Greece - Kindness of strangers

 

Pefki Beach - 13hrs after setting off.

The first days are always a flurry of activity as you travel and find your feet. What differentiated today was the kindness of strangers.

Stefan

Upon landing in Athens, after a 3:30 a.m. start, we had only 1 hour and 15 minutes to catch the only bus to Pefki Beach, hundreds of kilometres away. There was a huge queue at the airport for taxis, but one driver jumped the rank, waved us over, and so we followed. As luck would have it, this chap used to live in Pefki Beach and was clearly excited when we mentioned our final destination. With little common language between us, he called a friend to translate in real time. Stefan, our saint of a driver, took us to the correct bus station, helped us buy tickets, and then led us to the right bus. Superstar Stefan.

Whilst at the bus station, Sarah accused me of losing an envelope containing passports, cash, and driving licences. I’d never been given the elusive envelope, but still, my heart sank like an anchor and the nervous adrenaline surged... Thankfully, it was located in her bag.

The Dakar Truck

The bus was packed and whilst it didnt go all the way to Pefki, i was relieved for now and would cross the other bridges later. I took some time to have restless naps, my head bobbing around like a nodding donkey. I awoke just before we all had to disembark to buy tickets for a ferry. Sarah had overheard some conversation, so it wasn’t a total shock to learn we’d be entering the ferry as foot passengers

Whilst awaiting the ferry, we took the opportunity to grab a cold beer. As we enjoyed the cooling suds, a Mercedes truck in Dakar livery passed by, and we said hello to the driver. The conversation continued on the ferry with Nattu, the Spaniard, who works with Nomadas Adventure a Rally Raid team servicing international rallies. (So sorry if i butchered your name!)

Our new friend was a mechanic and offered us a free onward ride to the bivouac and a tour of his camp. Amazing!

The bivvy had completely taken over the small beach village. A symbiotic relationship between rally and village, you couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. Bikes and people scooted everywhere without helmets, and the bars and restaurants were alive.

Our old friend Barrie was there on the coolest of bikes, a Honda Monkey. We ate, enjoyed his company, test rode the Monkey, and prepared for the next day.

You meet the nicest people on a Honda.

During the prep, we met Dakar legend David Casteu! I asked for a selfie, and his team laughed, clearly taking the piss and playing a loud David Casteu song.

 I’d left my travel / truckers cap in England, but left the Dakar legend’s camp adorned with a new David Casteu–Von Dutch baseball cap. Brilliant!

The DR and the Adventure truck.

That’s quite literally a hat trick, three strangers all helping us out. One day i hope to pay it forward. 

Time to call it a day.