The day started sane enough..we were showered packed and ready to go. We headed to The British Embassy for Breakfast. I had a coffee, it was very strong. We then said goodbye to Mrs. Lady and the chef and headed to the Athens Metro Red Line...that's a fairly posh one and the aircon worked. We then changed to the Green Line, that's the graffitied one with some shattered windows and headed to down town Piraeus, scene of the murder that's causing all the protests. One stop in and we attract the attention of the local nutters, first the dancing fool and then the one toothed dribbling simpleton who smelled of wee. Two other shifty ruffians made an appearance. The locals willingly moved aside to let us see the show. Thankfully they got off one stop before Piraeus. Piraeus is a very big port at the bottom of athens, it's also very busy with traffic on a par almost with Naples. We have 3 hours to kill and dont want to wander. It's too busy for that and at 30 deg c. you didnt want to be out in that and so sat in an open coffee shop and drank coffee. They were very strong coffees. the Greeks like strong coffee. At 3.30 I was shaking like a rapist and Grant was also jittery. It then dawned on me that we'd totally overdone it on the coffee. We felt wired and were getting dizzy from watching the traffic. We then had to go to a crowded bus stop to get our shuttle bus. it never showed. So I dice with death and go back to the ticket office for more directions. they had said just across the road by the bus stop. Turned out it was in the place behind the bus stop and a quarter of a mile walk to where the shuttle bus was waiting. Eventually we got onto the boat with plenty of time to spare. We both said this had been our worse day so far.

The Mytilene is a fully kitted passenger ferry and sailed at 6pm with about 30% occupancy. The wind was up before we set sail. One hour later Grant said
"Oh look, the flag just flew off the back of the ship". That was a good omen then. Then it started, we were at the stern and saw it rise a good 25 foot. Then the hooter went and people were told to hold the rails or go inside. it was fun for a while as everyone wobbled about. We then tried to get some sleep. It was impossible due to rolling about, doors slamming and people on mobile phones. At midnight it had calmed down a bit and we went out to the deck. The ferry was pulling into a small island to pick up more passengers. The Greek Islands Folk club were there giving an impromptu concert. Perhaps seeing their mate off, they werent. Unfortunately for us they were getting aboard. Now I think it's great that The Greek Islands Folk Club thought it appropriate to set their gear up and inflate their whiny bagpipes at 12.15am and do another impromptu concert. Highly Cultural, I hear you say. It wasnt. It was hell