In the morning we had arranged for the previous day’s taxi driver and his nephew to taxi us to the car rental place. I am almost positive they ran the meter up by a very significant amount, but then again Clarissa got chocolate all over one of their 90,000 Euro taxis, so maybe it was okay.
It took a long time to rent a car even though we had reserved one in advance. As we were waiting we met the nicest men from Turkey who were there to compete in the triathlon the next day. We exchanged info with one of them in the hopes that they will come to Utah to bike or compete someday. After all the paperwork and everything was signed, we finally loaded the car and took off.
I had been very, very worried about driving in Greece. So worried, in fact, that I refused to do it, in spite of having an international driver’s license. I was just as worried about Abe driving in Greece, but it turns out he was a total natural. And the roads were much, much better than expected. It was a huge relief!
As we drove to our Airbnb in Sarakinas, we took the slightest detour to see Thermopylae, the site of the last stand of the 300 fighters from Sparta. I had read that there was not much there, but it turns out the visitor center had a short, 3D video that was excellent for children. It explained the differences in armor, weaponry, and training between the Greeks and the Persions, and it broke the three day battle down into graphics that were very easy to follow. By the end of the movie we all understood how brave, fierce, and ultimately self-sacrificing these Greek warriors were. We were excited to cross the road and stand on the hill where the warriors last stood.
After Thermopylae we drove to our Airbnb, which was in a small country village.
Here is what Mary captured about today in her travel journal:
