Ferry, Bus, Walk, Bus, Bus

Today marked the midpoint of our trip, where we left our island vacation for mainland Greece. Like the day when we arrived in the islands, this was a long day of traveling.

Our hotel provided us with a shuttle bus ride to Mykonos Town's port, where we boarded a ferry to Athens' Rafina port. We arrived in the afternoon, and boarded a packed bus to downtown Athens. When we arrived at the Mavromateon station, we knew we had to head towards Omonia, but had no idea which direction to go. A lady who was going to visit the National Archeological Museum pointed us to the way. She mentioned that the museum was actually free today, the last Sunday of the month. Unfortunately, we had no time to spare as our long day of traveling was only about half done.

When we found the bus stop near Omonia, we understood our guidebook's cautionary advice. There were some shady characters all around the neighbourhood. We quickly boarded the bus heading to Athens' coach Terminal A, where the next long leg of our journey began. We had some time to take a break and relax while waiting for our long distance coach to Nafplio. I tried to stay awake after boarding the bus in order not to miss the narrow Corinth canal - both our guidebooks advise us to get seats on the left side of the bus, as well as get ready for the canal as it would pass by very quickly. I followed both pieces of advice and was able to snap a few good photos of it from my seat!

As the bus approached Nafplio, I tried to made as many mental notes on the passing landmarks as possible, as we may possibly have to drive by these places if we decide to rent a car tomorrow. Driving in the Peloponnese would be quite different from driving in the small island of Santorini where it was difficult to get lost in the one or two main arteries on the island. I feel a little apprehensive about having to drive and read road signs in Greek at the same time :(

It was dark when we arrived at Nafplio at around 8pm. But even in the dark we already took a liking to it as we looked for our hotel through the streets of this pretty town. Our hotel is ranked #1 on tripadvisor, but it's still a far cry from those that we stayed in on the islands. Located at a quiet but convenient square, it's very nicely decorated and one can see that the washroom has been recently renovated.

Of all the days planned for this trip, I was most concerned about today as it is logistically the most difficult day with one ferry ride followed by 3 different bus rides. I am happy and relieved that everything went smoothly.