We rose with the sun and quietly snuck out of our hostel room so we didn’t wake the four others that were still sleeping off last nights drinks and good times. Wow, that sounds odd to say. We haven’t been in a hostel for the past six months. Since Australia last December. It’s not that we don’t like hostels – we lived out of them for the first five months of our trip – it’s just that from January through June – we haven’t needed to. Throughout South East Asia, they just don’t exist. The cost of a proper guesthouse/hotel is over half, and sometimes even a quarter of what it costs to stay in the dorm of a hostel. So, now we’re back in Europe, and back in hostels. Yea! Big change!

Anyways, just after 6am, we were in a cab and headed through the quiet side streets and main highways, down to the main ferry terminal in Athens, Greece – Piraeus. We had yet another ferry to catch . . . our 38th so far. Our ferry this day was the first of five ferry trips that will carry us through the idyllic islands of the Cyclades. We’ll island hop to Mykanos, Santorini, Anafi and Crete before coming back to Athens. We collected our bags from the trunk of our cab (a new Mercedes C320!) and made our way over to the ferry office to pick up our tickets. Along with our tickets we were given a surprise . . . the dock workers were striking and none of the 8-12 ferries berthed in the the port may leave today.

The ferries were docked, the diesel engines running and smoke was emanating from their exhaust stacks towering high above the waterline, but there were also the dock workers. Striking for better pay, a thick wall of very enthusiastic and modestly angry port employees blocked each of the ferries entrance ramps. This was the fourth strike in as just many weeks. A twenty-four hour strike that would seize Athens’ largest ferry port and put a stop to all marine traffic – in and out. Though I fully support the right to strike, I understand their financial plight (apparently, they make an average of only 850 Euro/month) , and while I agree that everyone should be paid fair wages, I just thought that the strike was directed at the wrong population of people and if the first three strikes in three weeks weren’t successful – what would be gained by #4? I think, rather than impacting the innocent who can do little to support or appreciate their cause (vacationers, shop keepers/hoteliers/restaurateurs on each of the islands), it would be much better to take all 500-600 strikers and setup a strike or protest where they will get a better result; at the various homes of the port executives! I’d be more apt to take it seriously, as an port executive, if I had to see the protest/strike on my front lawn, the street in front of my house and neighbors, at the restaurants I enjoy going to, or the gym where I work out. Personally, I just don’t feel that impacting the travel plans of the vacationer will be effective . . . but that’s just me.

Bullhorns blared messages of direction and demands, choruses of protest chants echoed the frustration and steadfastness of the strikers, and thousands of travelers waited patiently for a decision to be made. Older travelers waited in the shade, younger backpackers used the time to catch up on their suntans, while others busied themselves with backgammon, card games and catching up on their latest books. It was an interesting position to be in. I hadn’t expected to be a part of a transportation protest! It was pretty cool. Each of the ferries, anticipating the potential of a quick resolution and departure, would fire up the diesels engines, belching black smoke into the cloudless blue. Only several minutes later cut the giant engines and begin the waiting game all over again.

The ferry agency told us that there were incremental deadlines when the strike could potentially end. 8:30am, 9:30, 10:30 . . . you get the idea. After sitting on the dock for over three hours waiting to see if the strike would end up lasting for the whole twenty-four hours, or if the port would have a change of heart and give in to their demands within the next specified time slot, we decided to cut our loses, return our tickets and head out to another port across the city. Across the street from the port where we’d been waiting was the train station, and after purchasing two tickets for a few Euros, we quickly hopped on the next commuter train and sped off through the city. It was an unexpected treat, getting to ride the rails though Athens, seeing it from yet another perspective. Thirty minutes and seven stops later, we left our train at the Victoria stop and walked a few blocks to the local bus station. A cab, a train and now a bus, and we still hadn’t made it to our ferry yet! while the port workers were stagnant in defiance, the other transport agencies were quick to pick up the slack and make some money.


Once on the proper bus we sat back, got comfortable and enjoyed the 40 minute trip out to the eastern port of Rafina, with the port of Piraeus now a fading memory. We arrived in Rafina with about two hours before the departure of our new ferry, and with stomachs beginning to growl, stopped into the closest taverna for some Gyros a few Coke Lights.








By 3:30, we were on our fourth mode of transportation that day and with all the chaos that surrounded the passengers and crew that afternoon, finally settled into our seats, took a few deep breaths, looked at each other and burst out in laughter. We made it – Mykanos, here we come!!

Flexibility, patience and adaptability. Three of the biggest character traits that every long term traveler needs. Without any one of these, the extensively planned and long anticipated journey of a lifetime will quickly turn into an emotional roller coaster ending in a nervous breakdown or brain aneurysm, and result in a financial catastrophe that would leave even Donald Trump happy that he didn’t participate.

We heard from other travelers that the dock workers ended up lasting longer than the original twenty-four hours, ultimately striking for around three days and resulting in several injuries. Being out of the news cycle, we don’t know if the time frame was accurate, and since we’ve moved on from Piraeus, it doesn’t really matter to us anyways. But I wish them good luck on their demands, their stamina and their ability to pierce the mindset of those who have power over their financial lives. And if this most recent strike didn’t earn them the results they were demanding, I can always jump on Google, do a little research and give them some addresses of the port officials’ homes and favorite restaurants for their next big protest. Then maybe next time they’ll find an audience who will listen. Or instead they can use the big sticks that they attach their flags to . . . again – because it worked so well last time.