(Our accommodation we rocked up to – makes the travel time worth it!)
Simply put, today was travel day.
We departed Adelaide at 9:50pm local time after getting to the airport early due to the possible strikes. No problems encountered, but it was a 3hr wait before tripping off in an Emirates 777-300ER.
Not the roomiest of layouts but when you score exit row seats like we did – it certainly helps!
The flight was reasonably painless and uneventful. The food, staff and timeliness of Emirates is pretty top notch – really hard to fault.
We arrived in Dubai after the next part of 13hrs in the air arriving at 5am local time. Our only bitch would be if you don’t score a flight with a skywalk into the terminal, you’re basically catching a 20 minute bus ride. That’s not an exaggeration. The airport is beyond belief in terms of its scale and sheer acreage. It’s enormous. One flight attended commented that her house is at the strart of the runway and it takes her 20mins to drive to work!
The Dubai-Athens leg was also easy. It ain’t no Emirates aircraft but it’s a 30min flight. It’s also 23:00 Adelaide time Friday, so a good old 28hrs since arriving at Adelaide Airport.
Our accommodation, Katharos Villas, is just awesome. Private pool, great size (2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, full kitchen including an oven and cooktop) and away from the business of Oia village. Highly recommended!
What we considered to be an epic effort, we got changed into semi nice clothes and walked up the 1.5km of criss-crossed roads up the cliff to where the tourists are 5 deep trying to get a glimpse of the sunset. By the time we got there though, it had cleared out and we had a delightful drink overlooking nearby islands. To be a true local, we tucked into Mousakka and Souvlaki with local beers and a wine. Tough start to the trip!
The actual holiday begins tomorrow! More to come…