A new adventure

Saturday Oct 8, 2011
Today we started a new adventure. Up until now we have been taken care of by Insight, and they have done a very good job. It has been wonderful, never having to worry about how to get anywhere. But that ended this morning. We were on our own. We checked bus schedules online and found that a bus went to Zakynthos at 9:45. So we went out just before 8:00 and asked the porter to get us a taxi to the bus station. We actually did it!! And off we went. The driver did not speak much English so we just trusted that he would get us there, and he did. We went in and found the gate to Zakynthos only to be told that the bus had left 10 minutes earlier. They are now on their winter schedule, and the 9:45 bus no longer runs. The next bus would be at 12:15. We bought our tickets and then had more than 4 hours to find something to do with ourselves. The gentleman at the bus suggested that we catch a city bus downtown. More new adventure. Could we do it? And find our way back in time? We decided to go for it. So off we went. We were dropped off at a street that we had never been at. Using our handy dandy guidebook, we managed to get ourselves back into a part that we knew, making careful notice of where we went so that we could get back. And we were successful. We got back with time to spare and waited in the waiting area. The bus came, we boarded and were on our way. Very few on the bus spoke English, so that was new as well. But the seats were comfortable and I had a nap for a couple of hours until the rest stop. Here in Greece, the buses stop every two hours for a half hour break. I think that it must be a regulation. Then we were off again for another couple of hours until we reached the port town of Killini. Just before reaching the turn off from the main highway to Killini, the bus stopped along the side of the rode and picked up a person. I thought it a little strange but then noticed that others were getting their tickets out. Sure enough, the man came down the aisle and tore off our ticket stub. Interesting way of doing things. The streets that we went on were so narrow that I did not think there was room for the bus to drive down them but they were two way streets and vehicles going the opposite direction. Someone would always pull over so that we could pass. I am always amazed at where these drivers drive these large buses. But we soon pulled up to the ferry, disembarked then boarded the ferry. Within a few minutes, the bus backed onto the ferry as well. Whoosh! Our luggage was with us. The ferry ride was just over an hour and our bus pulled off first and we loaded up and off we drove for another 10 minutes to the bus station. Now what? Trying to act like we knew what we were doing, we approached a waiting taxi and asked the driver if he could take us to Psarou Beach, Port del Mar. Yes, he said, for 22 euros. So off we went. He actually spoke English, provided us with a map and showed us where we were going. It was an 18 kilometre drive through narrow winding roads. But pleasant, and we arrived just before 7:00 pm, and were welcomed and shown to our villa. It was amazing. It was almost dark so we only took a couple of pictures. We asked where we could buy food and were given directions. We walked up, about 5 min, bought 20 euros worth of groceries and then back to our villa. Mom cooked some grilled cheese sandwiches and we ate. It started to blow and rain but we were safe inside. The lights went out for a few minutes but then came back on and the storm subsided. So we made it the first day of our new adventure.