Getting To Greece

I found out that my Eurail pass could get me to Greece for free, and since I have the time, I'm going to check it out. It's quite the journey to get there, though. I had to get myself to one of the two eastern Italian sea ports, Bari or Brindisi. From there, I could take a ferry across the Adriatic Sea to Corfu, Greece. I left Amalfi early Thursday morning around seven assuming that I would be able to make it across Italy by 8pm. The Italy train system had other plans, thoughs. I made to Caserta, Italy about an hour outside of Naples by noon to find that the only train to Bari from there comes through at 3:20pm.

Three hours later, I stood waiting on track 3 with a number of other backpackers for this train. We waited... and waited... for another hour until it finally arrived on track 1 and began the three hour trip to Bari. So imagine the train arriving at 7:25pm in Bari and twenty backpackers (full pack entail) rushing off through the station, pacing down the street (with strange looks from everyone) towards the shore with no idea where the ferry is or where to buy a ticket for it. We made to the shore at 7:45pm but couldn't see the ferry company anywhere. We ran up the shore asking people if they knew where to go. At just about 8, a cop finally pointed us back to the ferry company store... that was closed.

Now this kind of thing happens to every backpacker at least once (if not often (in Italy)) through the course of his or her trip, and it can turn out to be some the most fun he or she can have. It also makes for some of the best stories.

Of the whole group of backpackers, six of us decided to jump back on the train for Brindisi because a ferry left there the next morning instead of waiting in Bari for the 8pm ferry the next night. Rather than go to the hostel in Brindisi, we decided that staying in the train station would be a better idea.

Brindisi Train Station. Stepping out of the station, we were immediately confronted with a group of gentleman using the little English they knew to convert us to christainity for a good ten minutes. We then went back into the train station to set up camp for the evening. The waiting room was devoid of life except for one unassuming guy sitting across the room from us. As we sat down and settled in, this gentleman decided we must know Italian and began talking to us... and talking... and talking. We quickly became concerned for our safety and belongings; so we rearranged the train station benches in a circle around our backpacks, which we wire locked into one big pile in the middle, and we slept around the perimeter... The guy didn't get the hint. Instead, he decided he should join the circle. This is when we noticed he had one bruised and bloodshot eye. We continually told him to leave the circle, but he pretended on to understand us. We used the language guide in our guidebooks to try and tell him to go, but he still wouldn't leave. He finally left when we started picking up the pile to create a new circle. We decided it would still be best to move the circle into the corner of the room nonetheless. This guy would still not shut up, though. Even as he laid down on the bench, he'd keep talking with his head in his arms. We had no idea how we were going to sleep with this guy around. Most of the group pretty much decided they weren't going to sleep much anyway.

Eventually, the guy finished his beer and left, which was the strangest thing. Why would he just hang out at the train station of all places if he had somewhere else he could be? In any case, we finally got a few hours to rest.

The Ferry Ride. The next morning we hopped on the ferry. Expecting something like airplane seating, we were surprized to find a bar, a restaurant, video games, gambling machines, DVDs (for rent), several lounges, and lots of open space. We brought our own food on board, hung out for a couple hours, played cards, and slept. The time flew by, and it was probably a better time than that which we would have had if we had made the ferry the night before. We finally got to Corfu, Greece at about 7pm... crazy adventures... :-)