Having checked out, we took our bags down to the basement, and since the lift was out of action, this involved a long trip down the stairs, which passed uneventfully until the last step, where Chris managed to twist his ankle. Having a fifteen-kilo backpack on did not help matters – he limped into the luggage room moaning about being in pain. Being sensitive and caring friends, we immediately went to his aid.

“It’ll be fine”
“Looks alright to me”
“Are you sure it hurts?”

It is remarkably difficult to believe someone is in pain when they look OK. And he did. To be honest I wasn’t buying any of this “Ow!” business – there weren’t any bits of bone sticking out, and besides, it wasn’t even bruised. We developed a bit more compassion as the day wore on, especially since the day was to involve a lot of walking.

The first stop was the port, where we wanted to buy tickets for the boat to Santorini, an island in the Greek Cyclades. The booking network was down, so we ate lunch, which Sunil and Nathalia insisted we get from McDonalds. The boat we decided to book left Athens at 20:00, arriving in Santorini at about 4:30am. Chris, of course, wanted a cabin, and this time wanted to make sure he was the only one in it, so he bought a second ticket at child rate. The sane travellers of the group (myself, Nathalia and Sunil) booked deck class.

Back in town we did a tour of three other archaeological sites, which were included on the ticket we’d bought the previous day (very good value for money, especially since mine was free). All were located within walking distance of each other in south east Athens. We walked through the Greek National Garden, where a sign rather worryingly warned us to be on the lookout for falling trees, on our way to the first stop. This was the Panathenaic Stadium, which was created in 330 BC, taking advantage of a natural hollow in the ground between two hills. It was restored between 140 and 144 AD, giving it the shape that it has today. The last major restoration was carried out in the late 19th Century, and the site was then used as the venue for the very first modern Olympic games.

The shape was exactly the sort of thing you’d expect from an ancient Greek stadium – semicircle at one end with two long straight sides. I was a little surprised to find that the other end was open. Since it had been almost completely rebuilt only just over 100 years ago, and built out of stone, it was in excellent condition. If it hadn’t been so hot I might have been tempted to run round the track.

Chris was getting annoyed. I could tell, because he sat down next to the Olympic flag and said “I’ll wait here”. Sunil and Nathalia were already working their way up to the top of the stands, and the two of them seemed to be getting quite attached, so I went only half way up. Having walked round it and back again when I found there was no exit on the other side, I joined Chris and waited for Sunil and Nathalia to finish their tour.

The next stop was the Temple of the Olympian Zeus, the centrepiece of a site known as the Olympieon, though it is nothing to do with the Panathenaic Stadium, so it was a short walk from there.

The Olympieon’s ruins, unlike the stadium, are original, dating back to the 1st Century BC, when construction was started by Peisistratos the Younger in 515 BC, though he never finished it and the work was finally completed by Roman Emperor Hadrian in 125 AD. This six-hundred year construction task makes most modern government projects looks like masterpieces in planning and organisation.

Originally the temple stood on 104 Corinthian columns, but only a few of these now remain, most grouped at one end.

The final visit of the day was to the Temple of Hephaistos, in The Ancient Agora. This is one of the best preserved ancient temples in Athens. Amazingly, despite being built in 449 BC, the roof is complete and standing. Maybe it has been rebuilt, but none of the literature I had suggested that had been the case.

We left plenty of time to get back to the hostel, which was a very good idea, because the metro stopped in the middle of the tunnel. After five minutes or so of standing on the crowded train, there was an announcement from the driver. I’ll apologise in advance for the corniness of my next comment.

It was all Greek to me.

Ok, promise I won’t say that again. The passengers on the train listened in silence to the announcement, and then collectively groaned. We looked around, confused, and a woman standing nearby translated. There were ‘passengers’ on the platforms at the next station. This didn’t help much. Perhaps I hadn’t interpreted the Greek metro system correctly, but surely passengers on the platform was no reason for the system to grind to an abrupt halt.

When the train finally got underway and pulled into the station, I realised the problem. There were a lot of passengers. And they were all wearing the same shirt. And they were singing. With riot police keeping the drunken hordes of football supporters under control, we left the station, thankful that all the shirts were the same colour.

The boat was a disappointment. The crew seemed to be competing against one another in various challenges, including lowest-knot-on-tie, most-number-of-passengers-growled-at, and most-cupcakes-eaten-in-one-go. I’m guessing the last one, but the girth of most the crewmen suggested they took the task very seriously.

Journey 10: Athens to Santorini
1 leg, 300km, 8 hr 30 min. Average speed: 35kph
Origin/Destination	Departs	Arrives	Carrier	My Rating
Athens Santorini	20:00	04:30	Hellas Ferries

The cocker family was disappointed with his cabin too. He came back to the saloon to meet us, and I followed him down. As soon as we entered the stairwell a loud and angry shout followed us. A crewman was demanding to know how many of us there were. Had our notoriety in ferry circles followed us to Athens, I wondered, or was this guy just generally irritable? I guessed the latter and kept going anyway. The cabin was in the bowels of the ship – the noise level suggested that the engine was next door, and the colour of the sheets gave the distinct impression that they hadn’t been washed in some years.

Sunil, Nathalia and I spent a few hours talking in the Saloon. At about midnight I pulled two chairs together and went to sleep.