Yesterday we sadly had to leave Delphi and hopped a bus back to Athens. We slowly made our way around the south side of Mt. Parnassos and down through the foothills to the town of Levadia. Then turned roughly east towards Thebes ( very prominent in Greek mythology but alas whatever ruins are here are buried beneath a thoroughly modern town ). Then south to Athens.
We stopped at bus station B ( Lission ), which services northbound traffic. We were now headed southwest to Napflion, so we had to go to bus station A ( Kissifou ). This is a bit awkward to do by bus ( multiple transfers, long delays ) so we opted for a taxi. The driver didn't seem terribly enthusiastic, as I suspect he makes more money on airport runs. He dropped us at the back door of the terminal, and it is a large, confusing place. It took me a while to figure out that unlike station B, station A has dedicated ticket kiosks/platforms, and even longer to figure out that the "Argolidi" platform was the right spot.
Ah well.
We got on our 1:00pm bus to Napflion, which is a small port town about 90 miles southwest of Athens. It had been cloudy all day, but as the bus pulled out, KABOOM! Flashes of lightning and thunder, and patches of very heavy rain followed us all the way down to Napflion. I suppose we picked a good travel day ( glad not to be on the Acropolis in a thunderstorm ).
It is a very pretty town, right next to the sea, with a rather impressive Venetian fortress overlooking the old city center. Our pension is just a few hundred yards from its base. A very strong Italian influence on the architecture here; it's almost as-if you stepped into an Italian port town ( which, in a very real sense, Napflion once was. )
It makes a convenient base for further exploration around the Peloponnese ( spelling?) Mycenae, Epidaruos, Argos, Tiryns, Nemea, and ancient Corinth are all within about 30 to 40 miles of here, all served by bus routes. So we have a little exploring to do over the next few days.
One thing that is clear is that the tourist business ( which Greece heavily depends upon ) is very slow this year. Delphi was deserted in comparison to when I was last here, in 1994. Our first night at the Arion hotel there were only two couples in the entire place; our second night, we had it to ourselves.
Many of the locals we spoke to told us that business conditions were terrible, unemployment was sky high, officially about 17%, in real terms, probably more like 25% as the government here plays statistical games with its unemployment figures, just like the U.S. does. There is great anger at the current government, which in the opinion of those we spoke to, seems to spend more time trying to appease the IMF then actually getting people back to work. ( This sounded familiar, inasmuch as the Bush and Obama administrations fell over themselves flinging money at the Wall Street casino banksters, but couldn't find the time of day to help Chrysler or other manufacturers, who make real things that are useful to real people. But I digress.)
But I also believe that Greece is a nation with a very strong sense of its identity, it has deep roots. A people that can survive 300 years of Turkish occupation, the Venetians, the Nazis, a bloody civil war in the 1950s, and a military dictatorship in the 60s, can and will survive this economic crisis.
We stopped at bus station B ( Lission ), which services northbound traffic. We were now headed southwest to Napflion, so we had to go to bus station A ( Kissifou ). This is a bit awkward to do by bus ( multiple transfers, long delays ) so we opted for a taxi. The driver didn't seem terribly enthusiastic, as I suspect he makes more money on airport runs. He dropped us at the back door of the terminal, and it is a large, confusing place. It took me a while to figure out that unlike station B, station A has dedicated ticket kiosks/platforms, and even longer to figure out that the "Argolidi" platform was the right spot.
Ah well.
We got on our 1:00pm bus to Napflion, which is a small port town about 90 miles southwest of Athens. It had been cloudy all day, but as the bus pulled out, KABOOM! Flashes of lightning and thunder, and patches of very heavy rain followed us all the way down to Napflion. I suppose we picked a good travel day ( glad not to be on the Acropolis in a thunderstorm ).
It is a very pretty town, right next to the sea, with a rather impressive Venetian fortress overlooking the old city center. Our pension is just a few hundred yards from its base. A very strong Italian influence on the architecture here; it's almost as-if you stepped into an Italian port town ( which, in a very real sense, Napflion once was. )
It makes a convenient base for further exploration around the Peloponnese ( spelling?) Mycenae, Epidaruos, Argos, Tiryns, Nemea, and ancient Corinth are all within about 30 to 40 miles of here, all served by bus routes. So we have a little exploring to do over the next few days.
One thing that is clear is that the tourist business ( which Greece heavily depends upon ) is very slow this year. Delphi was deserted in comparison to when I was last here, in 1994. Our first night at the Arion hotel there were only two couples in the entire place; our second night, we had it to ourselves.
Many of the locals we spoke to told us that business conditions were terrible, unemployment was sky high, officially about 17%, in real terms, probably more like 25% as the government here plays statistical games with its unemployment figures, just like the U.S. does. There is great anger at the current government, which in the opinion of those we spoke to, seems to spend more time trying to appease the IMF then actually getting people back to work. ( This sounded familiar, inasmuch as the Bush and Obama administrations fell over themselves flinging money at the Wall Street casino banksters, but couldn't find the time of day to help Chrysler or other manufacturers, who make real things that are useful to real people. But I digress.)
But I also believe that Greece is a nation with a very strong sense of its identity, it has deep roots. A people that can survive 300 years of Turkish occupation, the Venetians, the Nazis, a bloody civil war in the 1950s, and a military dictatorship in the 60s, can and will survive this economic crisis.
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