The Greek islands trip (part one)

Emerged from the plane into bright Athens morning sunlight after four hours of MTS. That’s Mass Transport Sleep where you try to grab some kip, jammed into a vehicle with a group of strangers. You can't stretch out and you have no control over the lights or meandering children.
Out of the terminal and onto the six o'clock bus that connected the airport to the sea port of Piraeus, where our lightning progress towards Turkey was halted by the weather.
Whist it was clear and bright at the port, we were told that all hell was breaking loose somewhere out in the Mediterranean. We had planned a quick hop to the island of Samos, and from there we had hoped to be suffering Turkish immigration by morning the next day.
We found some breakfast, and rather then hang around the ‘standard issue’ port, caught a bus back up the coast to the first beach we could find, and burnt some time snoozing on the sand until the sun had climbed high and hot, making slumber uncomfortable.

We walked back to the port and looked around the town while time dragged by.
By the time one o’clock had arrived we had decided that any forward motion in whatever direction was better then hanging around the ferry port. We scanned the route map and worked out that we could island hop towards turkey with the expectation that the weather would work it’s self out. We shopped around for a ticket to the first island in our estimated chain, and hopped on one of the huge ferries that crowded the docks.
We found an empty bench up on the sunny topmost deck and waited, and waited, and waited, until an announcement cracked out on the p.a. that the boat would be delayed until five that evening.
What to do, get off the boat and try another, or sit tight and wait?
René wriggled out of her pack and found a clear space on a salt crusty plastic bench. Laying down she joined the other bronzed travellers who were protecting the finish of the deck by absorbing solar radiation with their flesh. I retreated downstairs to doze on the shady lower deck.

LINKS Part-two Part-three Part-four