27/4 - Marathon
My hostel was evil. They told me, on checking in, that I was on the second (third) floor, but it was really the third (fourth), since the first (second) only had a locked door, which presumably fronted the janitor's closet. They also didn't put blankets on the bed, so I had to warm myself ineffectually with my coats on the first night (like my first in Utrecht), since the cupboard where the blankets were put was empty by the time I got to it.
Someone recommended that I not go to Marathon, because last Christmas she and my brother-in-law drove past the place a few times but kept missing it. I was debating whether to go to Marathon or Sounion this day, but when I reached the bus station I'd just missed the bus to Sounion, so I decided to look for the bus to Marathon. Most (or all, I forget) of the regional Attica buses that depart from Athens depart near Areos Park in the north of the city - there isn't a proper terminal, and the buses just park by the street and leave at pre-determined times, but otherwise to the untrained eye it seems extremely disorganised. Bus schedules can't be found at the containers on the pavement that serve for HQs for more than a handful of buses, and although the bus routes are numbered, the route numbers either can't be found on the buses or are displayed on their windscreens with extremely small characters (and only a few buses, like the one to Sounion, have the destinations displayed on them).
Marathon being a relatively unpopular destination, I found it quite hard to find the correct bus and was bounced from bus to bus in search of it; I was told to go to the first bus in the line, but when I went in I was told to go to the second. I also wasn't sure what time the bus would leave - the hostel had helped me call the bus station twice, but twice they'd been put on hold, so I planned to go to Sounion if I couldn't find the bus to Marathon. With such a horrible bus system, it's no wonder this guy I met at the youth hostel just rented a car even though he was traveling alone (he said he was only scared when driving in the city - once he got out it was alright).
The buses were very weird - you boarded them from the door in the middle, not at the front, and got off from the door at the front. Along the way to Marathon, people got off seemingly anywhere - ah, the joys of flexible buses.
The Attica/Athens promotional booklet mentioned in the first post on the Crete trip had described Marathon thus: "Marathon is one of the most beautiful locations in Attica. The way to Marathon is beautiful. On your way you will pass by fields, vineyards, olive groves, wild vegetation, as well as man-made lake Marathon (sic) with its impressive dam with marble coating." In reality, on the way to Marathon I was passing mostly through ugly sub-urban Athens, and then down ugly roads with unappealing mountains, scrub and/or squat buildings by their side.
When I got to the town of Marathon, I decided to see Greece the real way - by foot. Of course, my lacking any other means of transport didn't hurt in coming to this decision. I followed the road signs and walked in the direction of the Lake, where I thought the Battle of Marathon had been fought in 490 BC. Half an hour after getting off the bus, I saw "Lake Marathon Avenue" and I was very happy, because I figured I couldn't be too far from the lake, but a local told me that I was still 7km from the lake. In the end, it took me another 1 1/2 hours to get to the lake.
After at least half an hour of walking, I decided no one was going to want to rape me, so I started sticking out my thumb. Unfortunately, I had no luck (nor did I get any on the way back either). Maybe they thought I was going to rape them.
Lake Marathon
Side of dam
Lake
On my way back I made a lunch/toilet stop in a bakery and had mini-chocolate croissants and chocolate milk. I spilled the chocolate milk on myself, my bag and my jeans. Bah.
On the way back, the thought also hit me that it was the wrong lake. The right lake was the Olympic rowing lake, not Lake Marathon. Argh. I only had a packet of tic tacs in my pocket, picked up from the seat beside me on the plane from Brussels (it was given out free - so much for low cost), so I ate some and sang, hopping to piss off passing drivers enough that they'd try to shut me up by offering me a lift. Unfortunately it didn't work. I needed a stronger mint and an advertising campaign. 2 people were actually sympathetic; one raised his hand from his steering wheel and made a helpless gesture since his car was full, and the other was driving a car which had its boot open, in which sat a man with a camera, with an expensive-looking car following behind. A pity they weren't advertising for tic tac.
While I was walking, my left ankle started hurting. Damn BUC [Ed: Best Unit Competition - a worthless annual event for which SAF combat units torture their Slaves until they pass their SOC and get gold for their IPPTs]. Looks like the physiotherapy is wearing off.
Many roadside shrines can be seen in Greece. These denote locations where people got into accidents, and the shrines are for giving thanks. Since I was on foot I had the opportunity to peek into some of them, and I saw icons inside. This was not unexpected, but what was was one icon I saw which in the Greek tradition was almost totally embossed with silver. Surely there're people who raid the roadside shrines for their contents.
Olympic Stadium (aka a waste of Greek taxpayers' money)
After the stadium, I found a sign showing where all the archaeological sites in the area were. I decided to look for the "Trophy of the Battle of Marathon". After more than half an hour walking down a side road, it was still not in sight, so I gave up and turned back. Really, I don't know why those idiots erected the trophy so far from the battle site - in those days they didn't even have cars. The lack of signs indicating the distance to the trophy, as wellas the various archaeological sites, didn't help (but then, all sane people drive so it doesn't matter for them). After I reached the main road I stumbled down it towards the turning for the tumulus of the Athenians, but at 4:25, after 5 hr 15 mins of almost continuous walking with little rest, I gave up and waited for the bus back to Athens.
In Nuremberg or Munich I saw the McDonalds had this dessert composed of a strawberry (?) pie, 2 dollops of soft serve and strawberry sauce. There was something similar in Athens, except with fudge and normal apple pie. There was also €1 McFlurry!
The only nutrition I had this day was a chocolate donut, 500ml of Coke, 500ml of Sprite, 500ml of Chocolate milk, a packet of mini-chocolate croissants, some tic tacs and a Nesquick Mcflurry. I wasn't hungry after coming back from Marathon. This is what a 5 hr walk does to you.