Last leg

 Monday 12th September, Piraeus and Serifos

So I have made a few resolutions to go with my Greek adventure. One of them is to spend less time on Facebook. It’s so easy to get sucked in. I haven’t made a final decision, but it’s possible these posts won’t appear on it. One thing I like about a blog is you see what you want to, and some unruly algorithm doesn’t decide what you see. 

I took several large sachets of coffee with me and as this hotel room has a kettle, I can make myself a hot drink. Black coffee works fine. I am still full after last night, so will have a spanakopita for lunch, there is a nice bakers nearby. The first job of the day is to mark on google maps the Vodaphone, Cosmote and other shops I want to go to to. I can leave my cases here in the hotel, the E9 gate where my ferry departs is very close to the hotel. It leaves at four pm.

First shop to visit is the Kodak shop that does Greek sized passport photos for the permit I am going to apply for in a weeks time. I thought it best to get them done in Greece to ensure they are up standard!

So this bar named “Casanova” was on my way. It’s a bit surreal, maybe I should try it one day! The Kodak shop wasn’t far and she soon snapped me and I had my approved photos. Next on my list was the Cosmote shop, I then discovered you can’t have a mobile contract unless you have a Greek tax number. So it’s pay as you go. Their prices seemed expensive and their customer service seemed a bit poor, they did not seem interested in my custom at all! So I carried on to the Vodaphone  shop. Here I met this guy who clearly knew what I needed and after a while my newer mobile has a new sim, he demonstrated the mini router for the house, I also bought a SIM card for Mike as he wants to try this sim router idea too. I have to pay monthly, there is an app, I might try that or the regular Vodaphone url. Next stop a cafe, for the usual spanakopita and coffee, before returning to the hotel. It’s hot here, they are easily going to get thirty, but there is a nice breeze. I was told last night they had forty for quite a long time in the summer and tipped over to the mid forties a couple of times. The staff at Faros 1, know myself and Hazel well and were certainly amused and possibly impressed I am going to stay on Serifos over the winter!

Back at the hotel, I have migrated my number in WhatsApp and notified all my contacts. I managed with the help of Google Translate to register myself and my number on the GreekVodaphone site! This is the first stage to topping the numbers up on a regular basis. Quite remarkable really!

It was then time to walk to catch the ferry. There was a mass of yellow taxis ready to whisk away the tide of humanity at the gate, that disgorged from the ferry when it arrived. It was late and it seemed to take ages before everyone and their vehicles had emptied the ferry and it was ready to take us on. As I walked on the ferry, it was being topped up with diesel with a big black pipe from a tanker. I imagine these ferries drink diesel. But it left about ten minutes late, which is amazing. There seems to be this sort of human and vehicle clash, with vehicles and people getting in each others way as they struggle to leave the ferry. But miraculously it sorts itself out. I went to the open part of the ferry and bathed myself in the sun. We slowly eased out of the port and as soon as we were in open sea, the ferry went for top speed. We overtook a lot of slower ferries and container ships. 

On the open deck there are dogs in cages which I don’t approve of. There was a lot of barking going on. The open deck was quite windy and I could soon taste salt on my face from the spray. I managed to have a nap while laying against a bulkhead, after I woke up I went inside and had a drink and something to eat, as I wasn’t sure when I would eat later on. I soon saw Serifos appear and as we turned into Livadi, Hora appeared, like magic. Just as I left it. I had time for another drink at an ice cream  before the bus arrived to take me up the mountain. There was a bit of confusion about getting our big bags on the bus, eventually the driver came down and opened the boot up. There were a group of French tourists, I ended up showing them my other blog on my Greek travels, which will hopefully let them enjoy Serifos more. The bus slowly snaked up the mountain, passing views that I fondly remember from last time.

Dragging the cases up to the house was a real struggle. Before the agent and the owner appeared I managed to go on the roof and have a look and remind myself about this place. I had to pinch myself, I am one lucky person. 

So I spent some time with the agent and the owner and I think we got most things sorted out. I am a bit worried about how the contract will be received by our policeman on Syros and I need to check I have filled in all my details. The house seems how I imagined it. I unpacked all my stuff, the little router seems to work ok. What I might need is a kettle, a pedestal fan, although it’s cooling down now of course, but it might save using the air conditioner maybe. There are a few things I might need like washing tablets, I can add them to my food shopping list tomorrow. For now I feel happy and chilled. I look forward to meeting the people I got to know when I was here in June.