London to Athens, 3 days by bus...

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London to Athens, 3 days by Bus...

It seems crazy but back in 1980 there were no cheap flights, as there are now, however, there was something called the "Magic Bus".
It was advertised in the Youth Hostels in London notice boards as the most economical way to get to Athens, and it was. It only cost around 30 British Pounds. 
They said it was a great road trip and that it would be an unbelievable experience, and it certainly was!

First, I must tell you briefly about my arrival experience in London...May 17, 1980

After leaving Mexico I had no clue how things would unravel...
I landed in Houston and went on to get on my Pan Am flight to London...

We landed in London's Heathrow Airport, where a friend of mine from Mexico was supposed to be waiting for me with some friends he was staying with. They were going to take me to my Youth Hostel in Chelsea, it was a good plan as I had no clue what to do, however...things didn't quite work out as planned...

After I collected my luggage on arrival I proceeded to the passport control area, I queued up like everyone else and when it was my turn I went to the counter, feeling quite confident. 
I had been told in Mexico that I didn't need a Visa to travel to the UK and that I would be given a Visitor's Visa on arrival, sweet as, I thought...
Then the lady at the desk asked me for my passport and I handed her my Mexican Passport and she looked at me...
Then she asked, in a very strong Yorkshire accent, "how long are you planning to stay here? and How much money have you got?"
I couldn't quite understand her, so I said...what? with an innocent look on my face...and said, excuse me?
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She repeated what she said, and I still couldn't get it...so I only stared at her...
Then she asked me, very slowly..."Do - you - speak- English?" I smiled and replied, I do, Do you? I asked, sarcastically...
She didn't like that...

She, asked again, "how long are you planning to stay and how much money do you have?" and then said, "please show me your money"... 
I took out my Traveller's Cheques proudly, a total of $2,000 USD and said there you go...
I'd like to have a 6-month Visitor's Visa please, I said.
She looked surprised and asked, "are you intending to work in the UK?" 
I said promptly, no way, I'm on Holiday...

Somehow, she didn't like me and my answers, and she asked for assistance over the radio...
A man came and said, "follow me"...

I was taken into a "small interview room" where I was questioned for 3 hours...about the same, how long I was planning to stay and the money I had and my intentions for being there...
I stood my ground, a bit shaken by the interrogation, and said, - look I don't even know If I'll be here for only a week or 2, I just said 6 months to have flexibility... I was evidently quite naïve and didn't know about the problems they had with illegal immigrants in the UK...

Eventually, they gave in, they took my passport and stamped it, giving me a 6 Month Visitor's Visa, and sent me on my way...
(I have just taken a look at my very first passport...Yup, it's right there on page 13, by immigration officer 547, Heathrow.
it says...Leave to enter for six months. Employment Prohibited)

After that ordeal, my friend, unable to reach me or see me at the arrivals lounge had left, understandably, so I was left at the mercy of the famous London Taxi Cabs...as I was coming out of the airport a man said..."Taxi Sir?" 
Yup, thanks very much, I said..."Where to?" he asked, and I handed him the address for my Youth Hostel in Chelsea.
"Right Sir, not a problem," he said...

I was relieved that all that hassle was behind me, I had my visa, and I was in a classic Black London Cab!
How cool is that? I thought...

Until we arrived and he said, "That'll be 19 pounds Sir"...What?
I had no idea about the cost of Taxis or anything else and thanks to my dad, I was able to pay, he had just given me a 20-pound note as we said goodbye at the airport in Mexico...

Well, there you go I said to the driver, keep the change...
Well thank you, sir, enjoy your stay in London"...
Wow, that was some first experience and unexpected into the real world...


I had only been in London for about 5 days and, to be frank, the weather was horrible, the sky was grey every day and it was raining and freezing cold. Well, what could I expect, it was right at the beginning of winter so I shouldn't have been surprised, but being my very first backpacking adventure, I had no idea what to expect, truthfully speaking...

All I knew was that I was ready to head out for warmer weather and a more affordable place to hang out.
So, as I was going to head down to Israel at some stage, I figured I'd best be on my way sooner rather than later.

So, they said it'd take 3 days on the road, big deal, I thought...We'll enjoy the ride and the views and the scenery along the way while meeting some new people...it can't be that bad...
Well, as a matter of fact, it wasn't that bad at all! 

The journey was amazing, from the moment we went across the 'English Channel' by ferry the entire trip from then on was sensational and made some great stops along the way.

However, there was a challenge with the loo on the bus, so we had to wait till we got to the next toilet stop if we wanted to go and also some of the stops were in the middle of the night, which was rather inconvenient.
We'd have to make the most of each stop and eat something if we were hungry.
I did all right most of the way, until we got to what used to be Yugoslavia, where we made a stop in the middle of the night.
It was freezing outside and snowing...and as we got out of the bus at this "TruckStop" place and we could see that smoke was coming out of the chimney and something smelled good!

In we went and they had lots of burgers on the grill cooking for the customers inside, they looked amazing and without hesitation some of us ordered one right away. Inexpensive, hot and delicious!!

The perfect burger, I thought... until a few hours later back on the bus where my stomach started making noises I'd never heard before, or maybe I had, but they seemed louder than ever, and I had to control myself, the next stop was actually the terminal in Athens, so I figured I'd hold it in till then.

I had the sweats and was shivering like crazy.
I felt like I was ready to explode all over the bus as my big "Hello Athens, we made it here!"! 

But no, I managed to control myself for a while longer until we actually got to the Youth Hostel in Athens, where, before checking in or anything else I asked the dude at the reception desk...
"Excuse me, where's the loo?" .... well...
Helloooo Athens!
(Here's the road map we went through)