Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Gallimaufry#106

THE FERRY RIDE FROM HELL
I thought the ferry ride from Port Piraeus to Mykonos would be fun. I imagined sailing in the caldera with the sea breeze tousling my hair as I gazed upon the azure waters over the railing.

Boy, was I wrong!  Turned out, it was a stomach-churning experience, leaving me clinging to the railing for dear life!

Boarding the Seajets ferry was anything but fun. First, you have to wait for hours in the scorching Greek sun, and then it's a mad stampede to get on and off! Never mind the seasickness!
It was like a refugee scramble—no clear instructions, everyone jostling and dragging their luggage to get on board. The cacophony—the roar of the ferry's engine, the chatter of excited voices, and the clatter of rolling suitcases—amplified the pandemonium.


After boarding, we were required to store our large luggage on one of the racks in the car deck—a frenzied free-for-all as passengers clambered and clamored for space to shove their luggage onto the limited racks.
Finding my sea legs on the swaying deck amidst the intoxicating diesel fumes and battling the urge to keep my breakfast down was a daunting challenge.
The ride certainly is not for the faint of heart! The first part of the journey was relatively smooth, and we did enjoy the magnificent views of the Greek coastline. However, as the ferry moved farther into the open waters of the Aegean, the adventure took a dramatic turn. The wind picked up, and the sea became choppy. The vessel started to rock, and passengers were gripping their seats or the nearest railing. It felt like a never-ending series of peaks and troughs. The hubs and Son #2, who weren't prone to motion sickness, were green in the face! 
Disembarking was absolute mayhem as passengers frantically made a beeline for the car deck to retrieve their luggage. In the midst of this commotion, I became separated from my family and panicked big time! Fortunately, I spotted the flag our tour guide was waving high above the sea of people, and I weaved through the crowd to rejoin the rest of our group. As we impatiently waited to exit the ferry in the confined space, people were swaying into one another. Once the hatch opened and the ramp lowered, a stampede ensued as the mob surged down to solid ground. The scene was apocalyptic!

What an ordeal! And we had to relive the nightmare a second time, from Mykonos to Santorini. Despite the allure of the beautiful Cyclades, I never want to endure that ferry ride again. I'd rather swim!

59 comments:

  1. Gosh..that's lots of people..I am afraid of crowded places..

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  2. Oh. My. Goodness. This is the downside of traveling that I don't like. Lol

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  3. Most of the ferry are usually nightmarish to take on. Sorry about your experiences

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  4. What an awful experience! I hope it didn't ruin your trip too much. We opted to do a 5-day islands cruise from Athens on what they described as a "floating 3-star hotel". Although crowded and the rooms were small, the food was incredible and the sights were wonderful.

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  5. Oh, what an experince!
    once I was on a cruise with Costa, on the Mediterranean. It was the best vacation I've ever spent! I also blogged about every day spent on the cruise ship - there was nothing that was not perfect!
    I wish you a blessful wrap up to the year!

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  6. I never imagined such an atmoshere. Sorry for this experience, even having it, you can compare with other situations and found them more pleasant...
    You are right. I would rather swim, of course after I learn to swim better...
    Happy WW, dear Veronica!
    Hugs and blessings and better days! ❤️๐Ÿ˜˜

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  7. Kapal pesiar yang full of tourist..Terasa hectic, tapi mungkin karena liburan kali ini orang orang sedang berada dalam euforia jadi kapasitasnya pun dimaksimalkan...
    happy holiday Kak Veronica....
    have a nice December ๐Ÿ˜Š

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  8. What a horrible boat trip this is.
    I wish you and all your loved ones a Merry Christmas and, above all, a healthy 2024.
    Greetings Irma

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  9. Sorry to hear that.
    Enjoy the Christmas time now! ๐Ÿ‘‹๐ŸŽ… Hugs and blessings!

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  10. It sounds terrible, Veronica. I hate ferries!
    Take care, and have a Merry Christmas!
    Hugs

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  11. Dear Veronica,
    That truly sounds like a nightmarish experience! This way you can better imagine what it must be like to actually have to travel as a refugee - something that none of us want to, but that unfortunately a large percentage of humanity does experience. Luckily, you ended up getting through the boat trip safely, and I also hope that you don't have to experience anything like that again. (And I hope I don't have to experience something like that either ;-))
    To be on the safe side, I wish you a wonderful Christmas ⛄๐ŸŽ„๐Ÿ•ฏ️ and a Happy New Year ๐Ÿ„๐Ÿ€, because I don't know how I'll get there in the next few days. (There will definitely be a new posting from me tomorrow, it's almost finished...)
    All the best and have a good time!
    Traude
    ☕๐Ÿงธ๐Ÿท๐Ÿ•ฏ️☃️๐Ÿ•ฏ️
    https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2023/12/weihnachtliche-lichter-klimts.html

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  12. Para olvidar. Menudo caos.
    Os deseo unas buenas fiestas. Feliz Navidad. Pasadlo bien
    Un abrazo ๐Ÿค—〰〰๐Ÿ’•

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  13. Oh Veronica, that sounds awful! From the lack of orginization, to the noise, to the chaos and then rough seas and losing your family. Glad you are safely back on land!

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  14. Seriously, I would have sacrificed my ticket and not made the journey. Travelling in those conditions far exceeds my level of tolerance.

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  15. This sounds awful. I would have stayed home! Hugs, Valerie

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  16. Yikes. I'm sorry you had to do this twice.

    Have a fabulous day and rest of the week, Veronica. Hugs. ♥

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  17. What a nightmare, Veronica! I would never be able to do this without getting sick to my stomach. You're a trooper!
    Blessings!

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  18. Hello Veronica :=)
    My goodness what a dreadful experience you had, and your photos of the many people almost stampeding their way through the crowd to get off the boat looks like a nightmare,.....definitely not to be repeated. Veronica I probably won't be visiting now until after Christmas.so I send you my good wishes for a Merry Christmas and a New Year full of love, joy, and good health.
    From across the miles I send you a kiss and warm hug
    Sonjia.

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  19. Sounds a bit disorganized which is sad because it looks like it could be a very scenic enjoyable experience.

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  20. Sorry to hear of such ordeal related to the ferry ride from Port Piraeus to Mykonos.

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  21. Sounds awful, we did that by cruiseboat many years ago it was fine but our boat was a bit primitive, the washrooms were not luxurious considering it was a Trafalgar tour. -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com

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  22. Dearest Veronica,
    Glad you survived—both crossings!
    Your mention of a 'mob' is probably the BEST word to describe rude people that are not considerate of others.
    And than getting seasick... Wow!
    Big hugs,
    Mariette

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  23. That sounds awful. I'm sorry. Choppy waters aren't fun, and neither is a disorganized stampede.

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  24. Uy que pena que no disfrutaste el viaje en Ferry. Espero que estรฉs mejor. Te mando un beso y te deseo una feliz Navidad para ti y tu familia.

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  25. Oh my goodness, what a disaster indeed. One would have thought the boat would have good stablizers to stop too much motion, and seems there was no organization at all, a real nightmare it seems. Turn you off boats for life.
    On a nicer note: Merry Christmas to you and your family - and a Happy New Year.

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  26. Oh wow, what an experience. I can relate to the sea sick thing though. I worked briefly on drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and it was an uneventful one hour helicopter ride when the weather was good. If the weather was not good it was an eight hour crewboat ride. Of course the weather not being good meant lots of rolling and lurching and all that. The Cajuns who grew up on the water, didn't phase them a bit.

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  27. Oh my, that sounded dreadful! At least it provided you with some photo opportunities!

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  28. Sounds awful. Expressions on the faces of passengers also told the story … but not as eloquently as you did in this post.

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  29. Oh my goodness, it sounds like a nightmare. I felt the push of the crowd acting like a herd as everyone tried to reach the destination. I'm glad you're well.

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  30. O my god! This sounds like some place in India.

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  31. Sorry you had to endure that terrible experience.

    I don't like big crowds so I wouldn't have been able to handle the ferry chaos.

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  32. Wowie OMG this sounds positively miserable. Note to self don't ever do this. Thanks for the heads up!

    Allie of
    www.allienyc.com

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  33. I can relate to your experience! The ocean and I simply do not get along! I went on a fishing trip with my husband some years ago and got so deathly seasick I couldn't stop swaying for nearly 4 days after we got back home! I wouldn't even want to swim - I'd take a hot air balloon before I'd ever set foot on a boat again LOL (and I'm afraid of heights!) LOL

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  34. Oops! I forgot to wish you a great holiday weekend!

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  35. Your words and pictures describe the chaos so well. What a terrible trip. Thankfully, it's over and done with and you survived! Merry Christmas, Veronica.

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  36. I hate being in huge crowds! That would be a horrifying experience for me too. What a dissapointment . Merry Christmas and best wishes for peace, good health and joy in the coming year!

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  37. Oh my. Every now and then some situation whilst a trip turn out to be a nightmare. But then I practice my mantra: Everything passes. Everything will be okay again. What does not kill me, makes me stronger.
    Have a wonderful Christmas time and enjoy the season :)

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  38. How terrible! I had a somewhat similar experience on a boat - much smaller - off the coast of Irealnd this past September. WOW! The image we have of a breezy leisurely jaunt quickly turns to turbulence with the tiniest bit of wind (and fumes, and crowds!) I'm so sorry you had to go through this, and bond with you in queasiness!

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  39. Looks horrendous, the crowds always do me in.

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  40. Wow, that sounds like a nightmare, and the crowd of people packing into the ferry would have terrified me. I had a bad experience in such a crowd a long time ago, and since then crowded places (elevators, subways, and such) make me panic and I go to great lengths to avoid them.

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  41. This sounds awful.

    Happy Holidays, Veronica!

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  42. Wow, what a nightmare of an experience. Glad you made it off safely without injury.

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  43. That sounds so horrible for you all and I'm glad that part of the "fun" is over. I'm not prone to seasickness either and I've been in some super rough waters. I do know there is nothing worse.

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  44. Que desagradable vivir esa experiencia, es una pena, te estropean las vacaciones. Yo entre la multitud me siento perdido.
    Te deseo que tengas unas Felices Fiestas en compaรฑรญa de tus seres queridos.

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  45. Just looking at the crowds of people would have deterred me, Veronica Lee, and from reading your description of this trip, it as a horrendous adventure. Glad you survived the trip OK.

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  46. Oh my, the ferry ride experience does not sound fun at all. Sounds horrible.
    I would need a sea sick pill. But, the crowds of people moving on and off is not pleasant. Too bad it could not be more organized. Thank you for sharing your post. Take care, have a great day and a happy new week!

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  47. Season's greetings to you and your family.

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  48. Merry Christmas Veronica! Best wishes to you and your family. John

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  49. Hello Veronica,
    Nice pictures of this ferry.
    I read that it was not nice to travel with it, with so many human.
    I wish you a wonderful christmas.

    Greetings, Marco

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  50. aww.... crowded.... easy to spread diseases....

    # Happy holidays season to you and yours

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  51. This sounds truly awful! I have taken quite a bit of ferry trips in my life and had some not so pleasant ones because of choppy seas, but I never experienced anything like this and I hope I never will.
    All the best to you, Veronica, for a happy and healthy 2024 - Carola

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  52. You are so interesting! I don't think I've truly read anything like that
    before. So wonderful to find someone with some unique thoughts on this topic.
    Really.. many thanks for starting this up. This web site is something that is required on the internet,
    someone with a bit of originality!

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  53. oh i hear you, friend. this all looks a bit unsettling for sure. happy new year to you. i look forward to continuing to connect and doing the online life with you from afar. thank you for all the adventures and new vistas.
    ox

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  54. I am such a sucker for cats, this might be my very favorite of all your Greek posts! Your ferry trip sounds absolutely horrendous. I'm sure you were relieved when that ordeal was over! Onward, now, to a happy new year of new adventures and travels!

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  55. Oh no. We rode on those as well and had a completely different experience. I was afraid my motion sickness prone son wouldn't be able to handle it but our journey was quite smooth. Sorry to hear you were so sick.

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