New York City

I'm writing this in the terminal at JFK international airport. I left Florence nine hours ago, I’ve been here nearly three hours and have three more to wait; if everything goes well. I felt pretty sluggish when I got here but got a good meal and took a nap on the floor and feel much better. I just made a pillow out of my backpack and caught a few quick winks. When I woke up a security guard was in he area but didn’t say anything. Now, I know that’s pretty tacky but sometimes the body just won’t take no for an answer.

This new notebook computer is quite a great toy. While waiting, I just updated my address book, on Excel. Right now I’m plugged into the wall socket that the cleaning people use. So far no one has fussed at me. I took a break this narrative (after one paragraph) and played a game of free cell and then studied the new features in Windows98 using the help menu. I’ve listened to a few Greek words downloaded earlier from the Internet. and played with the sound settings. I’m trying to make it stop all those goofy noises; I don’t want to drive people crazy. I also looked at the pictures from a recent bike trip Paula and I took around Myrtle Beach.

On the flight to Atlanta I met a nice young woman. She comes from Chicago where she studied metallurgy at Illinois Institute of Technology. She works for Nucor, a big factory we wondered about once on a bike break in Floyds near Darlington, South Carolina. It turns out that she lives in Quinby, where Paula works! Not only that she knows our friend Nancy because they used to walk together. I told her to drop in and surprise Paula, but she’ll probably be too shy. I think her name is Monica.

I read the New York Times on the flight up here and didn’t do any talking. I’ve started my big, fat book and it seems good. The book represents an inside joke. I bought Wolfe’s A Man in Full. because it sounded like the irresistible read that a 22 hour trip needs. Because it comes only in an enormous hardback it seems totally inconsistent with my minimalist packing I think airports abhor silence. In addition to the constant pages and announcements to guard your luggage, I found the sound of television inescapable in Atlanta. Here thankfully no TV sounds impinge on my reading but steady music distracts me somewhat.

9:24 p.m.

On a regular night about this time, I’d call Paula to say good night. However, I am currently some 35,000 feet above the Atlantic about a third of the way from New York City to Athens. We’re traveling at 570-590 miles per hour. The speed varies depending on the wind. When they make announcements they always make them again in Greece and I heard them say proinó (breakfast), vradinó (dinner) and efharistó (thank you), words I had learned before the trip.

It’s just shy of 5,000 miles from New York to Athens and when the stewardess said our estimated flying time was eight hours and 51 minutes I felt a wee bit like someone who had been given a jail sentence. The good news is that I have a window seat. When I got on in Florence I was surprised to see that I had an aisle seat. I always request window. At Atlanta I said something and the guy said I had aisles all the way through. He fixed most of them for me but the return from Athens was already full. When we finally boarded this after six or so hours I couldn’t believe my luck: the seat next to me was vacant! That makes it a lot more comfortable. Coming up from Atlanta I sat next to someone about my size and we were packed pretty close. I like to sit that close to Paula but not anyone else. Right now as we cruise along, smooth as can be, on a Boeing 767, I am listening to classical music by the Chicago symphony.

When I arrived in New York, about lunch time, the huge concourse was virtually empty. I chatted with a couple of middle-aged ladies who "work" in Israel as "volunteers" for a Christian Church from Britain that seeks to convert Jews. As long as my flight seems, theirs is worse: they have an eight hour layover in Athens before going on the Cypress and then Israel. They watched my bag for me a couple of times so that I didn’t have to carry everything to the rest room with me. That’s a definite difficulty of traveling alone. Outside a bright sun beckoned but I stayed inside security with my bag. As the hours past people began to drift in and by 4 it started to get crowded. Soon it seemed that swarthy men speaking foreign tongues surrounded me. A couple of women in chadah (sp?) waited with their husbands. I watched a couple of Delta agents, young women in skirts above their knees, looking at one of the women. Black material covered her face and everything but her hands. They seemed to laugh as they went by and it made me feel sorry for her. Of course, she may be satisfied with her life. A couple of brightly colored rugs to my right attracted several young men who prostrated themselves in prayer. Muslims facing Mecca I presumed but I didn’t ask.

Periodically, I would walk around the terminal stretching my legs and surveying my rather restricted environment. Paula gave me a little black box with a picture and a recording of her wishing me happy holidays. I listened to it several times and thought that if someone were watching they might think me a spy. I step to a quite spot and open the mysterious little black box. After pressing a button I watch attentively and then close it and head on my way.

Then it got dark outside and we boarded the plane. After so much time in the lounge it should have felt like a temporary home. Yet, I sat in the plane looking out through the darkness at the lights of the lounge and couldn’t make my head believe that I had just spent so much time in there. It struck me a brightly lit place unknown to me and full of strangers. Anyway, we finally taxied out onto the runway and it seemed that there were lights and planes everywhere. Looking up at the sky I could see all kinds of planes coming in and big hulks marked by flashing lights lurked all around us. Somehow our big bird found its way between them all and we took off. Loaded with fuel it took a lot of runway before we lifted smoothly into the clear night. We took off right over the Big Apple with a breathtaking view of the city lights stretching for miles with the partially lit skyscrapers of Manhattan visible to the careful eye. Then the plane turned silently away from the welcoming lights and headed into the utter darkness of the ocean while the flight attendant announced our flying time of eight hours and fifty-one minutes.

Hunger occupied center stage of my mind, and the staff relieved my concern by serving a meal right away. Happily the meal turned out to be healthy, tasty and fairly substantial. What I’d like now is a cup of the TLC coffee Paula makes me with some low fat ice cream.

12/16/98 11:40 AM in South Carolina but 6:40 PM in Greece

My plane arrived on time but my bike was the last piece of luggage unloaded. They took it out of the box and put the pieces: wheel, pedals, pump loose on the luggage carousel. They didn’t even sent the panniers along. In the end I got it all straight. They lost the cable for locking it and part of the front light but said they will pay for those when I get back to the U. S. The front brake didn’t work at all but otherwise it seemed fine. I loaded up and headed out into Greek traffic determined to find my way to Athens and a hotel room. It got pretty rough and because the roads were slick with rain and I worried about falling. I began to wish I’d brought my helmet, but they would probably have lost it. I kept hunting for back streets that seemed to parallel the multi-lane main highway. Realizing that I would be riding in some serious congestion, I finally stopped and fixed my brake, grateful that I had brought some extra tools. The side streets I found kept ending or running back into the big road. I began to get close and wondered how I would find the center of the city. I tried asking directions once but that didn’t work out. Then I came around a corner and saw the Parthenon sitting it its glory atop the city. I’d seen pictures and will get many other views of it but none to top that. Later as I worked my way through the city I tried to figure where I was and looked at an old arch next to me. Called the Arch of Hadrian it was built by that Roman emperor in 132 A.D. Now that’s a landmark with staying power. I finally figured out the street signs and began to locate streets. My new bike computer reported that it was 48° on a wet and windy day. I had been on the road about 24 hours at that point and really wanted to find a hotel. That challenged me because getting around central Athens could hardly be more difficult. The streets are hopelessly choked with parked cars, maniacal drivers, motor cycles/scooters and milling pedestrians. Because of slick roads I couldn’t ride aggressively so decided to walk my bike once I got to the center, but even that was all but impossible due to the foot traffic and motorcycles parked on the sidewalk. The first two hotels I located were closed-- I guess for the holidays. I then tried The Student and Traveler’s Inn, which was open and the room was 7,000 drachma or nearly $25. I hope to be able to do a little cheaper than that but was glad to have it. It’s a nice enough place with a shared bath but a sink in my room. It’s located on a quiet street that’s mostly outdoor restaurants and pedestrians. My first eight miles of pedaling in Greece didn’t provide great memories except for the glimpse of the Parthenon. I did see a young man selling Christmas trees just like we have in Maine. I expect better outings when I leave the city.

At the hotel I chatted with an interesting young man from New York who has an Internet service. He charges $5 for a half hour and can’t allow me to upload any pictures or pre-written text so, I may not take advantage of it. He told me some interesting stories about people he met who had a good time biking the islands especially Crete and Rhodes. After checking in I asked the desk clerk where I could get an adapter so I could plug my razor in. I really wanted to plug in my computer but saw no reason to tell him that. He sent me up the street to a small electrical shop and advised me that the young one could understand English if I spoke slowly, but that I’d have to gesture to the old man. Well, I just took my razor out and pointed. The young guy got me just what I needed for 150 drachma or 50 cents. Yeah! So I continued my story while recharging the battery. I took eight pictures and downloaded them. I had difficulty but it was manageable. Taking digital pictures provided the primary justification for buying the computer, but in typical computer fashion the new machine didn’t seem to be able to talk to the camera. Routines that work flawlessly on desktops at home, work and Paula’s failed on the new three pound portable Sony. Repeated calls to Kodak and Sony led to conversations with technicians some helpful and courteous and others in the wrong business. At this point in time it was not at all apparent that I would be able to take pictures successfully.

I got pretty hungry after a while an found a nice hot meal at a place called the Peristeria Taverna. The waiter spoke a little English, and when I asked for a menu suggested I come look at the food. So I pointed to some chicken, potatoes and a rice/spinach dish. I didn’t like not having a menu to price shop but was hungry, and the food was quite good. I think they cooked it with a lot of olive oil which left my stomach a little on edge. It was 2300 drachma with tip which is about $8, again more than I planned for lunch. I’m sure with time I’ll find some bargains but the trip may be more expensive than I planned.

12/17/98, 4:10 p.m.

I went to bed early last night and fell hard asleep. Unfortunately I awoke about 2 or 3 and couldn’t go back to sleep. I was cold but mostly I think my system thought it was to early to be asleep. I read for an hour or two and then finally went to sleep. Loud noises from all directions woke me about 8:30 and I lay there too tired to get up but with hearing too much noise to sleep. I took off walking this morning and went by the post office first. I was able to get stamps to send post cards to the U.S., a phone card, and change money without a commission there, and all three took only a few minutes. It takes a 200 drachma (72 cents) stamp to send a post card and I paid 70 (a quarter) for the card. I have since found places where I can get them for 50 as well as lots of places that charge 100.

I did a lot of walking today. The city is big and everything is packed into small spaces. Most everyone drives tiny little cars which make sense where parking is very hard to find and streets narrow. A plethora of motorcycles (fifty percent are motor scooters but I’ll use the one term for ease) scream up and down the roads with reckless abandon and rarely does the rider where a helmet. They park on the narrow sidewalks making foot traffic difficult. They also tend to really push red lights, stopping way after the light turns red and starting before it turns green. Women and middle-aged business men operate a. significant proportion of the motorcycles but behave much better. Despite the monstrous difficulties of getting around whether on foot or in a vehicle the Grecians seem to take it well. They are a well dressed attractive people with a rather live and let live demeanor.

I met a fellow from Seattle yesterday. He had been here a couple of days and when I asked what he had done he looked uncomfortable and said "not much you’d find in a tour book." I understood what he meant. Much of what I enjoy is just striking off in the general direction of something I need or might want to check out. I just walk along and once in a while get the map out to figure out where I am. That leads me to miss some sights and to happen on others by accident. It also allows me to see a lot of Athenian life that many tourists probably won’t experience. In Athens the unexpected awaits around every corner whether it be a statue, a butcher shop or some irresistible sweets.  I stopped at a café somewhere for my first cup of coffee in this country. The guy knew a few words of English including "what kind?" Well, I ended up with Nes Frappé, a weird, bitter foamy semi-warm type of coffee popular with Greeks. Still it got me a welcome seat where I could rest my legs and get warm. Of course, in Greece you trade cold, fresh air for warm smoky air when you come indoors. They smoke like crazy and the idea of a non-smoking section hasn’t reached here yet.

For lunch I ate in a cute little place where I got a sandwich with some kind of meat and a delicious cheese (feta I think). I also bought something that, for lack of a better name, I’ll call spinach pie. It was good and gave me some vegetables. I bought an orange from a sidewalk stand and at it as part of my breakfast. I love that aspect of travel. Yesterday I walked on an amazing trail up to the base of the Parthenon. I took a couple pictures as the path seemed as if it were going into a house but managed to pass between them much the way a road though the mountains always seems to find a pass when it looks like there is nothing but mountain. Flower pots and impossibly quaint homes surrounded the path as it climbed winding and steep. I haven’t been to the Acropolis yet because I think it takes quite a while and I want to be able to get my money’s worth.

Today I passed the Greek Parliament which sits on the edge of a huge park. Honor guards in rather incongruous uniforms perform a strange ritual as they march around the building. I watched them lift the feet in unnatural poses and tap as they walked thanks to lots of metal on the soul of the shoe. My Lonely Planet guide book tells me that the guards come form Macedonia and the odd uniforms represent attire worn my mountain freedom fighters instrumental in Greek independence.

12/18/98 6:43 AM your time 1:43 my time.

It’s another cold day in Athens. However, I slept well and very long and feel pretty good. My hotel room is adequate and the location great. It is on a street called Kydathineon in the Plaka area of town which sits at the foot of the Acropolis. As I said my room is marginal. The heat comes on at night but the little radiator is hardly equal to the task of warming the uninsulated room. Last night I wore a lot of clothes and found a couple of extra blankets so was warm enough. It would be nice to have a warm room to retreat to during the day but the meager heat isn’t even on during the day. I was surprised to find that the hotel does not provide a towel, soap or even toilet paper. As you can see, I was roughing it but was traveling alone and no one complained.

This morning I hiked up to the Acropolis and paid my 2,000 drachma to get in. I walked by the temple of Athena but staging covered the little thing so I’ll have to get a postcard. I did manage to get someone to take a nice picture of me in front of the Erechtheion. I also toured the museum and was quite moved by the beauty of the pieces in there. Almost all were "porous limestone" sculptures done about 500 BC and were part of the buildings. The picture of the three men provides an example. The camera can’t really capture it but the views from the top were wonderful. To the south is the Saronic Gulf part of the Aegean Sea which I hope to cross tomorrow on my way to the island of Paros. The ferries don’t run if it is too rough so I won’t know for sure until tomorrow. I’ve had a good time in Athens but want to get away from the traffic so that I can pedal around. I did a little riding yesterday and it was much better than before because the streets were dry and I didn’t have panniers on the back. NEXT CHAPTER