Today was a short day. I had to ride a few kms to the port in Salamina then get a ferry to the mainland.
Komoot has a ferry route marked that goes to Piraeus but I suspect that is for foot passengers only. The car ferry goes to Perama which is about 10kms from Piraeus along a busy road.
It was a beautiful clear day too. A few days ago, Athens was engulfed in orange dust blown in from Africa, but the wind changed while I was at Akrata Beach. Now the air is perfect but my gear is still covered in dust.
I made it to the port to see lots of large ferries and wondered why they were all here. Perhaps they’re kept here because there’s no room at Piraeus.
I asked for a ticket to Piraeus and without comment, the guy gave me a ticket to Perama. Ok. So I asked the next guy and he said bikes weren’t allowed on the passenger boat, and added “you need to be very careful on the road from Perama – it’s terrible”. Great news all ’round.
I didn’t spend too much time on the main road from Perama, but was there long enough to see that the guy was right. It was pretty ugly and full of drivers racing to get to the next traffic jam.
Komoot took me through some quiet back streets so it was an ok Komoot day. Unfortunately the back streets were potholed, bumpy and full of regular people doing regular things like reverse parking, deliveries, catching waiting taxis and generally getting in John’s way. Progress was slow, but I had all day.
I had a healthy second breakfast of donuts and coffee at a small bakery on one of these streets and loved it. It’s amazing the price difference between one of these local places and the High St equivalent.
Pretty soon, Piraeus appeared, and with it, a bike path into the centre of Athens. As with nearly all bike paths in southern Europe, they seem to be more attractive to pedestrians than footpaths for some reason. Is it the nice red colour ? The smooth-ish surface ? Or just a lack of thought and consideration ? I think it’s a lack of a bike culture. Cars still rule here and bikes seem to just get out of their way. I assume that there’s a major clash of cultures when central Europeans ride their bikes through here.
The path took me into the Plaka district and my first encounter with mass tourism since Corfu. The people looked like they’d come straight off the cruise ship and many of the voices were american. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s a complete change for me. Athens is also very tourist oriented because it has so many amazing things to see. Seeing the Acropolis on the way to my BnB was just fantastic.
I had booked an Airbnb near Omonia Square and I had no knowledge of the state of any of the central areas. My digs were on a small street full of junkies. There was never any aggression at all, and over my four days there, we were all friendly to each other but stepping over two or three semi-comatose people to enter and leave the place became a chore. I feel genuinely sorry for them and it would be easy to be dismissive of them rather than being courteous and respectful.
The Airbnb itself was great and the host, fantastic though, and I got straight into my tasks on arrival. First a haircut. Then some food, then pick up my new chair frame, then a bike shop, then new tent pegs. I’ve now broken three in the last two nights camping. Admittedly, they weren’t the highest quality, but they lasted really well. This time, I got some MSR ones that will do the job for some time.
The chair frame arrived a few days before me, and I’m really happy about it
I’m impressed with the customer service par excellence from The Brokedown Palace in London, and Helinox themselves who, together arranged a replacement frame to be shipped to Athens. Many many thanks !
Next was a bike shop. I went and spoke to Jimmy at Vicious Cycles who doesn’t touch hydraulic brakes. Whaaaat ? He’s a great guy though and gave me three recommendations for a good place to bring This Moment. I called the first – Frederico Bikes, and booked it in. It needs the rear brakes checked, BBs cleaned, and pedals regreased. Most of that I’d do myself, but the bike shop in NL tightened the pedals and crank so much that I can’t remove them with my shorter Allen keys.
I also checked out a camping store for a replacement dry bag or two, but the durable ones from Sea2Summit weren’t available there. Enough chores for one day, I wandered around and soaked up the tourist and ancient atmosphere.
A few days in Athens
These days were full of aimless wandering with my multi ticket that let me in everywhere that I wanted to go. The challenge was finding food that I felt like, in places that weren’t set up solely for rich tourists. They spoil it for me. They are here for a short time and are understandably extravagant for that time.
Naturally, businesses evolve to cater for a particular target customer. As a long term tourist, I’m not in Athens for the authentic Greek dining experience. I get that in most small villages I go to. Rather, I’m here to see the ancient sites and take advantage of shops and bike shops that I need from time to time. Everything wears out and everything needs maintenance and cities are the best places to sort things out and rest. They are also sociable places. That is, people speak more english and are often more engaging in tourist spots. That’s nice for a change too.
I went to a restaurant and noticed an Aussie twang in the accent of the lady running it. She’s another ex Blacktowner whose family returned to Greece in the 90s. The food was brilliant too.
I also did some planning. I’ve decided not to go to Turkey. Instead, I’ll go to some places I really want to visit like Delphi and Meteora, then head north through Macedonia etc. I’ll aim towards Budapest. That meant that while the bike is getting some love, I can spend a week in the Greek Islands.
Paros was my first choice but there’s another ferry strike which has disrupted things. No tickets were available to Paros, but I can go to Syros for a few days then on to Paros after the strike.
