Three Ferries to Greece or Two Innocents Abroad In A Honda Accord

Thursday 16th November 2006

We awoke at 7.45am to the sound of the alarm on our mobile phones and the intercom on the ferry telling us that the ferry was about to dock in Igoumenitsa.  Throwing on our clothes we rushed out to watch the ferry dock and a huge amount of the lorry and car traffic disembark.  The port area was huge but nothing really of interest there and as the last car left the ferry ramps raised and we then headed off towards Patras.  We went inside for breakfast in the "smash and grab" and discovered that the self service restaurant actually served very good food and we had a nice view from the window while we ate.  We went into the Marathon lounge for coffee where we could see the mainland and the Peloponnese coming into view through the panoramic windows in the front of the lounge.

We spent most of the rest of the time on the upper deck where we saw the new Rio-Antirrio bridge in its full glory as we sailed towards Patras.  Gerry does not like bridges and this was the part of the journey that she had been most dreading.  We wandered around the open areas of the ferry as we were coming closer to Patras and eventually at 2pm the ferry docked and we got the call to go to our vehicles.  We drove up the ramps and off the ferry and on to the quayside at Patras.  We assumed there would be some form of customs procedure but we were directed by the port police along the quayside to the left until we reached an exit sign and a set of traffic lights.

As the lights changed we turned left onto the right side of the road and along the harbour road out of Patras towards Athens!!  We drove along the harbour road until we saw the E65 National Road signposted and then followed signs for the Rio Bridge.  We drove along the E65 until the road split and we turned off towards Rio and over the bridge.  Gerry had her eyes closed all the journey over the bridge which takes a while due to the length of the bridge.  The bridge is a really impressive thing which dwarfs the QE2 bridge across the Thames and for 10.50 euro saves a huge amount of driving along to Athens and then north up the E75 National Road.

Onto terra firma and we found the E65 road to be mainly single lane and poorly signposted in comparison to the motorways in France and Italy.  However the scenery on the right hand side across the Gulf of Corinth was absolutely stunning and made up for the Greek drivers who were totally irresponsible and had a one way ticket to oblivion.  At one point we and the articulated lorry in front were overtaken by two young girls in a small Citröen car at high speed.  The driver braked hard into a blind corner on the wrong side of the road and a few seconds later an articulated lorry came around the corner!!!!  The French simply drove fast and the Italians tailgated and were discourteous but the Greek drivers were simply reckless and irresponsible.

After a signposted detour off the road we eventually came to the turning off towards Delphi.  The sign said that Delphi was 13kms away but didn't say that most of the road was upwards and very steep with many 180 degree bends.  However, we made it in the end and driving through the town spotted a couple of hotels in the middle of the main street.  We liked the look of the Hotel Hermes and the lady at reception, who spoke perfect English, offered us a room on the first floor for 50 euro including breakfast with a balcony and a stunning view across the mountains and right down to the Corinthian Gulf.  After putting our cases in the room we watched the sunset then had a drink in the bar before going out into Delphi.  We found a nice family taverna to have an evening meal.  After a last drink in the hotel bar we went to our room looking forward to the morning and consulting the Delphic Oracle.