Coming from an eco-community in West Wales, I wanted to travel to Greece for my writing course making the least environmental impact as possible. In these mad times, flying is usually cheaper than any other way of travelling but I was determined to stick to my guns and keep to low level travel. My first stop was to check out
The Global Pass[£288] I chose enabled me to travel on ten days out of twenty-two, although there are other options. Having travelled to London by coach to stay with my brother and his family for the time it took to make my travel arrangements I set off on the 05.25 Eurostar to Paris. Armed with my ticket and my Thomas Cook International Timetable [£13.50] I attempted to plan a trip to Dijon. It seemed I had wasted my money on the timetable, as none of the trains on the station destination boards matched what was in the book. It became apparent that this was due to a strike. This,however was the only time the good book let me down resulting in a slow, piecemeal journey to my destination.
I had a few days to unwind before a relatively short hop to Airolo in Switzerland where I helped my farmer friend make his hay. Heading after, to Czech Republic, I got caught up in the European football chaos which meant I couldn't get my planned overnight train to Budapest. The timetable helped again enabling me to plot an alternative escape route via Munich. The next stop, Budapest, was to stay with relatives of my landlord for a few days of hardcore tourism, before booking my sleeper train to Thessonaliki. This twenty-six hour marathon could have been a nightmare spent in a small compartment with unsympathetic people but I was sharing with a Swedish Greek family going home for the summer holidays to stay with their mother. We had such a laugh, I was almost sorry to get off the train. So, two shorter train trips and a bus took me to Kissos and Kalikalos. Luckily I felt instantly at home there and my journey was worth the effort even more so after the brilliant therapeutic writing course I took.
My return journey was abit more urgent and full-on. I shared a taxi to Volos then took buses across stunning moutain scenery to Igoumenitsa, from where I caught the 24 hour ferry to Venice. I don't know if it happens every time but there was a deck party going on that night and with the full moon I had to join in and dance. Got a few 'whos-this-old-bloke' looks from da yoot but I threw a few respectable shapes. Venice was packed even on a Sunday morning, when I eventually got there after an unexpected hike out of the port,with no directions. There were no overnight spaces on the Paris train but I escaped to Milan and managed to book on the train from there. A cock-up ensured a surprise for the four Italian women who had settled down for the night in their compartment, only to be invaded by a Romanian guy and me just before midnight. I had to beg 15 cents off the Romanian in order to pay for my Metro ticket and just about made the 10.13 Eurostar to London, though I was shocked to find that the single fare this way is more than three times the price coming from and buying in London.
British trains are too expensive so I took a coach to Swansea, bumped into a mate and stayed with him the night, making it four-and-a-half days to get home. But what an end to my adventure.
Pual French, Newport, Pembrokeshire.
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