Friday, 8th June:

Well I was prepared for a bit of a chaotic day, and it certainly ended as such. Firstly, came to the office aiming to catch-up on the backlog of e-mails and correspondence following the two-days I was at the PDP’s.

Then there was the AB Office Move, we were moving from the 2nd floor to the 5th floor (and some of 5th floor to the 2nd floor) – so pretty manic after around 12:00EEST to COB. Was kinda “organised chao’s” in a Greek way – with lots happening all around, lots of boxes, lots of removal men, and somehow someone was “managing” it all! Crickies! Then again, I’ve got all of this to endure again back in Brighton when we move from 154 Edward Street to Telecoms House in Preston Park!!

After about 15:00EEST, I decided to go back to the Hilton, as I wanted some sanity back. Did some work, after which I went back to the room to get ready for my weekend trip to Syros. The problem I almost forgot was that it was Friday afternoon – hitting Rush-Hour, so I took a taxi at 16:30EEST (I was left waiting for a taxi for about 10 minutes, rather to my annoyance), and the boat was scheduled to leave at 17:00EEST. Talk about cutting it fine!

I only started to realise that I was really pushing it to get to the ferry when we were near to the port stuck at the (RED!) traffic lights, with about 4-5 minutes to go. I told the taxi driver of the 17:00EEST deadline; and she indicated it would take another 6-7 minutes to get to the port. Now I was starting to worry, as I didn’t have any other plans for the weekend – this would certainly waste time, money and the trip if I didn’t make the boat – and be pretty embarrassing, and more importantly, I “needed” the time-out!! Well she put her foot down, hooted her way through the traffic, and came straight into the Port in record time, then that’s what I call amazing service!! She pulled up to the boat, hooting at the chaps who were preparing the boat to leave, at 17:00EEST exactly, I paid her €20 (€5 tip!) for the trouble. I grabbed my bags, legged it onto the boat just about 30seconds before it started to leave! Boy this was cutting it fine! It’s amazing how every second and minute counts in these situations!

So any lessons learnt today?

1. Office moves are a pain in the arse, even if it doesn’t directly impact you (my office move involved packing my laptop and hovering around!!)!
2. Never forget the rush-hour traffic in a foreign city and that every minute counts!
3. Greek Taxi’s can work miracles and get you to your destination in a sense of urgency!
4. Flying Dolphins turnaround at the port in record time, so if you are a minute late, you can easily miss the boat, but more importantly is all you need to jump onto the boat!

Well I arrived in the late evening on Friday, and took a taxi to the Dolphin Bay hotel resort in Galissas, which is a nice seaside village on the west-coast of Syros.

As it was getting late, I decided to have a Taverna meal – ‘twas pretty good, did the job, went to one of thje bars in the town, had a few then headed back to the resort for some well-earned rest!

Phew, what a way to end the week, hey?

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