Sea Day/Athens

October 23rd-24th
Sea Day/Athens

The 23rd was the usual Sea Day. Ron was allowed to play the show at night and the night previous to it, so I guess the doctor thinks he’s well enough again. Who knows, it’s just seems odd to me that something that was just a serious medical concern has basically evaporated away in a day, slightly odd…
We were in Athens the next day. The last time I was here I was on the Queen Victoria and I visited the Navigator who was in port with us…I never thought I’d be returning so soon on the ship I had just visited. Anyway, we had boat drill in the morning, so that took some time, and then I hung out on the ship for a while afterward. We weren’t leaving the port till 11pm, so I wasn’t in any rush to get off. Instead, I waited till 4 when I could rent a bike from the crew office and set out to see the port city of Piraeus and make my way towards Athens.
The bike journey was interesting to say the least. First, I went by myself. I couldn’t talk any of my friends into renting a bike with me, not that I really care, but it’s a different experience when you go exploring on a bike on your own. Second, they were running out of bikes to rent and I got stuck with the last available “SunKruiser”…yeah, that sounds exploration friendly doesn’t it? Well, the SunKruiser is a fat tired beach style bike with three gears and the braking system in which you stop by attempting to peddle in reverse, not exactly big-city appropriate. But, it did have a large cushy seat making my inevitable biking difficulties as comfortable as humanly possible. So off I set on my SunKruiser, riding along the docks looking for an exit to the port, and riding in a way as not to look like a 60 year old man making his way to the beach. Then came the first car I had to avoid and the first curb I had to get over. Let’s say the later proved more deadly than the former. If I trying to ride over a curb at anything other than a 90 degree angle I was destined to fail…and I therefore dismounted my beach bike, lifted it over the curb, and continued on riding portraying some innate desire to be a senior citizen. This continued the entire ride and got less painful as I got more adept at dulling my sensitivity to public opinion.
Piraeus is fairly hilly, another obstacle standing between me and an enjoyable bike ride on a less than enjoyable bike (though supremely comfortable). Some hills I managed, others I narrowly dodged passing cars, and still more I just had to walk, where as the descents were cautiously negotiated using a braking system I left behind after my tenth birthday. That aside, the streets were generally busy, the sidewalks were too narrow and cluttered for bikes, and Greek driving practices made for an unusual challenge – but I was determined for a decent outing.
Many hills, narrow roads, and near death experiences later, I came across the top of some fortification the city was build on, from which I could see most of Athens and the sea, a nice stopping point. So there I sat for a while at the edge of this 80 foot wall (death wish?) looking out over the harbor enjoying the view I worked so hard to achieve. I had decided that this would be as far as I wanted to risk biking, and after an extended observation period, I decided to turn around and find my way back to the ship.
The ride back was similar to the ride there, the same challenge of cars, curbs, and riding faster than the bike was ever meant to ride (which produced an unfavorable hissing sound somewhere in the mechanism). I did almost manage to hit two pedestrians and get run over by a moped, but I did indeed arrive back to the port without a scratch. Wanting to spend maybe a little more time on the comfortable seat, I rode around the port for a while for a yet to be seen “leisurely” bike ride. I took out my camera and took some pictures and videos of the ship and port area, the usual things, till I ran into another potential situation…
Greece seems to have a thing for dogs and these cities are packed with stray dogs. I have no idea where they come from or where they go, but it doesn’t matter where you go, there are random dogs. One of these dogs thought it’d be a good idea to play with the biker on the SunKruiser. So here I am with my camera when a light colored dog starts chasing me. At first I’m not to worried, he’s far enough behind and I’m getting a laugh out of filming him. But in a matter of moments he’s at my ankles with a look in his eyes of either “I’m gonna bite you because you’re in my area” or “I’m gonna bite you because it’ll be fun”. Either way, I have a not-so-cuddly canine ready to knock me from my SunKruiser. Well, I turn the camera off, and unable to put the camera back in my pocket out of a fear of sacrificing speed, I pin it against the handle bar and do my best to outrun this dog with one available hand (and not the one that works the three oh-so-useful gears). A couple minutes later after a few sprints and turns and being inches from the dog, The SunKruiser and I had won the battle. The dog had eventually given up and I was free to catch my breath and finally put my camera away. I got on the ship soon after.
I hung out onboard for a while, my friends had left early for dinner, and I eventually got off one more time at night with someone for a walk around the city before we sailed. We picked up some really nice pastries and went back to the ship unchallenged by stray dogs.
That about does it for my Greek adventure…maybe slightly exaggerated, but none the less ridiculous. Thanks for reading!