Manjula goes blogging...

Getting to turtle beaches is often an adventure in itself. It does not have to be a remote beach- just an unfamiliar country, culture, and language can make things very interesting. I arrived in Athens, Greece and knew that to reach Vounaki Beach I had to get to Kalo Nero in the Peloponnesus. Tried to describe to one of the bus drivers what I wanted to do - he seemed to understand and dropped me off in the middle of the city, and mumbled something to an elderly passenger. Before I could say anything, the old lady had picked up my bags and we set off on a fast trot across Athens and I was delivered at a bus terminal. Up at the ticket counter, my conversation with the agent went like this:
M: Is there a bus to Kalo Nero?
Agent: Nay
M: Really?
Agent; nay, nay
M: oh dear! no bus today??
Agent: Nay, nay
Finally he showed me the bus schedule and something clicked. I realized that “nay” in Greek is “yes”! I could have hugged the man! Got on to the bus and at about midnight, thanks to the woman next to me, I was dropped off at a street corner - the town was asleep and in complete darkness. I watched the rear lights of the bus disappear into the night. Okay! now what?? As I was pondering my fate, a short man came peddling on his bike out of the darkness - he belonged to the turtle project. Hooray! I had finally arrived in Vounaki…