Had a really good night’s sleep on the deck. A strong cool breeze but not at all cold. Slept till 0880 and felt a lot better and ready to go again. As soon as we got to Patras we bought crisps, biscuits, water, Smarties, then got straight on the Athens train. It’s narrow guage and dirty. Briefly spoke to some English girls. At midday it was so hot. Get to Athens at 1845 for evening sightseeing then plan an early morning train to Istanbul.

–

I like Athens a lot. Loads of pushers for hotels on the train but we just used our map and left our packs in one. Walked up to the Acropolis and it looks brilliant lit up. Loads of other ancient buildings dotted around, including an amphitheatre with an orchestra. We looked down from the hill above it. Now sitting at a taverna with wine.

–

Have now had most of the wine and am quite merry. Lots of grapes overhead, I tasted one but the waiter gave us a bunch of the nice ones. I gave some to a girl walking past. The waiter has been talking to us about AIDS, drugs, girls, Turkish gold, all sorts.

–

We collected our bags and Barry went to sleep at the station. I spent the rest of the night walking around most of the impressive buildings of Athens. I enjoyed myself a lot and the exercise did me good. It was quite a scare walking alone at 0400. I took a small bread knife! The walking did something to my digestion and I had to have a crap in the trees below the Acropolis.