EbTheRedHead: Day 3 Kalamata

Of course the night before I had to checkout I had bad insomnia. I woke up at 3am in a panic and I couldn't fall back asleep til 7am! My mind wouldn't let me rest. I started to get nervous because I was going to take a bus out to Kalamata. A million thoughts rushed to my head. Luckily I got up in time to catch my free breakfast at the restaurant. I drank my coffee so I could be focused on packing my things. I seriously need to stop shopping. I'm having a hard time closing my luggage! Regardless, I got my 2nd wind once I got out of the shower. Time to be on full alert because I was going in unknown territory.

Don't get me wrong. So far Athens was great to me and that's what I think my problem is. Because of how my mind works, I worried that I was going to have a bad experience at the bus station. Since I was messaging my friend from Italy and Simon at the same time, I calmed down a bit. Simon assured me that the bus station had free wifi, and thank god he was right. The hotel ordered a cab for me and off I went. Of course, the cab driver didn't speak a lick of English. It's terrifying trusting someone you can't speak to drive you somewhere. We tried to exchange some words, and that's when I got a good vibe from him. I assumed he was asking me where was I going, and I answered Kalamata. His eyes lit up. He was the 2nd person who did that to me so far. The 1st guy was a man working at a souvenir shop. He told me most tourists would not head that way but he also reassured me that it was beautiful. So far so good.

I walked into the station and found the ticket booth for Kalamata. I walked up to the guy and paid for a return ticket fee. That ticket was good for 3 months. Not bad for 40 €. The ticket man circled the station where my bus was going to pull into. Station 30-31 was where I was suppose to go. Luckily a priest walked up behind me and asked for a ticket to Kalamata also. I knew to follow him since he was going to where I was heading.

Our bus was not there yet and we both sat by our stations. There were gypsies everywhere trying to sell us pens(?) and wouldn't leave people alone. I was very nervous. The bus station did have wifi and I kept messaging my friend in Italy. She warned me that gypsies usually work in packs and to watch my belongings. I never saw any staff walking around. No assistants anywhere. Again I'm assuming most tourists don't travel via bus and usually head to the port to visit the islands.

I asked a mother and daughter if this was the bus to Kalamata and the girl replied back yes. She seemed young, like a teenager. Her English was broken but at least she understood me.

A man helped me find my seat on the bus and off we went. Luckily no one sat next to me but there was a shady character that did managed to get on the bus. He had no luggage and was very skinny and dirty. I think he was homeless. He wouldn't leave these two guys alone. Even though they spoke Greek, I think he kept asking them where this bus was heading to. He had some screws loose. In the end it turned out to be more of a joke with people laughing at him. I just continued watching the show. The bus driver intervened when he started coming up to him and disrupting the ride. This bus was an express and was not stopping anywhere but Kalamata.

I did managed to knock out during the 3 hour bus ride. As we pulled in I saw my friend waiting for me. I was relieved. I made it to Kalamata!

I use to work for Simon. I've known him since I was 16 years old. We worked together at a parking company and he was my boss. He eventually moved back to Kalamata back in 2009. He drove me around and was excited to show me his city. But first, let's eat!

Kalamata!

He took me to the coastal side of town and we went to a friend's restaurant to have lunch. Again, since I was arriving late in the afternoon, it wasn't the ideal time to eat. We had the restaurant to ourselves. Staff were in the midst of changing shifts. It was a good time for us to catch up to where we were in our lives. The last time I ran into Simon was back in Chicago at the Iguana Café with my ex. So much has happened since then. I ordered lamb for lunch and it came with a side order of fries. I wasn't aware that Greeks love fries.

Catching up at lunch...

I was craving meat so I ordered lamb.

Afterwards, we took another drive around the city before we settled back at his place. There was a big soccer game in the evening and we decided to sneak in a siesta. I finally took a shower as well. That bus ride had no air conditioning!
Kalamata is very humid because of the sea, more so than Athens! Although my friend Simon does not smoke, smoking among Greeks is everywhere. I suspect that 70% of Greeks smoke.
We made our way to a café along the beach to watch the game. I was still pretty full from lunch so I passed on dinner. The café was packed of men, and I was the only woman present. It threw me off but Simon reassured me that most women just aren't into soccer. Women do socialize but would rather be at another type of bar that would cater to their needs.

I have to admit, I was a little intimidated being in a room full of men who looked so serious, but this soccer game was a BIG deal!

The game was intense. The Olympiacos defeated Portugal's Arouca 2-1. I enjoyed watching the crowd's reaction to the game. I felt I had witnessed a huge passion of theirs. Afterwards we took a ride up to a Kastraki, a castle-built restaurant and lounge that overlooks the city and sea. The view is amazing! We continued to have drinks but then I was tempted to try the infamous Greek yogurt. Since I skipped out on dinner I decided to indulge. They served it in a big bowl (of course) with shaved almonds and a side jar of honey. It was delish! It was whipped thoroughly and very cold. We stayed for a while. So far Kalamata was gorgeous!