Could it actually be true that after a couple years attempting to travel to Greece that we’re actually going to make it? What was supposed to be a trip to celebrate a significant achievement in 2020, our trip now is just celebrating being able to travel again and maybe we’ll throw in our birthdays too. Of course travel after significant relaxation of rules around Covid means everyone else is also travelling again and with airline and airport staff shortages that has meant new challenges with lost luggage, delayed and cancelled flights frustrating the industry and passengers. This made us rethink our typical overpacking because we had a few connections along the way. And while we really did give it an honest try to pack just carry on, we ended up with a compromise and shared one checked bag and one carry on in addition to our usual backpacks. Fingers crossed we packed smartly.
With all the last minute flight delays and cancellations I will actually believe we’re on our way when we’re in the air but more importantly when we land in Athens. Leading to flight day, there was a lot of researching how the same flights on past days were doing and seeing the occasional cancellations and delays made it a bit of an anxious lead up. Thankfully our first leg left, which was fully booked, left relatively on time. Flight was quite good despite the passengers ahead of me bringing on their pet cat, who just couldn’t get settled and meowed loudly the entire flight.
The latest addition to our travel must haves are air tags for our luggage so we can track where our luggage is should it not make it on the plane. Great items to have but also causes a bit of anxiety when you’re sitting on the plane waiting to depart and you see your luggage is sitting elsewhere at the airport. Needless to say a bit of uncertainty set in as we watched for a good 1/2 hour waiting to see our air tag refresh to show it was on the plane.
Our leg from Toronto to Athens was an hour late in departing with the cabin crew seeming a bit disorganized trying to deal with all the carry on items (wonder if that increase has anything to do with all the lost luggage issues). It changed our packing strategy somewhat. Despite the delay the flight itself was great and the cabin crew very friendly. A red eye 10 hour flight is never that fun but I was able to sleep a few hours which helped a bit when we arrived in Athens. We had a 5 hour layover in Athens before carrying on to Corfu on Aegean Airlines. The Athens airport is not that big, but there is lots of shopping, restaurants, and even a small museum which is worth checking out. The flight to Corfu was an hour and with it being an intra Greece flight we were taken to the plane by bus and boarded on the tarmac. Thankfully our luggage made it to Athens and as we were boarding our Corfu flight we actually saw our suitcase sitting by the luggage loading ramp by the plane and I got to see it get loaded so we knew it was going to make it. The flight was full but not sold out and the row beside us was completely empty so once we were in the air we shuffled over so I didn’t have to sit in the middle seat. It was an uneventful flight but the scenery of the coastlines of mainland Greece and then Corfu below was absolutely stunning. Deplaning was fast and efficient with us exiting the plane again not at a gate but with stairs just outside of the terminal. Our suitcase was the second to unload and we were off in a cab to our resort Domes Miramare, a half hour drive south from the airport along a windy and often fairly narrow two-way road. Driving in Greece is not for the faint of heart particularly when you get into some of the smaller villages and towns.
