I leave Thessaloniki at 11.30 AM. I have plenty of time before the ferry so it will be a leisurely drive. Again, the route is scenic as I head west on very good quality roads. The roads climb and there are a large number of tunnels as we weave through the mountains. I figure I will get to the ferry about 4, sort out the tickets and chill until the ferry leaves. I never figured that Igoumenitsa would be the wild west and potentially one of the most dangerous places I have encountered on the trip so far.
After another scenic journey I descend into Igoumenitsa. It is 4.15 PM and I am more or less on schedule. I park the car and head into the terminal building. It is a large building with ferry company offices, food outlets and souvenir shops. There are only about 6 people in the whole place. The Endeavor Lines office is closed, but this is to be expected as the ferry doesn’t leave until 1 AM. Coffee is the order of the day as it is likely to be a long night. I approach a coffee bar where a man is seated talking to a lady behind the counter. I order coffee and sit down. I start to work over the route in my head once I arrive in Italy the next day. The man decides to start up a conversation. He asks where I have come from, where I am going, where my car is and whether England will win the World Cup. He seems a nice guy but keeps asking questions. My usual response to people asking questions like this is to ask whether they are a policeman. I ask him. He says he is and produces his ID. Finally, I have been caught out using the policeman line. I laugh and luckily he sees the funny side. I buy him a cup of coffee and he warns me that Igoumenitsa is a dangerous place and that I need to keep a close eye on my car. He explains that the Greeks have a big problem with Bulgarians since they were admitted to the EU. This would explain the treatment of the Bulgarian cars at the border the day before. Apparently, organised gangs travel into Greece and cause havoc stealing cars and anything else they can lay their hands on.
After another coffee I decide to head back to the car, heeding the advice of Kostas the cop. I decide that the dive knife in the boot would be better kept close to me in the car. I recline the driver seat, lock the doors and try to catch some z’s. I am in the land between awake and sleep when I become aware of someone close to the car. Just as I open my eyes, someone tries to open the rear passenger door. I jump up and reach for the dive knife. The guy sees me and takes off. I get out of the car, leaving the knife on the passenger seat, and watch as he runs across the car park and jumps in a Bulgarian registered car and takes off at high speed. Kostas had not been exaggerating. At 6 PM I am standing outside the car stretching my legs and looking West wondering whether the sunset will provide a photo opportunity. A car, again with a Bulgarian plate, pulls up behind me and the driver, who is alone, gets out of the car and asks where the car comes from. I tell him Qatar. I suspect this is a distraction ploy and move to the front of the car where I can see all around. The man is overweight and and lights a Marlboro cigarette after removing the filter. He is wearing a singlet, shorts and flip flops. I figure if anything happens he will not be able to run very far or fast. He cuts to the chase, and asks if I would be willing to carry a package to Italy for EUR 500. He says he has an address in Brindisi for delivery. He will pay me EUR 250 now and I will get the rest when I deliver the package. I decline and he doubles the offer to EUR 1,000. I tell him again I am not interested and he gets the message. I am amazed at what goes on in this town. But it isn’t finished yet.
As I am talking to the man I notice a minibus with Bulgarian plates arrive at the terminal building. A group of youngsters get out and head into the building. There is one man and about 8 women. I guess it must be a school trip. I get back into the car and try to visit the land of nod again. Within about half an hour there is a tap on the passenger window. I look up and a young girl, probably no older than 15 is standing there. She is one of the group from the minibus. I put the key in the ignition and wind down the window about 6 inches and ask what she wants. In short, she offers to perform a sexual act on me in exchange for a packet of cigarettes with a further variation for two packets. I start laughing, which doesn’t go down to well (No pun intended). I try to explain that I don’t do that sort of thing on first dates and that I like to be wined and dined first. She doesn’t understand this. She gives me the finger and storms off.
By 10 PM the terminal building has become much busier. I am still laughing over the events of the day so far when a huge commotion breaks out outside the terminal. It is a full on brawl and seems to involve about 20 people. Sirens are coming from everywhere as the local police descend on the place. Police dogs emerge from vans and the commotion seems to be under control. An ambulance arrives and two people are carted off. I go to the terminal building and see Kostas the cop with blood on him. I ask if he is ok and he tells me the brawl was between a group of locals and Bulgarians. Two of the Bulgarians were stabbed in the fight and all of the participants have been arrested. He asks how I spent my time and I tell him the events of the day. He laughs and says the next time I travel not to do it in a Range Rover. I take his point.
I return to the car. At midnight I drive onto the dock to wait for the ferry. The Ioanian Queen docks and 3 cars and 10 lorries are boarded in no time at all. The ferry leaves 15 minutes early at 12.45 AM. The ferry looks almost new and is clean and comfortable. I hadn’t booked a cabin for some reason. I find a couch and curl up figuring any sleep will be a bonus.
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