Day #233 - Santorini to Athens, Greece

Oia cliffs on Santorini

Red Beach on Santorini

The caldera of Santorini

Sunset in the Greek Isles (Kurt & I)

Sunset in the Greek Isles

Tuesday, November 2nd

We started our day mid-morning in Santorini after our little pary on the hotel deck last night.


On the island, we chose to rent a car and see as much as possible. We first headed down to the Red & Black beaches on the southern portion of the island. It was surprising at the lack of people here. The official end to the peak season in the Greek isles is October 31st. This results in limited ferry schedules and some closed-down bars and restaurants. It was still neat to see - but I can only imagine the difference in mid-July.

We drove through the wine country and took in the unique buildings. There was a real prosperity difference in some areas of the island. Not unlike the states - but very noticeable in such a small area. We had a close call as a young boy darted out in front of us as we came around a corner. Greg was quick on the breaks or it would have been a very bad outcome.

After our drive through the southern and central portion of the island - we headed north to Oia. This place is known for its cave-like dwellings and also lays claim as one of the best sunset-viewing areas in the world. Swimming pools and jacuzzi's littered the western cliff bank. We all agreed that a return visit staying in one of these places is where dreams are made of. Sitting in your hottub with a glass of wine, in the right company, overlooking the sea below and the dramatic cliff face -- all would seem right in the world.

We headed back to our hotel and took the shuttle down to the port. We boarded our return ferry to Athens at 3:30pm. An awesome, short introduction to the Greek Isles, peaking interest for a possible return trip at some point in the future.

The return boat ride was nice - relaxing. Considering the many travel options: cars, trains, or planes ---- I like boats alot.

We arrived in Athens at Port Pireas at 11:20pm. This is when things got interesting. I write this next part very thankful to be safe and very much more aware of what I'll term the "taxi-cab dilemma".

I've often thought about scenarios that could happen in a cab. I'm not a fan. I use taxi's only when absolutely necessary. The idea of getting into a car with a complete stranger, who may or may not speak your language, who may or may not have good intentions, is questionable in my eyes. These fears came to fruition last night.

After departing the boat, there was a long line of taxi's waiting. Good sign I thought. I had the name of our hotel, address, and phone number written down on paper. I handed this to the first driver. We couldn't get the answers we wanted. We moved to the next cab. No luck. People were waiting. There was a "point man" running the show. We had little options - we had to go with the next guy.

Kurt, Greg and I entered the "taxi cab dilemma" around 11:40pm on Tuesday, November 2nd. I sat in the front by the driver, while Greg and Kurt sat in the back. Our destination was 48km away - Mare Nostrum Hotel. Kurt had a 6:30am flight on Wednesday. We wanted to be by the airport and our shipping arrival port was a significant distance away. Our driver was a middle-age, older guy - maybe 60's. He didn't speak English (Issue #1). He made a few calls while we entered the streets of Athens - he then handed me the phone. A younger girl was talking. She stated that our destination was "too far". I asked "What does that mean?" She talked a little more - but I was having trouble understanding her. Our driver took the phone and gave us an indication that things were OK.

We continued on - 30 minutes went by. All was well. We're starting to get into a remote area. We come to a stop sign. We looked to the right and saw a sign for our hotel -- we need to turn left. Our driver proceeded to go straight. We're confused - but figured we'd go with it - no worries - we're sure he knows a better way.

We proceed onward. We turn onto a more remote road. Our driver flashes his lights at a couple oncoming cars. They stop and talk with him through open windows. We continue on - no longer able to see any lights from houses, buildings, etc (Issue #2)

Fear is creeping in at this point. "Is this guy taking us out some dirt road where we'll meet up with his "crew", where we'll be beaten, robbed, and left for dead in a ditch somewhere". We verbally express our concerns to the driver. He can't understand us. We ask him to turn around. He continues on. We're starting to get upset. The guy is wiping sweat from his brow - he's visually shaken. We show him the number to our hotel and ask him to call. We're out of cell phone coverage (Issue #3).

He flashes down another car. What's happening here? At this point, Kurt, Greg, and I are talking to each other like the gentlemen is not in the car. We're talking out our scenario.

Then - the driver opens up the central compartment in the car. I have one hand on my seat belt and the other free if needed. I was ready for whatever he pulled out of that box. Out comes a cannister that looks like pepper spray. Again - all 3 of us are prepared for the worst. He opens it - his reading glasses.

Alright, I'm now 85% convinced that this guy is totally lost, can't speak English, and is not a fantastic problem solver. We all feel we're not in danger here - but we don't want to ride around the back streets of Greece all night. What do you do? He can't understand us. We have no phone coverage, we are in the middle of nowhere (can't get out of the car), and the driver is continuing to move further and further away from civilization.

By this point, our driver is almost crying. He's continuing to wipe sweat from his brow. He's guzzling water -we all think he could have a heart attack at any time. We now know he's more scared than we are. We are trying to help the guy as a team - he can't understand anything we say.

It's now nearing 1am. We've been in the cab well over an hour - the trip was to take 40 minutes. Kurt is in the back seat - he just checked his blood sugar - it's 60. He's downing a snickers. The payrate is nearing 100 euro - we were told it would be roughly 60 euro for the trip. What do you do?

We decided our best bet is to ride this out. If we come across a car maybe they'll help us. We did finaly get the driver to turn around and go back where we came from. Once we entered civilization again, the guy flashed down a car. He gets out and goes over to them. He comes back in and we proceed to go back the same way we just came from. "Is this guy just a great actor?" "What's his intentions?"

Kurt, Greg, and I are extremely uneasy going back the same way. We just let it ride. What else do you do? Finally, about 15 minutes later, we come to this larger road - the guy makes a left and 10 minutes later we arrive at our hotel.

We ended up giving him 20-30 euro less than the posted rate - which seemed to appease him. We got into the hotel at 1:15am. Kurt got 2-1/2 hours of sleep - leaving the hotel at 4am for the airport.

Really, this scenario turned out fine. It's just what could have happened. If this guy had bad intention - who knows? If anything, it makes you think. It's that feeling of vulnerability - not having any control of the situation - scary business. Language barrier, lost on a deserted road, 1am in the outskirts of Greece, unstable/irrational driver ----- an intersting night in Greece.