We got up this morning. Checked out of the hostel, skipped "snackfast". We caught the Metro, then an early train to Caserta. Then had an hour between connections. Then a 3 hour train to Bari.
Once in Bari we took the bus to what we thought would be the harbor. 40 minutes later we were told we were on the wrong bus. We were on #20 and we wanted #20/ ... so we had to get off and wait for the #20 going back to the station. We waited for 30 minutes and got back on the same bus we started on, but it was now going to other way.
Got back to the station waited another 30 minutes for the #20/ to the harbor. Took that bus and got to the harbor 15 minutes later.
Got off the bus and went to the port terminal, about a 10 minute walk. Found out it was the wrong side of the port. Walked 15 minutes to the right building. Waited in line for a while then booked our tickets for the ferry.
Turns out due to a 3 day strike the daily 20:00 ferry wasn't leaving til 23:30!!!! So it was only 15:30 and we had nothing to do. We asked about luggage storage while we waited for 6 hours until we boarded. Turns out they were back at the first building! Ugh!!
Once we finally stored our packs we had about 5.5 hours until we had to be back. We decided to explore Bari, with no information and no map. We found a castle and went through it. It was being restored so you could only go through two rooms for €1,50. We were bored so it was worth it.
Then we ate some dinner at a small café. Bari is a port town, but not really touristy being on the east side of Italy. We had a wonderful dinner, beer, and gelato for €16!! It was awesome.
By this time it was only 18:15. We walked around found a pretty church and a park. We sat around and played 20 questions for a long time before going back to the harbor.
We still waited an hour before getting our packs. Then we sat around and waited some more until we could board.
We had to go through a security screening before boarding which caused some stir seeing as Heather has a pocket knife, dagger and sword. I also have a pocket knife. So that was a huge to-do. It was rather funny trying to communicate that the blades were souvenirs.
We FINALLY got on board at around 21:50. Our Eurail pass only got us free deck passage. If we wanted to stay in a recliner seat or a cbin it was very costly. The recliner seats were €50/ person! However, deck passage meant we could only sit on the deck chairs or in the lounge for the duration of the journey (which was supposed to ne 15.5 hours) Luckily, the guy checking our tickets just gave us two recliner chairs.
We were supposed to leave at 23:30, but we didn't embark until about 1:00! I slept most of the night, Heather apparently. Didn't get to sleep for a while.
I slept in, which was impressive since we were in airplane-type chairs! Woke up at about 9:00 and went out on deck. Spent some time exploring the ferry, then came back to wake H up about 11.
We did a lot of sitting around. Played some cards. Heather played Gameboy. I took a shower (thank goodness they had a shower!) Ate lunch about 13:00. Sat around more. Took a nap.
Then FINALLY we got to Patra, Greece at 18:30!! 21 hours on a freaking ferry!! So boring! Ironically, the company was 'SuperFast Ferries' LOL
So here we are in Patra! We are staying at a super swanky hotel, because things are super cheap in Greece right now. We have a great balcony overlooking the sea! It should be gorgeous in the morning.
Tomorrow we are going to explore Patra then head to Athens!
Safe Travels,
- Kit & Heather
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