Greece to London by train and ferry: Leg 1 – Zakynthos, Greece to Ancona, Italy
By Ching Lee
There was a moment on the ferry that I thought, ‘families should travel like this more often’. I was looking out across the calm Adriatic Sea, between the Italian and Balkan peninsulas. The sun was warm and we were sheltered from the wind, listening to the sound of our children’s laughter as they played tag on the top deck.
We were in the middle of a two week trip to Greece and Italy (Summer 2009). The aim was to discover how feasible and enjoyable a green family summer holiday could be. In the previous week, the children had seen for themselves the importance of travelling responsibly, when we stayed on the Gerakas Peninsula of Zakynthos, one of the last nesting sites of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle. (Read more about our stay here).
We had flown directly from London to Zakynthos, but now we were on a more relaxed journey back to London, via Italy and Paris.
Our journey had started the previous morning at the bus station in Zakynthos town. With our bags loaded onto the bus, we travelled all of 20 minutes to the port where we boarded the local ferry for the hour long trip to Zakynthos to Kilini. Our bags and the bus were expertly reversed onto the ferry and we would meet again in Kilini.
There’s something very regal about sailing out of a harbour. As we shouted and waved goodbye to Zakynthos, the memories of our wonderful week seemed to stay with us for longer as we sailed alongside the coast of this beautiful Ionian island. Being cocooned in a plane just doesn’t compare. On the ferry, we were still witnessing the hustle and bustle of life in Zakynthos, still feeling the sun on our faces, still marvelling at the beautiful views around us.
It’s exhilarating to sail into a harbour too. OK, so it was only Kilini, but it was a taster of things to come. From Kilini, it was another hour (on the same Zakynthos bus) to Patras.
Patras port was lined with huge international ferries and our hopes of being conveniently deposited by our Anek ferry were quickly extinguished. I don’t think the impromptu game of ‘Find Anek’ was entirely appreciated by the children (nor us for that matter), but our excitement soon returned as, once on board, we were carried smoothly by escalator up to Reception. The ferry was a far cry from the ones we’re used to
crossing the English Channel. Think cruise ship and you’ll get the picture.
Excitement turned to joy as the children saw the bunk beds in our cabin and two sets meant no arguments as to who was going to get the top bunk. The overnight 22 hour sailing meant we had plenty of time to explore (and enjoy) the facilities on board: restaurants, bars, lounges, shops and even a swimming pool. A cabin was definitely the most comfortable choice for a family, although plenty of people had opted for airline seats and even sleeping on deck.
The crossing was unbelievably calm. The mint tea and ginger biscuits I had packed to combat seasickness were thankfully not required. In fact, the beds in the cabin were very comfortable and we woke up the next day, refreshed and looking forward to our next week in the beautiful Italian region of Le Marche.
We spent the last hours before our arrival in Ancona on deck. The journey so far was proving a big hit and a success. We had reduced our carbon footprint and we arrived in colourful Ancona, certain that we would be travelling by ferry, rather than plane, to Greece again.
Still to come: Leg 2 - Ancona to Paris.
