Buses, Trains, Boats, and Taxis: More Than Just Transportation

We have just returned from our amazing trip through some of the Greek Islands.  We visited five islands in 10 days: Paros, Delos, Mykanos, Santorini, and Crete.  These are all outrageously beautiful places that were impossible to completely take in only 10 days time.  Because of this many of us altered our normal daily schedules and used the nights as extra time to explore and absorb the places that surrounded us.  This is where public transportation comes in.  The sleep that was nonexistent at night was made up for on the buses, trains, boats, and taxis that transported us from one fabulous place to the next.  I-pods became noise reducers and each other’s shoulders became pillows as we traveled through our island adventure.  The rock of a fairy or the squeal of the breaks on our bus as it looped around cliffside, hairpin corners acted as our lullabies as our sleep-deprived bodies drifted into their much needed sleep sessions.

            When we were caught up on sleep, though, our public transports left us, at the very least, entertained.  The fairies were filled with people of seemingly every different language, backgammon players, and annoying barking dogs.  The buses felt like roller coasters as they swayed and teetered over cliffs and narrow roads.  On trams, you get very close to the local Greeks as they are pushed and shoved into you in an effort to fit everyone onboard.  Taxis are frightening; they run red lights and go the wrong way up one-way streets as the drivers holler into their cell phones as they rocket you to your destination.

            A good description of public transportation from the perspective of a foreign student in Greece would be that it is a very convenient and necessary adventure.