Traveling While Introverted

One of the privileges of long-term travel is having opportunities to not only visit new places, but to also visit friends and family who live far away for an extended period of time. Since we both have Israeli roots, we wanted to take the opportunity to spend six weeks in Israel after traveling through Latin America. This would have been a chance for us both to spend a lot of quality time with Adam’s aging grandmother, his young niece and nephew, and plenty of other important people we only get to see for short spurts once a year (give or take).

Unfortunately, the leaders of many countries around the world had a different plan.

Since we are avid news readers, we were keeping up on developments regarding a potential war with Iran. When the United States emptied their bases of non-essential personnel, we decided to change the destination of our flight to Athens, Greece. We hoped that if something would erupt it would be short-lived or, perhaps by some miracle of miracles, leaders would choose diplomacy over violence. Why did we choose Athens? Because it’s a short flight to Israel and Yahm’s best friend and his parter live in the city. (Both of them are Israeli but have chosen to become digital nomads across Europe for the last year.)

Initially, we were hoping to arrive in Israel on March 5th, instead of the original date of February 25th. Once the war erupted, we decided to spend Adam’s birthday in Athens (March 7th) and then reassess. As we write this, it doesn’t seem like the war is close to being over. We’ve scrapped our plans and hopes to visit Israel. Instead, we will be traveling back to São Paulo on the 12th.

That said, and in spite of the sad news all around us, we still managed to get a little sightseeing and exploring in which we will recap below. Yahm will have a separate post about all the good food we ate, so stay tuned for that.

It took a very long time to get to Athens. As readers may remember, the last country we were in was Uruguay. From there, we had to get to Buenos Aires, Argentina because we had already purchased a flight from there to São Paulo to Tel Aviv. (If you remember, we only went into Uruguay when Argentina was a bust.) So, we took a four-hour bus from Montevideo to Colonia del Sacramento. From Colonia we took a ferry to Buenos Aires and spent one more night in the city. From Buenos Aires, we flew to São Paulo and waited in the airport for 6 hours. Our original flight to Israel included a short layover in Madrid, Spain. Our new flight to Athens, on the other hand, required an overnight in Madrid. Theoretically, we could have explored Madrid when we landed (mid-afternoon local time), but we were exhausted from all the travel. Instead, we stuck around our hotel area, which was near the airport, and had a nice meal and promptly fell asleep at 8pm.

The next day, we took the relatively short flight from Madrid to Athens. Neither one of us had ever been to Greece before, so we knew this would be an intruiging detour. To make things more interesting, neither one of us know how to speak or read Greek and had very little time to research Greece ahead of time. Thankfully, Yahm’s best friend, Ido, shared a very thorough guide with plenty of tips. Once we settled in, we also checked out Rick Steve’s recommendations for Greece. (Really, y’all, if you’re traveling to Europe, check him out.)

Though Athens is generally considered to be a big ugly city with not much to see besides the Acropolis, Parthenon, and a handful of museums, we have enjoyed the vibe of the city. Athens is filled with restaurants, bars, and cafés, especially in the Koukaki neighborhood where we are staying. We’ve discovered that Greek people are so friendly and kind, even to the point of thoroughly inspecting sausage to make sure it is gluten free for Yahm. The food is delicious, the nightlife is lively, the city is very walkable, and the public transportation is very convenient. Overall, it’s a city worth exploring beyond its historic monuments.

Speaking of historic monuments, we have to confess that we did not visit the Acropolis. Much like the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, the Acropolis is viewable from everywhere in the city. At night, the city shines lights on the ruins so that it’s always within eyesight. While we love studying and learning about local history, architecture is not something we get excited about anywhere we go. We decided not to visit and stand by that decision, even though we know people are going to be besides themselves. Frankly, traveling is such an adventure and we are firm believers that you should follow your interests rather than simply checking things off of someone else’s must-do list.

We walked by and photographed a few other famous historical points: the Arch of Hadrian, Socrates‘s prison (which was not his actual prison but is still remembered as such), and the Agora. (Photographed below, left to right.) Many historical sites are simply part of the background of Athens, making it easy to access and experience. We also noticed that many of the plaques provide a lot more information than we anticipated.

Since Athens is a city of hills, there are quite a few lookouts to climb up and take in the city. Considering that 3.1 million people live here, homes and streets stretch farther than might be expected. Lycabettus Hill offers a particularly sweeping view of the city and is accessible with a cable car that is carved into the hill. In typical Greek Orthodox fashion, there is also a small church at the top (not pictured). We visited on Adam’s birthday and you can tell he was excited to celebrate!

As we were exploring the city, we had a chance to see the Change of the Guard outside of the Hellenic Parliament. The ceremony takes place every hour on the hour, so it’s easy to stumble upon it. These specific soldiers are called Evzones and they guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which remembers all fallen Greek soldiers. The area itself is politically charged, not only because it’s in front of Parliament and the site for national commemorations. But also because across the street is Syntagma Square, a popular place for protests. Our taxi driver from the airport told us that the government knows they’re doing a good job if people are enjoying their time in Syntagma Square.

Though we don’t typically get excited about architecture, we do enjoy a repurposed building. The neighborhood of Gazi used to be a primarily industrial area because of a large coal and gas refinery. As the refinery has fallen out of use, it has turned into a museum that focuses on industrial archaeology (a new term for us). The complex, known as Technopolis, hosts concerts and other cultural events, while the neighborhood has become a trendy area for restaurants and bars. Below are photos of the complex’s exterior and from inside the museum.

Of course, we didn’t just stay in Athens. Though island hopping is very popular, especially to places such as Mykonos, Santorini, and Rhodes, we weren’t quite prepared to do so much. Instead, we took a 1-hour ferry ride to the island of Aegina that is part of the Saronic Islands, just 17 miles (27 kilometers) away. The island is known as a major pistachio production hub and has several ruins on it. Once we landed, we spent the day strolling around the narrow alleys of the town. It has the charming small-town vibes we have grown to love regardless of where we travel in the world. We ate a lot of seafood (more about that in Yahm’s upcoming food post), bought some pistachios (of course), and enjoyed the break from the big city. If you only have a limited amount of time in Greece, Aegina is a lovely place to visit.

Top row, left to right: a view of Aegina from the ferry; obligatory selfie; a cute corner of Aegina

Bottom row, left to right: view of the Saronic Gulf; another obligatory selfie; sunset on the way back to Athens

One of the places Yahm wanted to visit was Delphi, famous for its oracle in Greek mythology, especially in Oedipus. Along with our friends, we decided to embark on a one-day guided tour to Delphi. Besides learning about the ruins and the museum, our guide also shared tidbits about modern Athenian politics, the landscape, and random fun facts. The drive to Delphi took nearly four hours and when we arrived, we hit the ground running to the ruins.

Top row: views from the highway

Middle row: various ruins from temples and treasuries; the right photo is of the “belly button” that is supposed to represent the center of the world and is always connected to a temple dedicated to Zeus

Bottom row, left to right: writing that was carved into the walls of the treasury to document how much money city-states donated to the oracle; a spire that were snakes coiled around each other, but the heads broke off; a view from above of the theater (because people always need entertainment)

The museum connected to the ruins isn’t very large, but still has quite a few interesting pieces from antiquity. Our favorites are pictured below.

Top row, left to right: a sphinx (which contrary to popular belief is not just Egyptian, but present in many Mediterranean cultures); two kouroi statues that were common in Ancient Greece (learn more about them here)

Bottom row, left to right: the cylix (i.e. wine cup) of Apollo; “The Charioteer,” a bronze duplicate of a Greek statue. Because the Romans loved Greek culture so much, they often duplicated their art, which is why so much of it has survived over the centuries.

After touring the Delphi ruins and museum, we headed to Arachova for lunch. This charming mountain town is popular with Greeks and tourists alike for skiing and winter vacations. Luckily, the day we visited was quiet so we had an opportunity to take in the town before the bus ride back to Athens. If we had the time, we would have loved to stay for a night or two.

Our final excursion was to a small town called Nafplio (or Nauplio) 86 miles (139 kilometers) southwest of Athens. We found out about this hamlet from Rick Steve’s guide. Nafplio was an important sea port during the Middle Ages and features beautiful views of the Mediterranean Sea, a cute city center, and ruins (of course). Our plan was to just take a bus to the town, explore, and come back to Athens. Unfortunately but not surprisingly, Yahm got a cold and stayed behind to rest. Adam went on his own and had a fun day. Overall, Adam is of the opinion that the town offered a beautiful reprieve from Athens and is worth returning to with Yahm.

Top row, left to right: views of some of the ruins that date back to the Middle Ages, not Antiquity

Bottom row, left to right: an alleyway; the Mediterranean Sea; a fort in the Mediterranean

Lastly, one of the random oddities of leaving Latin America and being in Europe is that gone are the stray dogs. (Readers may remember Adam’s post about how they mesmerize him.) Instead, stray cats are the rulers of these streets. Before we conclude, we felt these felines deserved a little attention. If you’re wondering, we didn’t pet them because who knows where they’ve been.

Though we’re leaving Greece to head back to São Paulo, be on the lookout for Yahm’s post about food adventures, a fun surprise post, and more. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to Traveling While Introverted so you don’t miss our next post!