Travelclog Greece

With the onset of autumn in the UK, late October offered the opportunity for a nice break in sunnier climes and like the Blur song lyric, I found myself following the herd down to Greece, on holiday.

As with cycle excursions that have been subject of previous editions of The Clog, our tour company was Oak Hall. The holiday makers were met by the ever friendly and efficient dispatch team at Heathrow Terminal 5 and said goodbye to the UK as we took off on the Saturday lunchtime British Airways flight to Athens  at the start of the half term week.

We arrived late on the Saturday evening and were introduced to our leadership team from the tour company. Oak Hall always provide a member of the team for pastoral care who also lead non-compulsory sermons each evening, this task was fulfilled by Wesley who showed great attention to detail in preparations and took time to get to know people. The main tour leader was the incredibly cheery Charissa who led the trip with distinction and good humour, though I do like to think that the job was made easier in that we weren't exactly a tough crowd.

Our accommodation  was the basic but pleasant Thomas Beach Hotel near to the sea front. There was a nice pool area and views out to the hills from the rear of the building. This was a comfortable base for the week with friendly staff who looked after us well.

The first day in Nea Makri was spent at leisure and a large group headed out on a long coastal walk along the bustling promenade and into the nearby town of Marathon. 

A small group of us embarked on a detour through to the site of the ancient Battle of Marathon and in our world dominated by corporate messages, it was refreshing to see that it hadn’t been rebranded as the Battle of Snickers. Gaining access to the site cost €3 and there were some good information boards discussing the seemingly improbable victory of the Greeks against the larger Persian army. In the middle of the site lies a large mound where the remains of the slain are buried.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by a smart café bar for afternoon coffee. It was a shock to British sensitivities to be back in a bar that tolerate smoking. One of the options on the list was caffe latte freddo, though this wasn’t a coffee with melted chocolate caramel bar. There was also 'Nescafe' listed but this was barista style premium coffee rather than instant granules.

Our first organised day was to the historical area of Corinth, a city that was an important trading centre in the days of the Roman Empire. The first stop on the day was overlooking the fascinating Corinth Canal that links the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. This amazing feat of engineering was completed in the 19^th century by a French company, almost over 1900 years since early attempts by the Roman Empire to construct a canal using thousands of slaves.

The second part of the visit took us up to the site of Acrocorinth, the imposing rock overlooking the city that was a major fortification. In ancient times, a temple dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was also based on this site. There were some stunning panoramic views over the Gulf of Corinth from the summit.

 Following this, our coach then made its way down the narrow roads to the ruins of the ancient city, a place that is associated with the visit of the Apostle Paul, who established an early Christian church during his 18 month stay in the area. As historical figures go Paul is pretty controversial, as in his previous guise as a Pharisee, he had shown himself to dabble in persecution of minority groups and would’ve probably been guilty of genocide had the course of his life stayed on the same path.

After his astonishing conversion on the Damascus Road, Paul could be considered argumentative, difficult, single-minded and stubborn. These are qualities that are also associated with driven and motivated individuals, enabling Paul to be a pioneering, visionary evangelist. His two letters to the fledgling Corinthian church are a prominent part of New Testament scripture and the 13^th chapter of his first letter is quoted at almost every Christian wedding ceremony. This text was inscribed on a plinth in the grounds of a church overlooking the ruins of the ancient city.

The ruins featured an imposing temple of Apollo, the god of the sun. It was clear from the ruins that worship of the established pantheon of Olympian gods were established here. Against this backdrop, one can only respect the achievement of the Apostle Paul in being able to plant a new church in this great commercial metropolis with entrenched religious beliefs.

 When walking near to the ruins of the temple, a foreign tourist heard us speaking and asked where we were from, one of our group lazily replied ‘England’ demonstrating a blatant disregard for the fact that there were people from all other areas of the UK and even a small amount from the other side of the world in our group. As an inclusive, fair minded publication, The Clog would not wish to name Mrs Rachel Lock as being guilty of this cultural faux pas.

One of the important events of the US Presidential campaign is a day known as Super Tuesday, our second free day could also lay claim to this title on the basis that it met the criteria of being super and also happened to be Tuesday.  A group of us decided to embark on a three island cruise in the Saronic Gulf with Olympic Cruises, costing €65. This involved a very early start as we left the hotel around 0615 and picked up more passengers at another hotel. Athens hosted the 2004 Olympic Games and the Tae Kwon Do venue overlooked the marina, this impressive looking building is now something of a white elephant that has seldom been used, in many ways a symbol of the economic troubles that the country is facing.

As we got underway, there was time to admire the cityscape of Athens and Piraeus, with the imposing stadium of Olympiacos CFP, the most successful football club in Greece, being a significant fixture of the seafront panorama.

As we navigated our way beyond the marina, we hit the busy shipping channels, navigating past many cargo ships heading for the container port at Piraeus, the huge vessel dominating the horizon on a journey that originated in Hong Kong and would continue to the large north European ports in Rotterdam and Hamburg.

The outbound voyage was quite peaceful, accompanied by traditional Greek music. Our first port of call was the island of Hydra after pleasant voyage of over 2 hours. Our boat was sitting outside the harbour for a few minutes as it waited on a Hellenic Seaways catamaran depart for the mainland, one of a series of high speed craft that link the Saronic Gulf islands with the mainland. 

As we entered the harbour, we were greeted by the sight of a beautiful little port town that had plenty of charm. We went on a leisurely walk around the town centre, where there was a good atmosphere as a parade was taking place. 

Our group took a walk up to the site of  old battlements that were a strategically important lookout point and a good place for a team photo.

On our next stage of the voyage, an agreeable two course lunch was served. The cruise company were quite crafty in including food within the cruise tariff but leaving drinks as a cost option. The cruise company were quite crafty in including food within the cruise tariff but leaving drinks as a cost option.Our second stop was a brief stop at the sun kissed island of Poros. 

We only had 40 minutes here but this was enough time to visit the Clock Tower that sits above the town, offering panoramic views of the harbour. 

There was also a large Greek flag on a rock by the Clock Tower and Andy seemed to get carried away with many many legends of Greek military victories in days of yore by positioning himself as the conqueror of the nation,

The final stop of the day was on the island of Aegina, where we stopped off at the main town of Egina. This was a busy port town with numerous ferries stopping off before heading back to the mainland. We took the opportunity to stop off at a nice seafront café and walk down to the beach. 

Our group headed into town to the area near the marina to admire the Church of the Virgin Mary, before heading back to the boat just as the sun was setting.

We were underway on the final part of the cruise in tranquil waters as day gave way to night and the moon was rising over the island. 

Our group spent time sitting on the main deck of the boat being treated to a display of Greek dancing. The group then got up to participate in a communal traditional Greek dance. This was followed by a series of other dances and before long, some of the group were joining in with the Macarena just as we were navigating through the busy shipping channels in choppy waters. The voyage came to an end after 1930 though didn't get back to the hotel for more than 1 hour 15 minutes later due to heavy traffic in Athens as commuters were setting off for home.

The second organised excursion day started off with a brief stop off at the local Orthodox monastery. This featured some thought provoking iconography of Christian martyrs though our party arrived at a time when some form of service was taking place and were made to feel as welcome as a bacon sandwich at a synagogue. Examples include one member of our party being singled out for apparently not wearing appropriate clothing and at least one person was told not to take photographs. The picture below shows the main tower on the site.

Following this slightly sour experience, we headed to Agia Marina to catch a ferry for a 45 minute voyage to our main destination was the pretty seaside resort of Nea Styra on the island of Euboea. This was a pretty but very quiet location, partly due to the fact that most places were closed due to it being a bank holiday.

On walking through the main street, Steve stopped off at a cash machine at the local branch of Piraeus Bank who proclaimed themselves as the number one bank in Greece in an advert, an accolade that is up there with being the prettiest corpse in the mortuary. Rather like Old Mother Hubbard, when he got there, the cupboard was bare.

On the journey back to Nea Makri, we stopped off at Marathon Lake, with its imposing marble dam, to take in the sunset. 

Our evening began with a walk into town to visit the brilliant bakery and confectioner from which I had purchased a tasty chocolate cake for €0.50 the previous evening. We came away from the shop carrying two large boxes filled with so many cakes for around €26 that it felt like legalised looting.

We decided to have a more relaxed evening in the hotel lounge playing a board game. Unfortunately, the only choice presented to us was 2 in 1 Disney Princess of snakes and ladders or ludo. The game ended up with both Steve and Tim becoming increasingly competitive to become the top princess, and it was all tiaras, tantrums and bizarre mood swings as cries of 'I love Princess Ludo' or 'I hate Princess Ludo' could be heard in the ebb and flow of the game. This whole episode was undoubtedly metrosexuality at its lowest point.

The third organised excursion was to Athens, the capital city. We set off from Nea Makri and along the Marathon road. When we entered the city limits, we made our way to the site of the Panathenaic stadium that was used in the first modern Olympic Games of 1896. This was built on the site of an ancient stadium that hosted the Panathenaic Games in honour of the goddess Athena.

The main feature of our visit was a guided tour of the iconic Acropolis, a UNESCO world heritage site. The centrepiece of the site is the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, from whom the city derives its name. We learned of how Athena was born out of the head of Zeus in what really was the mother and father of headaches.

The Parthenon is undoubtedly the greatest icon of Athens, an essential part of its DNA in the same way as the Colosseum is to Rome and the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. In many ways, it is the eminent symbol of Greek civilisation even though there is much scaffolding in evidence as it undergoes renovation. On the day we visited, there were many tourists of different nationalities present and it was amusing to hear someone ask: “was Zeus a real person?”

Some of the treasures of the Parthenon are famously located in the British Museum, the hotly disputed Elgin Marbles. Our guide was diplomatic in saying that she doesn't  mind where they are located and was complimentary about the way in which the British Museum has looked after the sculptures, though she pointedly made reference to the new museum at the bottom of the hill which has space to accommodate the treasures. This impressive new building, located near the theatre of Dionysus, will be the cornerstone of future Greek bids to take back the priceless artefacts.

The tour gave us an insight to the contest between Athena, goddess of wisdom, and Poseidon, god of the sea, to become the patron deity of the city. Both of the gods had to present themselves before King Cecrops,the first king of the city, and produce a gift that would be to the benefit to all of the citizens. Cecrops was something of an odd creature in that he was half human and half snake, which seems to be a pre-requisite for a career in politics. The contest began when Poseidon struck the earth with his trident and created a well from which water streamed forth but this was salty and not much use to anyone. 

Athena struck the ground with her spear and planted an olive branch which naturally grew to be an olive tree. This was a gift of multiple dimensions as it gave the city dwellers olives, oil for cooking and lighting, as well as a source of wood for building. King Cecrops came to the conclusion that Poseidon was a bit of a one trick pony and Athena was able to claim the city. This contest was quite elaborate in the era before the invention of the penalty shootout. An olive tree sits at the Acropolis today on the spot where it is said that Athena had planted her tree.

The site of the Acropolis offers spectacular panoramic views of the city. It is possible to look out towards the four main mountains that sit above the city and out towards the Saronic Gulf.

Before leaving such a well known site, we decided to have the customary typical tourist photograph taken for posterity.

Following our cultural morning, we headed into the city for lunch and take in some of the other historical sites of this great city, including the Temple of Olympian Zeus, dedicated to the king of the pantheon of the gods.

On the way back to the coach, we headed to the heart of the city to witness the changing of the guard in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the parliament building in Syntagma Square, the area that is the beating heart of the modern city. The soldiers are members of the Presidential Guard, known as Evzones, standing proud outside their beach hut in traditional uniform that is derived from a design worn by Greek soldiers who fought against the Ottoman occupation.

Following the hustle and bustle of the capital city, we then undertook a 70km coastal road trip to Cape Sounion, the southernmost point of Attica, to take in one last Hellenic sunset in a site of great natural beauty, looking out to the Aegean Sea. This site is famous for its ruins of an ancient temple of Poseidon and is noted in mythology as being the spot where King Aegeus leapt to his death when he saw his son’s ship in the distance with a black sail, mistakenly believing that he had been killed in a clash with the Minotaur. It is from this king that the name of the sea is derived.

The final day of the holiday was spent at leisure in the Nea Makri, offering an opportunity to buy some last minute souvenirs. There were some upmarket boutiques in the town but you didn't need to scratch far below the surface to also find many disused shop units and unfinished building projects, each one an example of a dream broken on the altar of feckless fiscal policy.

It was also good to go out for lunch in another nice local restaurant and take in the nice coastal views that this pretty little town has to offer.

We had to leave Athens on the 0800 flight which meant that we departed Nea Makri so early that the night club was still in full swing.

Greece is a country that can lay claim to be an eminent civilisation in ancient times, recognised as a leading centre for philosophy, pioneer of mathematical advances and the cradle of democracy. There is a certain poignancy in realising that the nation of Plato, Socrates and Pythagoras of Samos that led the world in many ways, is now in an economic straitjacket with the standing of a second world country. Considering the predicament in which Greece finds itself, it is clear that this is a nation with a rich past that potentially faces an impoverished future.

Against this backdrop of financial crisis, this broken country needs tourism more than ever. Everywhere that we travelled, the Greek people were very welcoming. This beguiling land of myths and fables, with 227 inhabited islands and close to 5,800 more uninhabited islets empowers you to write your own odyssey, beckoning you to return time and again, safe in the knowledge that no two visits will ever be the same.