A Day of (Hitch)Hiking

Trying to make up for lost time, as promised.  I wrote this the day that we came back (two weeks ago on a Sunday), so if the timeline confuses you, that's why!

            This morning, four of the fellows set out to hike Mt. Parnitha, which sits about an hour and a half bus ride away from Athens.   Our day started out eventfully: after meeting up and unsuccessfully attempting to take a cab (you can only take the metro to Omonia, he told us), we took a bus in an attempt to reach the metro station.  About five minutes into our ride, we were puzzled to see the entire bus emptying at a single bus stop.  None of us speak Greek, but I heard the phrase "work stoppage," and we figured it out.  It was 10:40 am, and strikes usually start at 11:00 am.  Everyone had been asked to leave the bus for the work stoppage.  So, a long procession of people wound their way to the nearest metro station.  At Omonia, we exited the metro station and followed our Lizzie, our leader for the day, to a bus station served by the correct bus to take us to Mt. Parnitha (thankfully, a bus that belonged to a different system than the one on strike).  But our transportation woes were not over - we had landed in between the departure times of our desired bus.  Having missed the 8:00 am and being unwilling to wait for the 2:30 pm, we were blessed with a helpful bus driver who told us that the end of his route was as close as we could get; we could hail a taxi from there, or undertake a 30-minute walk.  Given that our objective for the day was to hike, we were undeterred, and boarded the bus.

The cable car (teleferik)
 Me, Mandee, Robyn and Lizzie

            Central Athens faded behind us as we headed into the north suburbs.  We could see the mountains topped with fog as we began our walk.  The cold weather meant that temperature-regulation was a problem - my fleece plus NorthFace shell was too hot, so I unzipped the two.  After a while, even the shell alone was warm, and the scarf came on and off all day.  Before we left the town, we stopped for lunch at a taverna that Mandee deemed "magic" because they brought the appetizers on a large tray for us to choose from, rather than simply ordering them from a menu, to which we were accustomed.  After devouring small plates of beets, Greek salad, sausage, bread, mountain greens, and fried zucchini and eggplant, we were ready to tackle our hike - after Mandee bought trash bags at a small convenience store, fearing rain.

            Walking along the shoulder, peering around tight turns, and avoiding cars, we arrived at the cable car station, which is run by the casino that is situated at the top of the mountain.  We slowly ascended into the mist until we could no longer see the buildings below us.

         Failing to acquire a map at the casino and being warned of the dangerous conditions caused by the fog, we followed the road, periodically veering off to explore the rocky terrain and then returning to the asphalt.  The fog muffled the noise on the mountain and gave the scenery an eerie, otherworldly appearance, which was only accentuated by the burnt trees left by a recent forest fire.  We thought of Edgar Allen Poe, Waiting for Godot and Wuthering Heights, and Lizzie described it as "a post-apocalyptic wasteland."  Still, it was strangely beautiful, and we had the distinct feeling of complete separation from the world.

          We stumbled across what we decided was once a hotel and restaurant, probably destroyed in the fire, and it occurred to us how much of our day could be included in a horror movie: 

Four girls hiking foggy terrain in a foreign country...

"I know I shouldn't open this door, but I really want to.." 

"At least we're not lost."

"Maybe we should split up."
Hmm.

                  We passed up the bus stop near the ruined hotel and a piquant little church, but we began to worry when no other bus stop came into sight.  A map along the trail made it clear that hiking to the bottom of the mountain would take several more hours.  After sighting mountain goats (we had seen large deer earlier in the day), some of the girls decided: we were going to hitchhike down the mountain.  Too self-conscious to participate, I waited as Mandee successfully flagged down a driver, and we all piled into his car.  We learned that he was traveling with two friends (in cars behind him) into Athens, where he lived.  We stopped with him and his friends to eat a quick dinner at a kiosk (think gyros, etc.), and he took us all the way to the AB bus stop in Athens - only 10 minutes from home!  We were very thankful, as we noticed during dinner that it had begun to rain, and we thought of the possibility of our tired, soggy selves up on the mountain.  Hot chocolate, cookies, and a hot shower should round up the weekend nicely.