Damn you, Dutch!!! I'm sitting at the edge of my seat in suspense and you're all "To be continued..."
Also, I've said it before and I'll say it again - you guys are so cool. What an awesome experience to have together (minus the having no passport and no money thing). It sounds weird, but I love your relationship, and the more I read your blog the more I love it.
Curses!
That was just mean. I can't wait for the rest!
Your story is giving me the urge to finally tell people about that handsome but ultimately creepy guy that sort of picked me up in Paris. I've not told anybody because I'm so ashamed of my own naivete. It's good to know nerve-wracking things have happened to other intelligent people.
what's with the trend of two-part stories?? agh! don't you know that people like me who need instant gratification can't handle this kind of thing? suspense! suspense!!
pnuts daddy is so hypersensitive (i call it delusional paranoia) to thieves and criminals when we travel- when you described packing that little bag i thought, yes, and then you should have stuffed it down your pants and up your butt...looking forward to part 2!
the second part of this story is really the best story I have in my entire arsenal of stories.
I had a similar experience passing through Athens a couple of years before you. I spent a few listless days wandering around, taken aback that the beggars were generaly cripples, not the addicted or insane like back at home. The heat, the grime, the beggars, it all made me homesick in an instant. Then I took that same boat as you from Petreaus, but I stupidly thought the trip would take a few short hours, so I bought a deck ticket. I didn't have so much as a coat, much less a blanket. Fortunately some kindly Dutch (no kidding) shared their enormous bottle of vodka with me, so I never noticed how cold it was sleeping there on the metal deck in the middle of the Aegean.
You guys have such great stories. I am so impressed and jealous of all the traveling and "adventures" that you guys have had.
Wonderful story. Can't wait to hear the rest!
Now I really want to go to Greece.;*)
Bill and I have had some wonderful adventures. We were married 4 years prior to having our fist child. I am so grateful for that time we had together making memories that we now tell to our kiddos.
That story makes my heart leap up to my throat. I can't imagine anything more terrifying than being in a foreign country with a rudimentary grasp of the language and absolutely nothing of value or identity.
What a brassy theif, too, to steal the pillow right out from under your head.
wow that sucks. Bring part two so we all can know what happened.
Oh my! We've slept on ferries too but have not had your bad luck yet!
I've traveled extensively throughout Europe (though not Greece, but Spain and Italy can be just as bad) and have never had that happen to me, thank God. I have lived in fear of it, I have stayed awake in fear, and I always lined my shoes with money, just in case. Also kept my passport in one of those dorky dumb-ass pouch things in my pants. I figured even asleep, nobody could get in my pants without waking me (I'm an extremely light sleeper). Note to future adventure travelers, spread your valuables around. If a thief is going to get you, it is likely going to be just one thing - your big bag, your little bag, or your back pocket. But not ALL of the above.
Now I REALLY don't want to go to Greece.
dutch tell story of dutch and wood get robbed then disembark? more story? now?
Next week?! I'm probably going to be thinking about this more than I should.
Du sprichst Deutsch? How come? Anyway, I like to read your site and especially your good'n honest writing style. Keep the good stuff up! But not only the Greeks are criminals 
. Lammi (boyfriend) and I went to France in 2002 by car, we're planning a four week trip around the country. After one week we arrived in Cognac to visit a distillery, of course we parked our car in a watched parking lot. The town was nice and quiet (around noon, all other shops were closed) and we left. An good hour later, we came back and noticed some of our CDs spread on the front seat. Alarm bells on, we took another look and found our bags missing! Even the dirty laundry under the seats! All clothes gone, the climbing equipment gone, Gore-Tex jackets gone...Oh we were furious! With my almost non existent french-knowledge we went to the police. They broke in all the german cars around. Of course, as students, we believed in the goodness of people and had no insurance for our stuff (or were simply to lazy to get one). This was a f.....g expensive vacation, I tell you!!!
I, too, am at the edge of my seat but wanted to comment on something far more important: telling greek myths to your children.
My father did that with both of us and it certainly helped when we were translating them in class years later..not to mention they make wonderful stories when you're waiting for a hot plate of Greek food in Germany!
Soldier on, Dutch!
LOL pnutsmom! My dad's the King of Theft Paranoia -- his youth on the mean streets of Newark led him to stuff cash into his socks and carry a dummy wallet for muggers, complete with an expired license and $5! I was mortified as a kid when he'd dig out his sock-cash to pay for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, but his intoned "Better to be safe..." stayed with me. Now I'm married to a man who takes out *all* the bills in his wallet, fans them out, and bumbles through them like Mr. Magoo to pay for a pretzel on the street in NYC, while I stand there fuming. Up the butt, indeed! ;D
Also, Dutch -- this is setting the bar high!
"the best story I have in my entire arsenal of stories"
this is like the end of Back to the Future II. So much anticipation.
Nothing to say (beyond 'whoa') about your Greece-trip. But my mom (also a Classics major) used to tell me Greek myths as bedtime stories, too. And they really were (and are) as much a part of my mythic vocabulary as, say, ET or Inspector Gadget. I also had this book, which I freakin' loved, and can't recommend enough.
It's kinda like having been raised with a second language sometimes. The other day I was talking to a friend about some recent surgery I had (in which I got a titanium plate on my collarbone), and I said, "I feel like freakin' Pelops."
"Who?" says my friend.
"You know, Tantalus' son."
"Who?"
"You know... gods... dinner... ohmigod that's not dinner, it's his son... underworld... water up to his neck... son rebuilt, gets ivory collarbone?"
"Dude."
90% of my status as an über-nerd is due to the stories my mother told me. Über-nerdom being an entirely positive trait, in my opinion.
You tell the best stories!
Juniper is a lucky little girl, if you're telling her stories like this. Minus any salacious parts, that is. At least until she's five.
I'm your slave for the next installments.
And can I just say that I swear I pissed myself at the line: I smiled at ugly children.
That one will be popping in my head for the next few days. Damn, damn funny.
Thanks for sharing.
Dutch! You are the best storyteller. I hope you are working on a novel somehow, someway because it will be wonderful. Thank you 
Oh my god, a cliffhanger -- how could you?
I loved the part about making a bed together between the seats on the boat, and sleeping in cars and on bus rides when traveling. Been there, done that, got the crick in the neck to prove it.
I love this tale.
Except that I'm suffering from severe cabin fever after being holed up with a newborn for four weeks.
And my mom kindly informed me the other day that she "prayed about it" and will no longer keep the kids for a week while my husband and I go on our annual honeymoon trip.
I hate this tale.
Don't forget to post the rest! I'm waiting with baited breath!
Holy crap! I can't believe your pillow was ransacked! And I can't believe you're making us wait for the conclusion!
Now I'm mad at you.
I CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER! (can you email me the rest but wait to post it 'till next week? I promise I won't tell!)
You have me on the edge of my desk-chair, Dutch. My husband and I embark for our own Greek journey after a trip to Hungary this June.
I can't wait to read what comes next...which is almost always true when I come here. Thanks!
What a great story!! Can't wait for part 2. I'm all about having bedtime stories to the kiddos be greek myths, folktales and nothing remotely cartoon-ified!! I loved those tales as a child.
"The ship passed through winedark waters reflecting the lights..."
Damn, you can write!
Double-damn. We have to wait a week for the rest of it!
My 11 yr. old is in her Greek and Roman Myths phase as we type. Good for you to encourage Juniper so young. Life-long reading habits are a good thing. Her English (and other) teachers will thank you for it.
I bought a handful of old photographs from a vendor in Athens about four years ago and made friends with one of the captains of a ferry that took my friend and I from Santorini to Naxos. One night, drunk on Ouzo I whipped out my handful (about 50 old photographs) including an old passport. He grabbed the photo and burst into tears. Apparently, The man in the passport was the captain's uncle. He hadn't seen him in years. His english was pretty bad so we flagged someone down to translate. He just sat there with the passport sobbing his eyes out and hugging us.
I gave him the passport (of course) and he let my friend and I sit up all night with him, getting stoned and watching the horizon.
That was the last time I was out of the country and I mourn moments like those daily.
One day.
Love your old stories, Dutch.
Spraak u Nederlands met jouw meisje? Het spijt me - mijn Nederlandes is niet goede. I believe it when you say that this is one of your best stories.
I love, love travel stories, and can't wait to hear the 'best part'. I also couldn' help but comment that I was living in Dublin from November 1996 - September 1997, working at American Express on Grafton Street - right accross from your University!
I very much enjoyed this story, not only for the adventure and suspense aspects, but also because it brings back wonderful memories of the summer I spent in Greece after my freshman year in college. As much fun as I had hanging out in Athens and lounging around on a few of the islands, Delphi was what left a lasting impression. Amazing. But that's mostly thanks to my total geekiness and love for all things ancient Greek. I can't wait to read Herodotus to my kid.
We are planning on going to Greece for our honeymoon and taking that same ship from Athens to Crete...I guess I'll put all the valuables in my bra.
Oh my god, I need to know what happens next!!! I can't imagine how awful it would feel to wake up to that.
What is an "asshole rucksack"????? Please link or explain....
Fantastic story; can't wait for the sequel.
it's one of those giant backpacks that makes you feel like an asshole whenever you stumble into a village full of women wearing modest dresses and men with handlebar mustaches wearing white shirts and linen pants. you know, the ones canadians always sew their flag patch on.
oh, and I'll post the rest of this story tomorrow or thursday.
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