Monday, April 22, 2002 12:28
Weather: Sunny, scattered cloud, slightly hazy, warm.
Location: On the deck of the Superfast II, arriving in Patras.

A wonderful crossing. I've never been a big fan of ferries, and have been frequently queasy on 1-2 hour crossings (e.g. Spain-Morocco), so I had some trepidation about a 16 hour overnight trip, but my fears were unfounded. The sea could hardly have been more calm, and there was no perceptable roll to the vessel, so that I would probably have been comfortable even without the upgrade to a single cabin. It wasn't cheap--€44--but it certainly was quiet and very comfortable. I slept for a good 11 hours (!) (12 if you count the time change) and missed the stop at Igoumenitsa completely (along with breakfast in the dining room).

Throughout the morning we've been cruising down the coast of Greece. Steep mountainous coastlines appear on both sides--there are a lot of islands--but we're storming past them and are right on time for our arrival. The ferry has just pulled behind the breakwater and is startling up clouds of seagulls.

Patras looks like a large, fairly ugly city, but I'm not planning on staying for long: there's a train for the south at 2:20. I'm not sure where I'm aiming for just yet, but I guess I'll be able to play it by ear.
posted by Tom at 12:45 PM | link |