From Tripoli to Athens

After an easy, hour long bus ride to Tripoli from Sparta we stopped. At this stop, there didn't seem to be much around, but we had seen signs telling us we were in Tripoli. One of the girls got off the bus and asked to be sure where we were, but we were all a bit skeptacle as we had read in our guidebooks about the big new bus station in Tripoli. A man, seeming to be nice at first, told us that we were in Tripoli and this is where we needed to be, so we all got off the bus. Next thing we know he's telling us we should take his cab to Nafplio because there is no bus to Argos until the next morning. He took us to a small bus station with a woman who didn't speak any English and as my frustration mounted that this man had basically tricked us off the bus, we decided to leave and make our way to the proper bus station to get our bus.

We looked in the guidebook and found the address and asked someone on the street where the plateia (square) we needed was. After making our way down there (passing the cab driving once who had followed us and offered again to take us in his cab) a man at a kiosk told us that this was where the bus station used to be but that it had now moved to the other side of town. Now in a bit of a frenzy because our bus was leaving in half an hour, we booked it across town. That persistent and obnoxious cab driver had followed us further and was shouting at us from his cab as we walked by and I had to resist all urges to turn around and punch him in the face... but don't worry, I didn't.

Finally we made it to the proper bus station in Tripoli, just in time for our bus to Argos, only to find out that the cab driver was actually right and there wasn't a bus to Argos until the morning, the one we had called and asked about earlier in the week had been cancelled. Oh how the stress levels rose. We were trying to find some alternative form of travel to Argos when who should appear in the bus station but that same cab driver. We finally told him off, politely, and he loomed a bit but kept his distance. Katie, being the collected person she is, befriended the man who worked behind the counter at the bus station and he gave us a number for a reliable taxi company to call. We wound up taking two cabs to Nafplio (we had to end our trip there, so we decided to just make it our home base) and paid 50 Euro a cab. The drivers were very nice and even pulled over at this cliff's edge so that we could take pictures of a spectacular view.

Upon arrival in Nafplio we had one last task to perform... we had to find a hotel. After wandering around, inquiring about prices in various hotels, using a combination of Greek and English, we found a small hotel run by a little old woman with blue hair. She spoke very little English, but enough was communicated and she set us up with a double room and a triple (there being six of us, we split up 2 and 4). The double room had the use of a hall bathroom as well as a sink, and the triple room, which could only be accessed by going through the double and through a courtyard had it's own bathroom, although it was without a shower curtain. We were so greatful just to have a (cheap) place to stay that we went out for a nice warm dinner and went to bed.

The next day we were back on track and got some breakfast at a bakery, apples from the Laiki, and took a bus to Mycenae. If you're like me, you don't know much about Mycenae, but I will inform you (or refresh your memory, for those of you who do know about it). I've been told that Mycenae may be the oldest ruins I will ever visit. They were excavated in the late 1800s by Heinrich Schliemann. Although there is no conclusive evidence, he and others have suggested that these ruins include the tomb of Clytemnestra and either the tomb of Agamemnon or the Treasury of Atreius. The site was absolutely gorgeous especially with such beautiful weather. The sun was shining and it was warm. It took my breath away and I am so glad we went. We had enough time to see the entire site as well as the small museum, and I am thoroughly enjoying the benefit of being considered a European Student because all of these sites and museums have been free.

We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing in Nafplio, eating, drinking, and enjoying the water. All-in-all it was a successful and eventful weekend. I am very proud of us for our first entirely independent travel experience and am looking foward to next weekend when my apartment, our friends Therese, Matt, and Tony, and I all head to Hydra, an island not far from Athens.

Stay tuned... more to come.