Ferry into the Unknown

Well that was a trip and a half! Getting to the ferry port from downtown Athens was easy enough; hopped on the metro with a validated Euro 1.40 ticket this time, and speaking no Greek, somehow managed to understand I had to find and take a free bus from the metro station terminus at Piraeus to my ship berthed about a kilometre into the port. When I got on board in the economy section (of course) I noted there were sofas, so I helped myself to one thinking I could stretch out and sleep on the 9 hour voyage. The fellow having a pretend nap sprawled across the next sofa told me two young men asked him to save my sofa for them while they went to eat. Naturally, seeing no luggage, coats or other personal items 'saving' their seats, I sat down anyway, staking out my new territory. :)

When the young men in question arrived some 40 minutes later, they were a bit hostile but when I asked if they were going to sleep in the next 5 minutes and could I sit and chat with them, they relented. We talked for an hour or more. I say we, but one fellow only spoke Greek and Albanian so there were a lot of giggles trying to understand each other. But the other young man, Vangeli, spoke English and told me he was headed to Chios to do his 8 month army stint that all Greek men who are not head of household must undertake after high school or university. We spoke about the refugee crisis, shared opinions, ideas and facts about our separate cultures' take on the situation.

When it came time to sleep, Vangeli, said he had a first class ticket from the army but preferred to stay with his friend who was going onward to Lesvos and did I want to go and sleep there! I was again overwhelmed at the kindness of the Greek people to complete strangers. Isn't it odd that as the world gets faster and more complex, we're actually astonished at unexpected kindnesses? Hmmmmm. In the end, I told him to give the ticket to someone who had to sleep on the floor and chose to sleep on the sofa in the bar (next to an old fella who was a bit 'windy' hahaha). I confess, it's been a while since I've done that!

Arriving on the island at 4:30 in the morning with bleary eyes, a heavy backpack and large case full of donations in tow in the dark was a bit intimidating but the owner of the pensionne at Chios Rooms, Mr Don Rodger, was kind enough to open early for me at 7 am. However, that left a few hours to wander around in the dark by myself and wheel that flippin case a kilometre down the road to my new digs.. Luckily the under 30 crowd were just being poured out of closing bars and clubs, so the coffee shops were open and I was able to grab a hot cappuccino and a really gooey croissant full to the brim with the most delicious chocolate (which I was wearing after the first bite - yep all over my trousers and sweater!). But hey, it was dark out, so nobody could see my travelled-in, chocolate covered attire. So I sat outside Chios Rooms and watched the sun rise over the port with a hot drink, my trusty kindle and the luxury to just 'be'.

Don really couldn't have been more helpful! He dragged my heavy case up two flights of stairs, poured me a nice hot cuppa and made me comfortable in the kitchen until the previous occupant of my room moved out at 9:30. He is kind and friendly and truly helpful in every way. Oh, and a great conversationalist to boot.

And the kindnesses and openheartedness of the Greek people and volunteers continues everywhere I go on the island. It's not so difficult to be kind and respectful of others, but somehow in a jaded world, we don't expect it. It reminds us of what's really important. That we're all just humans trying to be good and live meaningful lives. How refreshing.