Day 86: Athens Flight to the UK

Monday, 12th September 2022

An Early Start

Despite setting the alarm for 4:30 a.m., we were already awake before it sounded. After a quick shower, we packed our last few bits of luggage and waited outside for the owner’s partner to drive us to the airport.

Athens Airport

It took less than ten minutes to get from the apartment in Koropi to the Athens Airport terminal. Our flight was due to depart at 7:05 a.m., so we had plenty of time to get through security and have some food. Marion only had hand luggage, but I needed to use the Ryanair bag drop for my suitcase. Luckily, the queue was small, so a few minutes later, we were past security and walking down the long terminal building to get to our departure area.

In need of caffeine, we bought tea and coffee from a food stall and some pastries. The coffee was fine, but the croissants weren’t particularly nice (is airport food ever good?!), but it staved off the hunger pains well enough.

Flight to the UK

It looked like our flight was going to be on time. We began boarding at about 6:45 a.m. Unfortunately, Marion and I weren’t sitting together as I’d pre-paid for my seat (2F), and she wanted to save money, so she had an allocated seat further back (22E), but neither of us minded as we tend to sleep or read our Kindles during flights anyway.

The flight itself was uneventful, and we landed back at London Stansted Airport just before 9 a.m. local time. Once again, the queues were short through passport control, and my suitcase was the eighth one off the luggage carousel, so by 9:30, we were outside waiting for the shuttle bus to the car park. We arrived at Marion’s car at 9:45, ready to drive home.

The End

Well, that’s the end of my second extended Greece trip. Mostly, I write these blog posts as a diary for me to reflect on in the future, but if you’re reading this, I hope it’s been helpful or given some insight into life travelling around the Greek islands.

I tend to go back and rewrite posts over time as I remember new things or realise that parts of the content can be made more exciting, so do check back again if you can.

Although I date the posts based on the actual trip date/time, I write most of the content retrospectively once I’m back in the UK, based on notes that I take while I’m in Greece – it means less time spent on my laptop and more time out exploring/enjoying Greek life. The notes are crucial, as it takes me a long time to get all the posts written (real life gets in the way), so I’m writing this final entry on the 17th of October, 2023, more than a year after I returned! I still remember the trip like it was yesterday, thanks in no small part to the notes and previous posts.

I’ll be writing a separate trip retrospective post soon, much like last year, to recap the 85-day journey, identifying the highlights and things I could’ve done better. I’ll link it here when it’s done. Thanks again for reading.