The Grand Adventure: Day 7 – Greece (Santorini / Kalabaka)

June 10, 2018 Holden

7 May 2018, Monday

This morning we set off early (as usual) as our driver sent us to the Santorini airport to catch our 9:55am flight to Athens. The drive from Fira to the airport took only 10 minutes and we arrived at 8am. The short ride cost us 30 Euros (S$48.75) though.

I had booked Sky Express (click here for the website) for the flight to Athens because at 102.59 Euros (S$172.38), it was the cheapest and had the best timing compared to the other airlines. However, our check-in baggage allowance was only 15kg and hand carry allowance was 6kg. Last night, we had packed our luggage carefully and ensured that we were within the limit. We had brought along a portable weighing scale so that came in very handy. The airline was strict about the weight limit because the flight was on a small propeller jet plane, so there’s not much room for excess weight.

The Santorini airport is tiny and it reminded me a lot of the Pokhara airport in Nepal. Unfortunately, the similarities did not end there. Just like my trip to Nepal last year, when my Yeti Airlines flight was delayed and I was stuck in the airport for several hours, our Sky Express flight was also delayed. The reason given was “due to Athens air traffic control”.

Initially, the delay was only for half an hour but it got delayed further. There were no proper updates from the airport staff and we got more anxious as the time went on. We had to catch our 2:18pm connecting train from Athens to Kalabaka and we were cutting it quite close as the minutes ticked by. Eventually, we spotted our Sky Express plane making its approach to the airport and we were so relieved. We finally took off from Santorini at 11:40am.

Our Sky Express plane finally arrived after a long delay

The plane was really tiny, with two seats on either side of a centre aisle. It was exactly like the Yeti Airlines flight. I have friends who have a phobia of taking propeller jet planes, so kudos to my parents for not freaking out when they saw the plane. No refreshments were served on board except for a sweet and a wet tissue. It was a very short ride and we touched down at Athens at 12:19pm, much later than the scheduled arrival time of 10:50am.

This Sky Express plane reminds me of the one I took in Nepal

A sweet and a wet tissue for the short flight

Yesterday, I had pre-booked a taxi transfer with a company called CityCab (click here for their website). I reasoned that it was more economical since it cost only 38 Euros (S$62). If we were to take the Metro to the city, it would already cost us 25 Euros (the Metro ticket from the airport to the city costs 10 Euros per person, but dad was eligible for the half-price discount for seniors). Coupled with our pickpocketing encounter on the Athens Metro a few days ago, and the fact that the Metro would be slower, taking a taxi/car is definitely better, especially since there were three of us.

However, our flight delay meant that our poor driver had to wait a long time for us. By the time we got on his taxi, it was already 12:58pm, which meant that he had waited about two hours for us. The CityCab website promised that the fare would remain unchanged even if the flight was delayed, so we were not obligated to pay extra. Nevertheless, we gave our driver Eric a small tip because of the long wait and because he was so nice about it. When we told him we had a connecting train to catch, he drove very fast but in a very safe manner. The journey usually takes around an hour but we reached Larisis train station at 1:35pm, well ahead of our train departure. We even managed to buy some sandwiches and drinks (10.60 Euros) to munch on board, since we didn’t have time to eat a proper lunch.

We were so relieved when our train number 56 departed Athens at 2:18pm. It would have been a nightmare if we had missed it. Thank goodness I booked the later train and not the earlier one. TIP: If you’re planning any connections after your flight from Santorini, be sure to have enough buffer time in between, because domestic flights can be delayed!

The seats are quite wide and comfortable

On board the train from Athens Larisis to Paleofarsalos

There is a restaurant car where you can have a snack and coffee

Passed by plenty of farms and hills along the way

The journey from Athens to Kalabaka was quite long, taking about 5 hours in total and involving one transfer. At 5:55pm, we arrived at Paleofarsalos, where we transferred to train number 886 to take us to Kalabaka. Paleofarsalos is a quiet little town and the train station is located in the middle of nowhere, not a place you want to be stranded in. The second train arrived at 6:32pm and we departed six minutes later.

At Paleofarsalos waiting for our connecting train to arrive

From Paleofarsalos, it was a shorter ride to Kalabaka and we arrived at 6:31pm. The Kalabaka train station is also very small and quiet. As the train pulled in to the station, we could see the majestic Meteora mountains towering over the town, and it was hard not to feel excited.

You’ll see the Meteora mountains as you pull in to Kalabaka station

After alighting from the train, I whipped out my phone and prepared to launch Google Maps to navigate and make our way to our Airbnb house. Just then, I saw a bearded man with a bun on his head and he looked familiar. As he approached me, I introduced myself and asked if he was Dimitrios, and he said yes. He’s our Airbnb host and he had driven his car to the train station to meet us. It was a pleasant surprise because I wasn’t expecting it as it was not pre-arranged. He must have forgotten to mention to me that he would be coming to pick us. It was great because it saved us a ton of walking. We then loaded our luggage onto his car and proceeded to his house.

During the ride, I told Dimitrios that I was looking for a shop to buy a local SIM card and he drove us around Kalabaka town to find one. During the past few days, I had missed opportunities to buy a Vodafone SIM card in Athens, Mykonos and Santorini. I realised that I was quite handicapped without mobile data connection especially when it came to coordinating pickups and check-ins with our Airbnb hosts.

Unfortunately, there is no Vodafone shop in Kalabaka so we settled for another company called WIND. Like Vodafone, the SIM card works in all of Europe. Or at least, it is supposed to. However, as the salesman explained, you won’t be able to top up data to the SIM card outside of Greece, so you have to top up the data to your required amount before you leave Greece. I can’t remember how much I paid now, but I think it was around 25 Euros for a F2G plan SIM card with about 5GB of data and 100 minutes of talk time, after top up. The SIM card is valid for 30 days.

After buying the WIND SIM card, Dimitrios drove us to our Airbnb house, located just a short distance away. As we drove around Kalabaka, we saw that it is really a very small and quiet town. Everyone seemed to know each other and there was a feeling of community spirit in the area.

By the way, you may be wondering what is the correct spelling for the town – is it Kalabaka, Kalambaka or Kalampaka? I asked Dimitrios and he said that it should be Kalabaka. The reason why many websites call it Kalambaka or Kalampaka is due to a translation error of the name from Greek to English, where the Greek letter “B” is erroneously translated to “MB” or “MP” in English. For proof, just look at the picture of the train station above, where it says “Kalabaka”.

Airbnb apartment
Address: Euaggelou 9, Kalampaka, Greece
Hosts: Dimitrios & Katerina
Price: S$353.41 for 3 pax for 2 nights
Link: https://www.airbnb.com.sg/rooms/18482423?s=51

Dimitrios showed us the house and it was huge and very beautifully furnished. It felt like we were living in a luxurious landed property, with a wonderful view of the Meteora mountains at our doorstep. Dimitrios and his wife Katerina are vegans and they are very environmentally conscious, so everything about the house reflected their eco-friendly ethos.

Living room with a huge and comfy sofa, but no TV

It was during this time that Dimitrios explicitly told us not to flush any waste paper down the toilet bowl. Instead, all waste paper should be disposed into a small bin beside the toilet bowl. At the previous Airbnb apartments, I had seen signs pasted at the toilets but the hosts never mentioned this rule, so I wasn’t sure if it was something that needed to be strictly followed. Now that Dimitrios said it, I knew that it was really put into practice.

I have encountered similar situations before in Nepal but those were guest houses up in the mountains so it is understandable that sewage systems were not so advance there. I wonder if the Greek sewage system really cannot handle waste paper flushed down the toilet bowl. I must say the practice does take some getting used to. So if you’re planning to visit Greece anytime in the future, be mentally prepared and bear in mind that soiled waste paper should not be flushed down the toilet bowl. Just in case you’re soggy about this kind of thing (pun intended).

After settling down, it was already quite late so we quickly headed out for dinner and didn’t explore the town much. We picked a restaurant called Syrtaki. We ordered a pork chop, an omelette and a Caeser Specialty (comprising chicken souvlaki, hamburger, moussaka, potatoes and rice), and the total bill was 30 Euros (S$52). The food was not bad but the background music was a bit too loud for comfort.