Yesterday morning I woke soon after 6am to feel a couple of heavy thuds.  “That’s a bit odd” I thought, as normally we don’t feel anything while the ship docks. We were due in Mykonos, our final port, and had signed up for an organised bike ride and swim with a local tour operator.  Soon afterwards we heard the captain’s voice over the PA.  “Some of you may have noticed that we are now sailing away from Mykonos” he announced.  After a couple of attempts to dock, he had to abandon the port, as it was too windy and dangerous.  So we turned off the alarm and went back to sleep, sorry that we won’t see a quintessential Greek island on this trip, but understanding of the reason. Besides, 40 knot winds would not have made for good cycling or swimming. Mykonos has a reputation for strong winds, but after all our lovely calm weather, it’s been a surprise.

With nowhere else to go but Athens, where we couldn’t pull in until morning, we sailed very slowly to fill in time. The entertainment staff hastily threw together some extra activities, so we’ve been to Trivia, taken part in a paper plane competition, and watched the movie “Rocketman”.  The wind was still gusting away and we had quite a swell; everyone was staggering around as if they were drunk. We got used to it on the last cruise, where wind and rough seas were the norm.

All too soon it was time to pack, go to our last dinner, our last trivia competition, our last show, and sip our last (actually first) cocktail.  We disembarked at 9am this morning, stepping off into the large busy port of Piraeus. Confronted by more strong wind gusts and a plethora of transport choices, we opted for a bus that would drop us off at a metro station on the same line as our accommodation, minimising the need to drag suitcases too far.  Problem was, the bus did a loop, and the metro stop was on the return leg rather than the outward one.  So we got a bonus tour of some of Athens.

The metro took us five stops before we alighted at Thissio.  We only had to walk a couple of hundred metres from the station to the apartment, but it was the most suitcase-unfriendly walk ever – impossibly narrow footpath, very rough, several high gutters, and the usual busy traffic. We were about to turn into our pedestrian-only street when we realised our way was blocked by two vehicles. We had to wait about 15 minutes for them to finish up and move away.  It was 11am, and we’d been told we could access the apartment any time; but the previous occupants were just checking out and the cleaning hadn’t been done – they’d extended their stay at the last minute. So we left our cases in the basement and wandered off to kill an hour or so.

We are staying in Psiri, very close to the mad shopping hub that is Monastiraki. The streets are seething with people all out weekend bargain hunting, and eating. There are restaurants everywhere. It is noisy, overcrowded and dirty.

Thankfully we were able to check in soon after 12 noon. The apartment, in contrast to the chaos outside, is an oasis of peace, spacious and clean. We have our own outdoor terrace, and a rooftop balcony with amazing views (photos to come later). We are going to appreciate having this to come back to.

By mid afternoon it was time to brave the throng, and tackle supermarket shopping.  Gluten free shopping in Greece presents the same challenges as it does in Turkey – the labels are in Greek, which we can’t read at all, and the choices are slender.  We found a mid sized supermarket which had GF pasta, rice cakes and chips, but nothing else.  However we have managed to scrounge up enough food for 4 days, although the menu promises to be somewhat repetitive (chicken, pasta, sauce and frozen veggies). It’s not all bad – Netflix is on the telly.

Tomorrow – off to look at ancient things. I feel like one of them.