Life In an airport

To meet our scheduled departure from Athens for the fligt to Samo we set the alarm for a time far too early and apart from missing exits and directional signs around Athens airport and abnandoning the rental car on an on-ramp to the motorway we had a smooth trip to the airport.  Checking in was simp[le once we had found that although our e-ticket had Aegean Airlines in bold letters across the top, we were actually flying with Olympic Air.  Through security and a couple of hiccups while they frisked me and dug through my daypack to find a small pair of pliers and the the wait began.  Sitting at the gate we were informed that our flight was about to board and the bus to the aeroplane was positioned outside the gate door.  Then nothing happened. Then the bus drove off - empty. The we were told something in. Greek.  A while later an English translation was found and relayed to say that due to weather conditions at Samos our flight was delayed and that we would be told what was happening in half an hour.  The another half hour, Then another half hour. Then another Greek announcement and a surge towards the counter - translation was proviided and we found that the flight was cancelled and we had to go back to the checkin counter to book another flight.  Arriving at the checkin we were told a special flight had been arranged for 6:00 and we were given new boarding passes and a lunch voucher.

During our morning in the departure lounge we had made the acquaintance of a delightful woman travelling with 3 great kids.  They had just arrived on a from Los Angeles and were going to a house they own in Samos town.  As she spoke fluent Greek she was a great help in finding out what was going on and we hung very close to the family.  She also gave us a lot of good information about Samos and the way of life there.

Anyway after spending 3 hours dawdling over lunch with the three kids draped over chairs in various states of awareness we headed back to go through security again and hang around until the gate number was displayed.  Then we waited.  And waited. And an announcement came that the flight was delayed due to weather.  All other flights from the airport were rolling out, but we waited.  Since flights are possible to Samos only during daylight hours we realised that it was unlikely that we would be leving the ground that night.  By this stage temppers were wearing thin and objectionable people around us became more so.

Eventually the expected announcement was made and a mad dash ensued to baggage claim to retrieve our luggage and up stairs to try and get some accommodation and rebook for the next day.  We were rebooked for 9:00 and waited in line to see where we would spend the night while the group behind us droned on that the weather forecast was no better for the next day. All we could hear from the head of the queue was that there was a shortage of accommodation and ..../  However when we meekly handed over our boarding passes we were given a meal voucher for diner and breakfast and the gir turned to the next in line.  Gillian said "WHAT ABOUT OUR ACCOMMODATION" and the girl turned withoiut a word and disappeared into a back room.  We waited, and waited, and waited, and suddenly she rushed out, thrust a bit of paper into our hands and said "get receipts for the taxi" and dismissed us.  After oining a melee of people witing for a taxi we gave the driver the paper and asked "how far?".  "Half an hour " was the reply - by this stage it was nearly 10:00pm and we were tired and uncertain whether the dining room at the hotel would still be open.  After a scenic trip down the coast with a very pleasant taxi driver he stopped outside a very swanky hotel and gave the doorman our bags.  We of course were dressed for a casual day on the beach on a Greek island and looked totally out of place.  While signing in the woman next to us was told her room was NZ500+ a night - a little beyond our usual budget.

Anyway, after dumping our bags in the room, we headed for the restaurant and despite our appearance were given a table on a long balcony overlooking 2 fabulous swimming pool complexes and looked over the most expensive menu we had seen for a long time.  Nothing daunted we ordered and enjoyed a supberb meal.  On leaving I went to pay for the wine which was not covered by the voucher and in the end had to be taken to the other side of the hotel as I wanted to use a credit card to pay.  We finally fell into bed after midnight with an alarm set for 6:00am when room service had been asked to provide breakfast as our tame taxi driver was picking us up at 7:00 and the dining room did not open till a later time.

We arrived back at the airport with no great hopes of flying to be greeted by many familiar faces.  One group had ended up stuck in the airport overnight with only a voucher for a snack meal - we had been lucky.  Anyway when we were all on the bus going out to the plane there was a very cheerful atmosphere and when we finally touched down in Samos, after an "interesting" landing (the approach to the runway is blocked by a mountain so a 90 degree turn is required then heavy braking on the short runway) there was spontaneous applause.

Of course our hotel transport was not available and we were told to take a taxi.  Not us - we grabbed a rental car and headed west down the island.  More on this later.