Athens.
Position:       37:56.20N       23:39.59E
May 15th, 2013

What a great marina!

Great staff, who were extremely helpful!

We were soon moored – ‘bow to dock’.

Once settled we were able to look around us. Oh gosh!
Owing to our draught we were given a berth in the big yacht pond and surrounded by 120ft plus super yachts.

Of course John had to check in with the authorities again. Remember, you have to check in and check out with the port police at EVERY port.

The crew sent John back to bed again!
That was clearly enough exertion for him!
John was complaining that he was fine and wanted to help clean to boat up. Everyone ignored him.
Bob, Les & Cathy did a wonderful job of washing the boat down.

We all felt that this marina was a good place to recover for a few days - chemists and doctors all nearby if needed. 

Gosh!
Piraeus, Which is the actual port that people think of as Athens, is so very depressing. 
You can see the financial crisis in Greece everywhere. The parks are not kept up anymore, many businesses have collapsed leaving empty units, garbage everywhere, streets need cleaning and a very depressed look on everyone’s faces.

The area by the marina was really run down and what was once had been a beautiful park where the 2004 Olympic sailing venue had been was now a wasteland of weeds and graffiti in fact there was graffiti everywhere. Why is it that the world seems to have picked up this disease to daub spray can paint on beautifully designed architecture and reduce them to the same rubbish tips that those people must be living in themselves. 

Bob, Cathy & Les went out for dinner leaving  John at the boat - who is feeling a little better now.  
John was finally on the mend but despite his protestations he was too weak for sightseeing just yet.  Meanwhile, once Bob and Cathy were sure of John’s recovery, they decided to make their plans to leave and visit another Greek island for a few days by ferry before departing for Toronto.

At this marina they bring fuel in diesel trucks.
So we ordered some fuel and arranged for delivery to us. What an excellent service. They drove to our boat and filled the tank – No effort from us.
The marina is new, just a little out of town and perhaps a little too close to a gypsy encampment. There was an auditorium nearby too! This meant we were able to listen in for free to all the latest gigs until the wee hours of the morning – whether we wanted to or not! Every night there was amateur, unofficial car racing around the streets near the marina well into the morning.  There also seemed to be contests on who had the loudest boom box in their car.  They all did so much screeching racing around these streets that their tires must have been worn out every evening.
What a waste of money!
The marina seems to have been designed for the ‘storage’ of super yachts lying ready for their wealthy owners. Athens airport, being a strong international hub and Athens itself being relatively close to many of the islands that one might wish to explore makes this location a great place to keep your super yacht and station your crew.
After a quick look at Google, we roughly estimated that the 12 super yachts around us were each valued at between $30 million and $100 million each – plus the cost of the helicopter that seemed to be ferrying one set of passengers around!
Equality of wealth is a wonderful thing!

Of course NO visit to Greece is fulfilled without a visit to the Acropolis – some say the origins of civilization.
Hmm.., maybe. 
Whatever, it is an amazing place and unlike other parts of Greece the complex is really well thought through, perfectly executed, modern, clean and thoroughly well organized! Take 10 gold stars!

The sheer scale of the Acropolis takes your breath away. Walking amongst these huge buildings, the Parthenon, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena is fascinating.
For that time in history.
You could feel the power the grand masters must have wielded over the population and how the masses could only have been in total awe of their masters. It took us about two hours to walk amongst the ruins and soak in the atmosphere.
We then went onto their recently opened ‘Acropolis Museum’. Wow.
There are so many important historical artifacts that they had to build a purpose designed building for them all. The museum was built right on top of ancient Athens. They erected a glass floor on the main level so you can see the excavations continuing to this day, rooms, water systems, etc.
The layout of all the artifacts they have brought down form the Acropolis was extremely well done. You could clearly see the exquisite carvings and how colorful it would have been.
The Acropolis area is a ‘must do’ sight.
From the Acropolis we walked to the historic district. Full of tiny streets and shops with a great atmosphere and full of happy shoppers!

Oh! Could this the best deal ever?
We bought a kilo of cherries for 2euro!

On our last day in Athens we took a taxi to the central port of Piraeus about 5km away and enjoyed lunch at the old marina. Very busy boating area full of restaurants. 
It’s sad, but as a live aboard yachtie you always notice such things as chandlers and supermarkets because they are never around when you need them! Yup, sad isn’t it!
..and, being a live aboard yachtie, we had to see the chandlery and provisioned ready for the next part of our adventure.