Saturday at the Olympics

I got up at 7:30 or so and headed down to breakfast. It was a buffet affair, and I was seated at a table with two American women and a group of French people. It turns out that they had all booked accommodation in central Athens, but soon before arrival they had been told the hotel was overbooked so they would be staying on the Aegean I, which would be docked in the Athens port of Pireaus. Then when they arrived they found the ship was not in Pireaus but in Lavrio. So on the whole there were not particularly happy! Especially as they had not yet received a refund on their expensive Athens hotel accommodation. It was OK for me to be in Lavrio because I knew that I would be a long way from Athens, but it must have been awful for them to have their plans so affected!

I had an enormous breakfast: rolls with ham and swiss cheese, a muffin, pancakes and bacon. I figured I had to try and get my $300 worth! Especially as I would be leaving too early for breakfast tomorrow. After breakfast I had to rush to the bus stop, and I just made it in time for the 8:30 bus. The bus driver said that the bus was going to the airport and then to Athens... I thought that the bus leaving at this time went directly to Athens, but I decided that I would just get out at the airport and catch the metro in to town.

After some more unnecessary stops (an old lady got on at one stop and got off at a cemetery about 500m down the road) we arrived at Markopoulo (the town where the equestrian and shooting events take place). The bus driver said that people for the airport should get off here and wait for the next bus, so I did so (this also happened last night, but then I went straight from one bus to another). One bus came and went, but a bus company person said it wasn't the right one. When the next bus came I'm sure the driver said 'airport', but I think I must have misheard him as the other man waiting for the airport did not get on (although I didn't notice this until later). I only realised I was on the wrong bus when a lady came round collecting tickets, and I showed my ticket to the airport and she said that this bus was going to Athens. So a change in plans, but didn't really matter to me either way. She tried to get me to pay more money, but as a ticket to Athens is actually cheaper than that to the airport I refused, and eventually she gave up. So huzzah, I've finally scored a point against Greek transport systems!

So I arrived in Athens at about 10, I had a rough idea where I was as a man on the bus had told me which metro station we would be near, but I found an information point (just like for Sydney 2000 and for the World Cup they're everywhere and staffed with lots of different language speakers) and procured a street map. So I went on a long walk to the center of Athens and then wandered around all the tourist areas for a while.

I headed off to the Olympiakos Kentros Athina (or something like that… OAKA, anyway) at about 12. It was surprisingly easy to get there, it only involved one train, cost a little over $1 and I had a seat the whole way! Just the way it should be. On arrival I had to queue a short time to collect my tickets (I needed to present a printout from the internet and my passport), and then I went in to OAKA itself.

I’ve already mentioned how impressed I was with the entrance to OAKA, but now I have some pictures:









I spent the next few hours wandering around the complex, although it was extremely hot so I tried to stick mostly to the shade. I spent about an hour inside the (air-conditioned) merchandise tent. The most popular item seemed to be lanyards (cords that go around your neck for security passes etc). About half the people seemed to be wearing one for either their Olympics identification or for their tickets, and had been completely sold out in the complex. I had seen some back in Athens so I decided to go back there later and pick one up, as I’d quite like one to wear to work! Some things seemed ridiculously expensive – keyrings for €19, silk scarves for €50 and (quite plain and unattractive) polo shirts for €45 – while others seemed to be very reasonable, like great backpacks for €25, or good quality sandals for €20.

I also spent time in McDonalds getting a sundae and sitting in the shade watching the diving, just had to escape the heat! I also walked to the main Olympic stadium and got a photo with it and the torch:





It was time for the water polo so I headed over. I hadn’t realised that it was in the same arena as the diving, and there were divers finishing their warm-down as I walked in, I wish I’d gone a little sooner and might have seen more! My seats were a little disappointing, right in the corner, but I still had a good view:





The match itself was brilliant, just a shame about the result with Greece getting up by 1. I was a bit disappointed with the attitude of the crowd, booing the Australians when they were introduced and at occasions throughout the match when they were on the attack. I guess it’s all relative – Soph gets upset at the Raiders crowd (including myself of course!) booing the opposition as they enter the field – but to me the Olympics are different, I don’t think any competitors should be booed. Anyway, here’s a photo of one of the swimoffs at the start of each quarter:





I decided to pretty much head straight home after the water polo had finished, as I had such an early start tomorrow. I went via Monastiriki and picked myself up a lanyard and a ticket holder. I had a bit of a wait for the bus back to Lavrio but it all went smoothly. I got a gyros and an icecream for dinner, headed back to the ship, packed up everything and went to sleep.