find out that they were booked. Oh well, I don’t mind paying more money in a fancy hotel, it will only be for one night. What you mean you don’t have a spare room either??? It was almost midnight and I was tired, sleepy, and in need of a shower (not to mention a toilet!). I started looking for a comfy park bank, the weather was quite pleasant but I was worried about my bags. The other option was to go back to the station, leave my bags there, and walk into a club till the next morning. Not a bad idea after all!

I was thinking about this when I saw these two guys walking down the street, carrying back packs and all the indications of a typical low-budget-Americans-doing-Europe. Exactly what I needed! I hadn’t see one of those cheap hostels with half a star (you know what I mean, don’t you). I followed them but due to my bags I thought I’d lost them. I looked around and there was this narrow street, very dark, but with an illuminated sign “hostel”. I decided to try my luck and yes, they had a room! It was one of these places where you share the room with 4 or 5 other people but I got the whole room for myself! (talk about luck!). And the best thing of all... it was SO cheap!

I talked to Sergio in the morning (after having a hot shower down the corridor in the communal showers!) and I was at his place half an hour later. I was only stopped at the sight of a big parade in front of the Parliament. You know, those soldiers with the traditional Greek costume. It was quite nice.

We were thinking on going to the Archaeological Museum and later to the beach… I couldn’t leave Greece without trying the Aegean Sea! “I think I’m missing something” said Sergio and I reminded him of his mobile. “Yep, that’s it” he replied, taking his mobile and closing the door behind him. “What about the keys?” damn!!! Both sets of keys were inside the house. So nice, what should we do now? At least we had the mobile, and after a few calls we had this guy in the door. A specialist he called himself. Well for the record, all he did was a simple trick on the edge of the door and click! The door was open. If only we knew before… he even charged us 20 Lbs.!

Anyway, it was too late to go to the Museum and we went straight to a beautiful beach, a few miles south of Athens. It was not a sandy beach but it was excellent, very warm and with a deep blue sea. The water was freezing but I was not to leave Greece without having a bath in it! After all the Pacific Ocean is always that temperature and we always swim in it in the summer.

Erm... did I mention that the beach was a nude one? Hey after all the experience in Austria and Germany I should be used to it by now, but here goes my latin-american mentality again… you know, I’m the shy type (don’t laugh!). There were about 5 people in our sector wearing trunks (Sergio and myself included), the others were all enjoying the sun as naked as the day they were born.

We finished the day at one of Sergio’s friend’s home, right in front of the beach (another one) with a lovely view of the whole area. There were a lot of people, some were Greek, others Argentinean, a Norwegian girl, a Spanish guy… it was like the UN having a meeting on the beach! :)

I took my last day in Athens to walk around and visit the places I didn’t have the chance to see (some ruins, the national gardens, etc.). I was walking down the street when this girl approached me and asked my for directions (or that’s what I guessed from her expression and the paper on her hand)… do I look that native??? I’m just a tourist! I said sorry in Greek and she probably thought I was being rude. She was not the only one, another guy asked me the time… I pretended like I didn’t hear anything and he kept trying, until he shouted something at me. Well I’m sorry! But I don’t speak the language and I don’t understand what you’re saying you moron!! Well I didn’t quite say that, but that’s what I thought.

And if you’re brave enough to have reached the end of this file…. congratulations!! The objective of this was only to write down my experiences and emotions in this trip, so that in the future I can take a look and think back to these wonderful 2 weeks (you know what a bad memory I have!). Anyway, if you’re still here thanks for reading this, I know you probably had better things to do, but then again there isn’t a better excuse than reading this to avoid some work in the office, right? :-)