Greece Vacation #1: Introduction, Travel, Benefits, Challenges

For 12 days in September, Tom and I took a vacation to Greece with a group of 15 other gay guys and the tour guide. Before I get into the highlights and cool stuff of the trip, There are a few things to explain. First, tour groups can be awesome (the one we used was amazing), but, you never know about the mix of people who will be with you. Today's blog explains a bit about that, travel and some odd things. 

(Photo: Tom and Rob in Chicago waiting for the flight to Greece)

THE TRAVEL- Because we purchased the trip in 2019 for May 2020 the pandemic delayed it to Sept. 2021. Good thing: Everyone MUST be vaccinated against COVID to enter Greece (and travel there). Unvaccinated fools can't get in, thankfully.    Masks are mandatory on airplanes and in terminals (We were okay with that). 

EXTRA FLYING HOURS -  American Airlines took us to Chicago FIRST (backwards from Maryland) and then directly to Greece (because U.S. Citizens couldn't make connections in Europe with COVID they have to fly direct to Greece). So, that added an additional 4 hours of flight time from MD to IL (plus a layover in Chicago). The Greece Flight was 10 1/2 hours UGH. American Airlines folks were wonderful on the flight (but there was NO sleeping for us). 

(Photo: landing at the airport in Athens on Sept. 12)

AIRPORT SHUTTLE & GRAFFITI  - The travel group arranged for a driver to take us from the Athens Airport to the Hotel (it was a 30-40 minute drive). We noticed the highways and buildings loaded with Graffiti, and were surprised by the sheer amount of it. 

FRIENDS ON VACATION - Our friends Bill and Bill went on the trip and we were grateful because we spent a good amount of time with them. We also met a really nice guy named Eric from Calif. whom we befriended and spent some fun time with, too. 

BENEFITS OF A TRAVEL GROUP- Back  in 2016 to Spain with the same travel company and it was wonderful. The group plans all the transportation- shuttles, ferries, etc.; finds great hotels, plans different excursions (you can choose from); provides maps, highlights and answers about food, laundry, and anything else.  And, our tour guide, Shane was fantastic!  

THE NOT-SO-GOOD MIX OF PEOPLE- Okay, here's the uncomfortable part. The mix of people were not good. They ranged in age from 25 to 70, and all were gay men (it was a gay travel group). Many of them had NO shame, were disrespectful to the Greek Culture,  some drank starting in the mornings, some loudly flaunted their sexuality and it was at times uncomfortably embarrassing (we were always among straight people, families, retirees, and Greek citizens) . Some yelled things like "hey, girl" and "there are homos here," and other inappropriate things. One guy made it a point to talk about intimacies and loudly proclaim words like: sex, gay, and body parts- all in front of shuttle drivers, people on ferries, and at hotel breakfasts and swimming pools. It was embarrassing.  So, we separated from the group as much as possible. It's really sad that adults cannot behave appropriately in public places and be respectful of others.

HIGHLIGHT SUMMARY OF WHAT'S TO COME IN THESE BLOGS - We went to Athens on the mainland, and the Greek Isles of Milos, Santorini and Mykonos. So over the next several weeks, we will take you to those places and explore what we found. We did meet and get to know two awesome citizens, one is a ship's Skipper and the other a restaurant host who made us laugh (so we went back). 

NEXT: Ed's Spirit Helps Out at the Airport 

 (He's a spirit that's around us all the time, and helped us out before on trips. You can read about him in my book "Kindred Spirits")