Journey's end

We have arrived in Athens after a delayed departure from Chios because of the late arrival of the ship. We didn't sail until about 1.30 am and the rush to get everyone onboard meant that they didn't check tickets for passengers or vehicles. Tickets were simply torn in half without being examined at all.

Our ferry has arrived at last

All berths were fully booked by the time we'd  made our booking a couple of weeks ago so we spent the night in allocated reclining leather seats in the 1st class lounge. There were so many snorers that neither of us got much sleep.

On our arrival at Piraeus at about 8.00 am we headed for the taxi rank where Gail explained to a driver that we needed him to take her to Hotel Tony near the Acropolis and that I would be following on the motorbike. The plan worked well, it cost only 20 euros and saved us the trauma of navigating our way through morning rush-hour traffic with a lousy map.

The hotel is great. Part of it has been refurbished and we have been given a suite that sleeps 4 and has a kitchen/dining area, fully equipped, all brand new, and a bathroom with a shower big enough to have a party in. There's plenty of room to sort out all our gear.

Our bike ride has come to an end and so has this blog. Rory and his daughter are in Heathrow airport at the moment awaiting their flight to Athens and I have spent most of the afternoon checking over and washing the bike. Gail and I will be spending the next 3 days exploring Athens on foot while our trusty steed heads back to the UK via Bulgaria, Romania and western Europe.

Every day between 35 and 60 people have been reading this bog, 50% in Australia, 30% in the UK, 10% in the USA and the rest scattered across the world. I don't know who you are, apart from family and friends who have kept in touch by email. The original purpose of the blog was to keep our large family and friends informed of where we are and how we're going, but it seems that other people have been interested in out travels too. I hope you have enjoyed it. If you have any comments feel free to let me know by sending an email to traineelayabout@hotmail.com.