Day 129 - Meeting Iro, Kato Poroia

After a couple of hours, I headed to the internet cafe again, and slept in the chair. It was still cold in here, but not as cold as outside. My hands were freezing all the time. There were other young boys sleeping here too. I didn't get much sleep.

I headed out when the sun rose. I was looking forward to getting warmed up. I walked back over to Kato Poroia. I would be able to see Iro by 4pm. She was coming from Kilkis, a nearby town. She had some kind of dancing lessons.

In the time I waited for her, I had something to eat, then explored the village. I didn't do much other than sit around at places I discovered. It was a long wait. I'm getting used to long waits, I think.







By 4pm, Iro had returned to the village, and I saw her passing by in her car. She smiled at me, and sent me a text message, telling me that she saw me. It was then, I would wait for her to come down from her house and see me.

So, we exchanged greetings. This is the 5th TRF member I have met, and it was a great pleasure. We had a talk as we walked down to her school, which she showed me around. We talked about travelling and Greece, as I showed her the photos of my travels so far. We sat down out the front of her school and just chatted away. I found out that she was Pontian, like me!

It was not too long after, that it was time for her to head back home. It wasn't the longest meeting, but it was still great nonetheless. I wished her farewell. Until next time, hopefully we will meet again in the distant future.



I headed back to Rodopoli and shared the news. I also discussed meeting Agnes. It was by this time, that I was completely serious about going. I had made up my mind, and I was going to go to Latvia, without telling anyone. It's risky, but I'm going to make it happen. Now is the time. It has been almost a year, and I haven't met her yet.

I looked for plane tickets online. I wouldn't be able to book, as I didn't have a proper credit card, so I would have to go to a ticketing agency. When I get back to Athens, I am going to book myself a ticket. That is it.

I had one last meal at the taverna here in Rodopoli, and had a chat with the owner, who asked me where I was from. Then I waited for the train back to Athens. There was no ticket office, so I would have to buy it off the train. Once I boarded though, I fell asleep, and didn't get approached by any of the train officers.

I woke up once I arrived at Thessaloniki. I didn't know if I should get off the train to purchase a ticket to Athens. I thought I would just stay on, and buy it on board. I got yelled at by the ticket inspector though, but I didn't get into any trouble, given the circumstance. There were other passengers on board buying their tickets that way, so I didn't even know for sure if I had done the wrong thing. To be perfectly honest, I didn't actually know what the ticket inspector said to me. Nonetheless, I got my ticket to Athens, and I would arrive in one piece.