Day 124 - Marmari and Karystos, Evia

Today, I had a plan. I woke up at 11:30am and was contemplating going to the island of Evia and the other Sporades islands. The fact that I woke up late was what made it debatable.

I decided to go. I called the ticket office on Evia, asking when the last ferry crosses over to the island of Skyros, which was 6pm. I figured that would be plenty of time to make it to that port.

I caught the bus to Rafina port and purchased my ticket to Marmari, Evia. By this time, I doubted I was going to get to the port to Skyros on time, so I decided I'd check out Marmari and Karystos, enough for a day.

I boarded the ferry, and it wasn't the best ride. The seas were rough, and I actually became a little seasick. I didn't feel well; I was sweating, and I couldn't wait to disembark.

When I got there, I didn't know exactly which bus to take to Karystos. I needed to get to Karystos as it was a transport hub to Halkida, the capital of Evia. But I ended up missing the bus to Karystos. There was no destination written on the front of any of the buses, and there would be no more bus services for the day. I was doomed. I ended up paying €10 for a taxi to Karystos.

The taxi driver and I had a nice chat in Greek, which was good for me, and the drive was a nice one, very scenic. There was a big tabletop-looking mountain infront of us. He dropped me off at the KTEL bus stop in Karystos and I asked for a bus to Halkida, the capital of the island. There were no bus services for the rest of the day. It just went from bad to worse. I should know the bus schedules in advance. It's not very easy planning a trip over here, but I was still learning how to travel. It is my first experience after all.

Leaving that aside, I decided to have a nice dinner by a seaside taverna. I had squid, which was quite tasty and I loved it.

And then, it got worse. I wanted to go back to Athens. This trip wasn't going to get anywhere, as it was Independance Day tomorrow as well, which would mean no bus services. I took a taxi back to Marmari for another €10. I wanted to catch the ferry back home, but of course, as fate may have had it, I missed the ferry, by a few minutes. I was enraged. I was forced to stay the night.

I found a hotel that wasn't too pricey. €35 for the night. I watched a bit of Greek TV while I was here. I relaxed and had a sleep. I would be up at 6am tomorrow for the ferry back to Athens.