The worst 4 hours of the trip... but i made the ferry!

So I’m writing this blog about 4 hours after my last post, but I’m on the ship so it could be a while till it actually gets on the blog. And it’s a shame, cause it’s a good one.

(found internet on the boat!)

 

So I’ve had the most crazy/ not good four hours of my travels thus far here in Greece just now. It starts out with me having my giant 60 lbs pack on my back with my smaller backpack with my laptop and books on my front and trying to ride the metro here at rush hour for an hour to get to the port. Not only is my pack huge mind you, its got an extra 6 inches on either side of its normal width because of my tent and sleeping bag being strapped to it. I cram on to the metro and start talking to this nice greek guy in his early 30’s who was telling me about the islands and asking me about my plans and everything. Turned out he worked in the hotel industry and gave me his email for me to email him and he said he would probably be able to find me a pretty good job paying at least 600 euros a month out on the islands as an internship. I put his email address in my blackberry then put it in my pocket. In the mean time 2 younger guys 18-22 get on and come in on either side of me. I’m still talking to this greek guy though so I just try to keep my pack out of their way and let that be that. Well while I’m talking to him I feel something hitting my pocket but the guy next to me had a bag so I figured that was it and didn’t think anything of it. I felt it again, put my hand down and my camera was still in my pocket so I thought nothing of it. The next stop I back out of the door to let people out and I see the one dude kind of slap hands with his buddy while his friend left. I kept talking to the nice greek dude promising me a potential job and warning me of the Albanians. He leaves, I promise him to email him right as soon as I can find internet again. I am on the train for a couple more stops.

            I get off at the port see gate E6 and E5 and assume well I’ll just keep walking down and catch E1 cause obviously they just count down. Plus the friendly Greek guy had told me that there was WIFI everywhere down there so I figured I was plenty early so I could just stop off at a coffee shop for a bit and get the ball rolling with him I walk… and I walk… and I don’t see a coffee shop so I plop down in front of an office building to see if I could fins some WIFI there to send my email. I couldn’t get and so I continued to walk… and finally get to gate E4. I walk some more and get to E3 so I figure well this is taking a while but I’ve got time so no worries I’ll just keep walking to my boat. I started getting curious as to what time it was, stuck my hand in my pocket to check my blackberry for the time, but came up empty. I stopped on the side walk checked my entire packs both of them, then decided it could have fallen out back at where I had stopped to check the WIFI, deep down really knowing that those two guys on the train had taken it right out of my pocket. But I had to go out and check anyways, so I did.. I walked ALL the way back… and found nothing… by this time I knew it was getting late and I needed to hustle to catch my ferry but my cell phone was my only way to tell time here as I left my watch at home. My cell phone also had the guys email address and it was one of those emails with about 20 characters as it was just his full Greek name that I now can’t remember for the life of me what it was so I went from being super excited about all of this to being totally bummed out by it. I have figured out why I felt the pick pocket happen and didn’t realize what was going on, I usually have my phone in one front pocket and my cell phone in another,  well after I typed down the nice greek guys name I must have put my phone in the same pocket as my camera was in, so when I felt it happen I reached down and still felt my camera not thinking that my phone should have been in that pocket as well.

            But back to the story. After me coming to the harsh conclusion that my phone, with emails and every phone number I’ve gotten since my senior year of high school in it, was indeed gone. I focused on getting to a bus of some sort to get me to the port cause I knew by this time I didn’t have enough time to walk. So I ask someone find out where a bus stop is supposed to be. I start walking at a good clip then hit a curb wrong, rolled my ankle (thank God I brought my brace) and took the tumble of a lifetime, thank you extra 70lbs total of weight added to me! Skinned my knee really good had to pick up all of my stuff throw it on my back and continue on with blood running down my leg. I go to what I think is a bus stop, I mean there was an awning with people with suitcases and a lit bored in the general area someone pointed. I see the bus coming… aaannnnd not stop. Then I see a guy running after it come up to me, I ask him the time and he tells me 6:45 so then it’s a track race with this bus when it finally stops about 150 meters ahead I catch up to it. Trying my best to sprint with 70lbs and a newly rolled ankle but I was movin! I catch the bus, except it is super crowded with French people up to the door. I try to get on, but with my giant pack they were all like no get off, while they all had plenty of room to squish. And I was very politely like I am getting on this I’m going to miss my ferry if I don’t so I just kinda push my way on. Take my pack squeeze it in jam the door shut, and thoroughly piss off the French… so much for helping the US/ French relationship, but they were positively rude and not helpful at all. I mean they saw me sprint to the bus with blood running down my leg hobbling the whole way the least they could have done was try to help. I made the bus though, and got to the boat after they had already pulled up the gate for walking passengers and had to walk up the car entrance to the ferry. And now here I am sitting on the ferry, didn’t get here early enough to get a bench to sleep on so I’m on the very windy top deck just trying to make it work up here. Its getting cold quick though so we’ll see what I think of all of this in a little while.

 

I’ll still stay classy if you all do.

 

An exasperated but not overly up set,

 

Evan