Thursday September 5, 2019
CHANIA, Greece – To say the day began uneventful would be a gross understatement.
Before the sun rose over Athens airport, we were out a quick $200 and there was nothing to prevent this amount. While we plan everything, including transportation, hotels, museums, food stops and the other myriad of conditions which effect any trip, there are bound to be roadblocks and mines along the way.
Our second full day in Europe presented a set of these challenges.
First, there was the matter of getting to airport. When we arrived Tuesday night in Athens, we bought a three-day Metro pass and wanted to use this to travel back to the airport. That would be for a flight to Crete and a stay of two weeks on that island.
Turns out the Metro began running for the day at 5:30 a.m. and we had to be at the airport at 6 for an 8 a.m. flight. So, we arranged for a taxi which set us back 50 euros for the ride. If the time was proper, we would have used our Metro passes.
At 5:30 a.m., the cabbie appeared in a bright yellow Mercedes and helped us load the luggage and backpacks into the car. The ride was about 45 minutes to the airport, and along the way, he told us he was from Corfu, an island located off the northwest coast of Greece. Said he was in Athens the past 11 years and misses his hometown. When asked why he has not returned, he has a two-word answer, “boss lady.”
“You mean, your wife,” Waynette said, and he simply nodded his head and laughed. He explained a return to Corfu would happen soon and leave Athens, with wife in hand, for good. Though the expense of 50 euros was tough to swallow, the driver was entertaining and the ride to the airport moved quickly.
Flying the Crete on Thursday morning from Athens, I downloaded our boarding passes to my phone and even the departure gate appeared. Since we each had to check one bag each, we proceeded through to baggage. At the desk, we presented our passports and I showed the boarding passes on my phone. The clerk held Waynette’s passport and said she could not board. In amazement and wonder, I questioned why, and the clerk said, “your ticket says Mrs. Mark Brown.” But, Waynette presented her passport. The clerk responded that the name on the ticket is not the same and does not say “Waynette. You’ll have buy another ticket for this flight. Go see the customer service counter over there,” she pointed.
After tapping fingers on the keyboard, the clerk at Customer Service said, very coldly, “that will be 114 euros. Are you checking a bag?” What, was our answer. “If you want to fly on this plane, I have to cancel your previous reservation and book a new ticket. Plus, placing you bag, that’s 141 euros.” No refund on the original 40-euro ticket!
With that, Waynette handed over a credit card and we waited to board. Once on the plane, we settled in and I took a window seat. A few minutes later, the flight attendant asked to see our tickets. Apparently, we were in the wrong seats and that turned out to be the case. The people whose seats where we sat said they would sit in our assigned seats. That was the row behind. Great, we thought to ourselves, and all of this before 8 a.m. What else can go wrong? More “good” things awaited.
The flight from Athens to Crete took only 50 minutes and we then took a public bus, 2 euros, 50 for each, to downtown Chania, the largest city on the island and our destination from Athens.
Just outside of Chania, we booked an air-BNB apartment but could not enter the property until after 3 p.m. Current tenants had a checkout time of 12 noon and the hostess said she needed time to clean the apartment. We landed at 9 and had six hours to drag our bags around a foreign city. The bus left us off at the bus station and we went inside the terminal and grabbed a drink. Since we had difficulty communicating with the air-BNB host, who, by the way said her property was on a road with no street number, we thought the property was isolated and no public bus was anywhere near.
At that point, we decided to rent a car, something we both objected but rationalized we were in a dire situation. There was a rental car storefront across from the bus station, so we popped in a get an estimate. Over the next 30 minutes, we managed to get a car, standard transmission only, and we could pick this up any time after three. By this time, it was around 12 noon and we decided to wander into the old town of Chania.
The island of Crete was important in Greek ancient times and the Palace of Knossos, dating back to 1900 BC, is restored. The town of Chania, which dates back to pre-ancient Crete, was controlled by the Romans, the Byzantines, Venetians, the Turks and Egyptians over the centuries. Walking down to the waterfront and back to the car rental location, we saw many archeological excavations and evidence of an early civilization. There are also ruins from a German bombardment in 1941 in Germany’s quest to conquer Crete.
By mid-afternoon, we were picked up the car and started out for the air BNB property. Anna, the clerk at the car rental, was a jovial woman from Romania, but demanded money up front. That was $350 and another 50 euros in cash because we’ll drop the car off at Irakleio, a port city where we plan to catch the ferry to Santorini in two weeks. Since Waynette was too stressed out from the $600 hit we took today, I drove and operated a stick shift for the first time in over 30 years. Not only did have to get the rhythm down between the clutch and the gas, the ability to navigate through narrow European streets, darting pedestrians and drivers who make their own lanes, the challenge was, well, “a challenge.”
Yet, we managed, found the property and the host met us warmly. The apartment is terrific, with a modern flair and all the amenities. Once settled, we grabbed a quick snack and set out to explore the closest beach, about a 10-minte drive. The beach was short and not terribly inviting. From there, we proceeded into Chania and found a supermarket and stocked on eggs, veggies, a case of Coke Zero and snacks for the beach.
On Friday, we’ll meet Anna from the car rental, to exchange cars around 8:30. I’m taking even money the woman never shows up. Then, we’ll venture off an unknown beach for the day.
NOTE – At this point, I’m learning to place photos in the blog. It’s a little different from the 2018 blog, so for the first several entries, there are no pictures. Hope to correct this shorty. Thanks very much for your patience.
TEMP – low 90s, partly sunny, humid
STEPS – 10,210
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