24 Mar 2011 – Peiraias to Santorini (Thursday)

We felt that today was our version of The Amazing Race as we rushed around with backpacks trying to find places and answers.

We got up at 5:15 today to be sure to get to the ferry by 6:30 for out 7 am departure.  We were very surprised and disappointed to learn that the ferry had been cancelled due to weather (seemed good here in the harbour but not out to sea we were told).    As a result we had to line up to have our tickets changed to the 7 pm sailing.  While in line the lady in front of us spoke only French and was looking for someone to help translate.  Wes to the rescue and I have to say I was very impressed.  I knew he knew French but was amazed at how well he communicated.  He even worked as an interpreter for the ferry terminal ticket agent who spoke Greek and English only.   He would tell you that he did not feel he did that well since his vocabulary was so limited, but regardless he was able to communicate and help the French couple understand.  Then as we were talking to them another couple came over and asked if we spoke English and if so could we explain what was going one… they could not understand the Greek ticket agent I suspect so it was one of those mornings that was rotten in some ways but very rewarding in others.

As we discussed with a few people, we can not change the weather but we can change our attitude.  So we decided to make the best of it and spend the day exploring the port city of Peiraias.  Our concern about walking around all day with our back packs was removed when we went back to our hotel and they offered to store our luggage for the day at no cost. 

Our first stop was the ruin of Ietion Gate. The rocky promontory that protects the main harbour of Peiraias from the west was named after its first inhabitant, the little known hero Ietion.  Originally it was part of the Themistoclean fortification scheme and its purpose was to guard the harbour from land incursions.  The circular towers date to the Hellenistic period when the walls were last refurbished and this gate in the wall was called the Ietion Gate.

The fortified entrance standing over the harbour was an important defensive work.   It was built on a simple plan without an internal courtyard and made full use of the natural fortified site.   The entrance was closed by a double gate and was flanked by two circular towers (10 and 11 meters high).  The gate was protected by the wall and by a 10 meter wide rock moat with a 5 meter depth.    The ruins were not open for walking through and viewing but we were able to get several pictures and access to the description board.

After we left this site we returned to the main harbour area and decided to explore other sites and areas of the port city.  I will not bore you with the route we took but since we walked all through the city and all along the port we feel we walked close to 15 km exploring a few of other ruins such as the Ancient Gate which really was not much to see since very little of the wall was left.   We found The Ancient Theatre which was closed so our pictures are taken through the fence.  We also walked by the Ancient Water Containers which really was not worth the effort.  

A note worthy mention was the Statute of PortoLeone which actually is a replica of the real one that had been taken to Venice in 1688 during the time of the Venetian occupation.  The port’s name was returned to it current name at the Greek war of independence in 1821.  The ancient name was Piraeus which is named after the marble statue PortoLeone (ancient spelling is Piraeus) which stood as a guard over the harbour since ancient times and it is not known where the statue came from.  Officially in 1318 the name of PortoLeone was assigned and the statute known as the Lion of Piraeus.

One of the most interesting sights we encountered a ‘farmers market’ where for about two blocks there was stall after stall of fresh vegetables,  flowers and every other type of small items for sale.  The fruit and vegetables look so good and so fresh I can not imagine anyone not buying their groceries anywhere else if they lived in this area.

After we had done our exploring we returned to the ferry port by walking along the sidewalk along the harbour.  In total we started our trek about 7:30 and returned to the ferry area about 3:30.  We still have to wait for the 7 pm ferry but we were both ready to sit down in the sun and just relax for awhile.  We figure about 15 kms of walking was done.  One of the things we really became aware of was the dog do-do EVERYWHERE.  Yes it was garbage day so the streets had piles of garbage everywhere, but as we walked we had to constantly watch our footing to avoid stepping into a calling card left behind by any number of the dogs that seem to run freely here.  Needless to say Wes had a good laugh as I sat on a bench cleaning my shoe when my attention was diverted momentarily and my foot landed where it should not have.

Our ferry that was cancelled was in Entrance E4 but the one we are going on now is on E1.  We returned to the hotel to gather our stuff and then confirmed that the ferry would actually head out.  So our next task was to get to Entrance E1 which turns out to be at the far end of the harbour.  It took us 35 minutes to walk there (fortunately we had left around 5:30) and when we arrived we learned we could immediately go on board.  What a relief to take the backpacks off and sit down.

Our next interesting challenge for today will be finding a hotel when we get into Santorini at 1 am.  Hopefully there will be several hotel representatives at the port (which we have been told is usual) soliciting renters.  At 1 am we are not likely to be too picky.  We are disappointed that the 7 am sailing was cancelled since we had hoped to see the islands we passed and arrive mid afternoon.    I will describe what happens in Santorini tomorrow.