Greece (Day 11 -13) Volos and our Bus Trip to the Athens Airport

     We went from the palatial hotel we stayed in for 1 night to dorm room style of living for 2 nights.  Pat was an Architect student from Drury University spending a semester studying in Volos Greece and these apartments were owned/leased by the school.  The apartment was substandard with bad plumbing, decorated and maintained by possibly NO ONE.  We had an interesting few days at Pat’s apartment and I the use the term interesting in reference to the sleeping conditions.

     I feel compelled to talk a little about Pat's apartment, the plumbing was the worst even by Old World standards.  I know coming from the US, our expectations are high and we should not expect the same.  These buildings are old and it is difficult to retrofit plumbing into old buildings with efficiency.  The bathroom floor was always wet, well not just wet but with a pool of water, 1" or so deep. So when you went into the bathroom you were standing in water as you were peeing, "That's just not right, I don't care where you're from".   Apparently this was the way it was and Pat and his roommate just dealt with it.    

     Sleeping on the beds was like laying on a covered ball pit (you know the ones the kids jump in), very lumpy.  The bed was small a single or double and sloped to the middle so no matter where you started out you ended up pinned to your partner which made sleeping difficult.  Our daughters bed was in an extremely small room and she woke up with a bunch of tiny little bug bits, she was not happy.  The kitchen was small but we didn't care because we were not going to eat there.  My son and his buddy did cook there frequently but I'm sure there were no award winning meals.  They did occasionally cook pasta; I know that for sure because I found some stuck to the wall, guess they were checking to see if it was done.  Pat told me they were going to put a frame around it as an art piece.  "Great idea, I'm sure the landlord will be thrilled."

     The days were enjoyable as we strolled around Volos, visiting local places with Pat as our guide.   All the locals knew the Americans because they were the only foreigners in town. Everyone treated us well, in a way we felt special to be the only visitors in town.  The meals in Volos were much better than you get on a tour because we chose the restaurant and the food.  Your menu is limited on tours, which I'm sure this is true with most tours in any country.  The weather was cool, in the 60's, which didn't seem bad to me, dressed in my shorts but the Greeks were concerned that we were cold because after all "It is Winter".

     We were taking the bus directly to the Athens airport.  We booked an early bus so we would not be late for our flight.  As we headed out of Volos the bus had a minor accident.  The bus driver got out of the bus and had a discussion with the driver of the car, money exchanged hands then the bus left.  I guess that's how it works in Greece, seemed pretty efficient, no need dealing with insurance companies.  It was a 2-hour ride to the airport but we now knew how the rest stops worked so there should be no issues. It started to rain hard about 1/2 hour into the trip, but it's all good we were dry and warm in the bus.  Then the bus started to bog down and it eventually stopped pulling over to the side of the road.  "Awesome, another adventure!"  All the passengers are sitting in the bus and the driver is explaining the problem, in Greek, (remember we only speak English) but I already know the problem, "The bus is not moving".

     Even with our great planning by leaving early we are now thinking we could miss our flight home. About that time another bus arrives.  We are told to get off the bus, pick up our luggage and transfer it to the new bus, well at least that's what we saw everyone else doing so we figured we should too.  Oh Yea! The rain is still pouring down, even harder than before.  So I grab our bags and move them to the new bus and we all get on the replacement bus. We still have over an hour before we get to the airport but now the 50 + passengers are soaking wet, we all smell like wet dogs after a long day but despite our soggy spirits we arrived at the airport on time and had no other adventures before boarding the plane. Greece was fun and the people were friendly, but we had some challenges.  Vacations are fun but a travel adventure is exciting and memorable.