Nothing to Declare (I hope)

Trip Start Sep 07, 2008
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Trip End Dec 09, 2008


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Flag of Greece  , Attica,
Tuesday, September 9, 2008

First we see Corfu, the westernmost island of Greece as we fly over, dropping down through the clouds to land on the other side of the mountains from Athens. Then I end up standing in a lot of lines. First there's the line to get off the plane. Then there's the line for "passport control," where I get the first international stamp on my passport. Then there's the line to retrieve the luggage, and my big checked bag arrives blessedly on time and intact. Then there's the line at Customs, and I walk through with nothing to declare. I don't know what "nothing to declare" actually means at Customs (another bit of common sense I apparently missed), so I hope this doesn't come back to bite me on the return trip.

Finally there's the line of people waiting outside the exit from Customs, all of them holding signs for the person or tour group they're retrieving. I've arranged to be met here by an English-speaking taxi driver, but he's nowhere to be found Approaching Athens
Approaching Athens
 . I lug all three of my bags back and forth, back and forth through the crowd, dragging my eyes across every sign, hoping this time my name will be on one of them. Half an hour passes, and I'm trying not to get worried. I feel unarmed without a cell phone.

It turns out the airline had told the taxi driver that our flight had been delayed, when in actuality it was rather early. When he eventually walks through the door, my very nice taxi driver turns out to be a Ph.D. in the chemical analysis of prehistoric pottery. He's from England, and he's working here in Greece as the administrator for the Canadian archeological digs, and just moonlighting as a driver catering to Americans for extra euros!
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