Day 3 - 5 hour bus ride to Lefkada, dinner with the flotilla group, meeting the rest of my boat's crew, exploring Lefkada town a bit Bus leaves at 1 PM and I bought and printed the ticket back home. It's EU35 for a five hour trip. Private taxi is an option that cuts an hour off that time, but cost is EU480 and I'm not in a hurry. If I were traveling with 2-3 others the taxi might look more appealing, but as it is - bus is fine. It does take 35 minutes by public transport to get there chaging from metro to bus. Or an hour walk according to Google. Given the 100F heat, the heft of the backpack, and rather unappealing streetview along the route, metro/bus is an easy choice. A leisurely included breakfast at the hotel, then I'm off to the bus station. Google is generally quite good with public transport directions, although sometimes I'm not sure which side of the street to be on. Eventually I figure it out and get there with half hour to spare.
Bus terminals here are covered - very nice feature given the intense heat. A bit of a breeze makes the wait comfortable.
The streets immediately around the terminal are unappealing - tight, rundown buildings, lots of trash. This is in heavy contrast to the historic city center which is interesting, lively and clean. But as we head out of town the scenery opens up. My noise-canceling headphones are a blessing and make the trip much more pleasant than it would have been without. There is no restroom on the bus, but it makes a 20 minute stop at a rest area about halfway through.
Arriving in Lefkada the hotel (Irikos hotel, very reasonable and comortable - anoter highly recommended lodging) is only a short walk from the bus stop. I arrive at 6 PM and the flotilla dinner is at 7, at a restaurant a few blocks away. The view from the room is cool.
I use the hour to stock up on some prosecco at a nearby store and walk around town a bit. It's a quaint place. Lots of restaurants along the marina/shore, tight residential streets once you move inland.
The group meets at dinner and we learn a bit about each other's background and sailing experience. Anthony has done a flotilla and a single-boat charter previously. Randy has some experience (and is also a pilot, which helps). So we are the primary crew, which should be fine for a boat ths size. The food is great and reasonably priced, conversation is interesting. The view of the marina in the setting sun and warm breeze completes the experience.
After dinner I walk around town to see what's there. Cats roam the mostly deserted back streets, but the restaurants and public suares are busy.
Back at the hotel I enjoy the view below with a bottle of prosecco before calling it a night.
Streets below are busy but evenually quiet down around 1 AM. I make the observation that it is odd to be so immersed in humanity and yet so detached from it. In this moment, I'm deeply happy :).
I share the moment with GPT.
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