I woke up pretty late the next day, showered and left the hotel. Upon driving 30 seconds out of the parking lot, I had a surreal experience. Five dogs ran onto the road in front of my car and blocked the way so I had to stop. They then circled the car and the alpha dog of the group stood in front of my car barking at me. The other dogs were behind and on either side of my car. The dog in front would not move, and I was at a standstill on the road. I tried honking, but the car horn sounded like a pathetic squeal in comparison to the barking. The other four dogs would chime in as well, and I started to get a little nervous and pissed. I felt like I was trapped in a situation that was going to turn into something out of Cujo (viewer discretion advised). The alpha dog in the front was brave and wouldn't move away from the front of the car even as I moved it forward--he just kept barking. This whole ordeal went on for a minute or two, and then I figured that if this dog wasn't going to move I was just going to run it over (PETA will get me one day for that comment). I pressed the gas and the dog ran in zigzags in front of the car and as it accelerated the dog moved to the side and ran alongside the car. I got the car up to 20 km/hr, then 25 and the dog and his crew kept up until finally they fell behind, still barking. Something about that was disturbing, and definitely not a good way to start the day.
I drove to one of the monasteries and looked around.
It was beautiful with an awesome intimate chapel completely decorated. The priests were praying inside. I felt like I was intruding on their space, but they did make their monastery into a tourist attraction so I guess they don't care.
I made my way to another monastery down the mountain and had to climb up about 100 stairs to get to the front door. It looked like the first one but with prettier views of the city bordering Meteora.
When I left I bought two spinach and cheese pastries from a boy who ran a stand outside the monastery and got back in my car to begin the journey back to Athens. I drove back up the same road I came, and the dogs were still there, just lying on the road, and I cautiously drove passed.
The drive was fairly uneventful, and I thought I could make it back to the city without filling up on gas again. What a mistake. 40 minutes outside the city my gas ran out and I had to merge onto the right side shoulder of the road. I turned the car off, then tried turning it back on, but the juice was utterly spent. I was on top of a small hill on the highway, so I put the car in neutral with the battery going and got the car rolling at a nice slow pace down the hill. That journey lasted about 100 meters until the car stopped again and I burst out laughing. I had just driven a couple thousand kilometers around the mainland, and here I was, 40 minutes from Athens, stranded on the highway. I called the car company to see if they could help, but the guy didn't know any English and was no help. Not quite sure what to do, I found the closest gas station on the GPS, luckily 2 kilometers in front of me, and was preparing to ditch the car and walk on the shoulder of the highway to the gas station until I saw the wonderful blinking hazard lights of the highwayman in the reflection of the rearview mirror. He pulled up behind me and I got out of the car and shook his hand.
Luckily he was fluent in English, and was also good company. I called the car agency back and he spoke with the same guy, yelling something at him in Greek. He gave me the phone back and asked how it was possible they didn't speak English when they rent cars to Americans. I didn't have an answer to that. He then called the gas station and they sent someone over with a small portable tank of gasoline. While we were waiting, I talked to the highwayman who told me he'd been working that job for four years. I said that he must know the entire highway forwards and backwards, to which he responded: "Meter for meter." At that point there was only one thing left to do. I got my bread and nutella out of the car and sat on the metal barrier and went to town on the last remnants of the food source. I offered the man some bread and nutella but he declined, and then I asked him what the most intense thing he'd seen on the job was, to which he responded, "I've seen everything. Severed limbs, severed heads, everything." He said that when a crash happens he's the first one to get there and his job is to make sure that the other cars on the highway are safe. He told me that I was the third car that day that ran out of gas, and I told him that my gas gage was broken. He told me some more about his job, and spoke about it with a clear sense of pride and nobility. The guy from the gas station came and drove up on a dirt road on the other side of a fence next to the highway and threw a plastic container of gas over the fence to the highwayman. He took a magazine page and curled it into a funnel and poured the gas in the tank that way. I had enough in the tank to get me to the gas station. I said goodbye to the highwayman and offered him a tip, but he refused that too. Driving away I was thinking about how lucky I've been the whole semester: I've been in a few situations like this and each time I've met some interesting person with a good heart who enjoys helping. I realize also that though these kinds of situations should be avoided, it's usually when you get yourself into some trouble that you meet the greatest people. Therefore, you can slap yourself on the wrist if you like, but then be sure to embrace your own stupidity with a laugh and smile.
I finally got back to Athens and parked the car. It was raining hard and I checked back into the hostel, my money mostly spent, having survived my road trip and completely satisfied with it. I will never forget those five days wandering over the Grecian mountains, listening to my iPod, seeing the ancient sights, meeting fascinating people, and now equipped with more stories to tell. The end of day five.
I drove to one of the monasteries and looked around.
It was beautiful with an awesome intimate chapel completely decorated. The priests were praying inside. I felt like I was intruding on their space, but they did make their monastery into a tourist attraction so I guess they don't care.
I made my way to another monastery down the mountain and had to climb up about 100 stairs to get to the front door. It looked like the first one but with prettier views of the city bordering Meteora.
When I left I bought two spinach and cheese pastries from a boy who ran a stand outside the monastery and got back in my car to begin the journey back to Athens. I drove back up the same road I came, and the dogs were still there, just lying on the road, and I cautiously drove passed.
The drive was fairly uneventful, and I thought I could make it back to the city without filling up on gas again. What a mistake. 40 minutes outside the city my gas ran out and I had to merge onto the right side shoulder of the road. I turned the car off, then tried turning it back on, but the juice was utterly spent. I was on top of a small hill on the highway, so I put the car in neutral with the battery going and got the car rolling at a nice slow pace down the hill. That journey lasted about 100 meters until the car stopped again and I burst out laughing. I had just driven a couple thousand kilometers around the mainland, and here I was, 40 minutes from Athens, stranded on the highway. I called the car company to see if they could help, but the guy didn't know any English and was no help. Not quite sure what to do, I found the closest gas station on the GPS, luckily 2 kilometers in front of me, and was preparing to ditch the car and walk on the shoulder of the highway to the gas station until I saw the wonderful blinking hazard lights of the highwayman in the reflection of the rearview mirror. He pulled up behind me and I got out of the car and shook his hand.
Luckily he was fluent in English, and was also good company. I called the car agency back and he spoke with the same guy, yelling something at him in Greek. He gave me the phone back and asked how it was possible they didn't speak English when they rent cars to Americans. I didn't have an answer to that. He then called the gas station and they sent someone over with a small portable tank of gasoline. While we were waiting, I talked to the highwayman who told me he'd been working that job for four years. I said that he must know the entire highway forwards and backwards, to which he responded: "Meter for meter." At that point there was only one thing left to do. I got my bread and nutella out of the car and sat on the metal barrier and went to town on the last remnants of the food source. I offered the man some bread and nutella but he declined, and then I asked him what the most intense thing he'd seen on the job was, to which he responded, "I've seen everything. Severed limbs, severed heads, everything." He said that when a crash happens he's the first one to get there and his job is to make sure that the other cars on the highway are safe. He told me that I was the third car that day that ran out of gas, and I told him that my gas gage was broken. He told me some more about his job, and spoke about it with a clear sense of pride and nobility. The guy from the gas station came and drove up on a dirt road on the other side of a fence next to the highway and threw a plastic container of gas over the fence to the highwayman. He took a magazine page and curled it into a funnel and poured the gas in the tank that way. I had enough in the tank to get me to the gas station. I said goodbye to the highwayman and offered him a tip, but he refused that too. Driving away I was thinking about how lucky I've been the whole semester: I've been in a few situations like this and each time I've met some interesting person with a good heart who enjoys helping. I realize also that though these kinds of situations should be avoided, it's usually when you get yourself into some trouble that you meet the greatest people. Therefore, you can slap yourself on the wrist if you like, but then be sure to embrace your own stupidity with a laugh and smile.
I finally got back to Athens and parked the car. It was raining hard and I checked back into the hostel, my money mostly spent, having survived my road trip and completely satisfied with it. I will never forget those five days wandering over the Grecian mountains, listening to my iPod, seeing the ancient sights, meeting fascinating people, and now equipped with more stories to tell. The end of day five.
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