Arriving at Andros

by Irma Havlicek
Powerhouse Museum Online Producer

On the afternoon of Tuesday 17 October, the Zagora team met at a sidewalk café at the port of Rafina, on the east coast of mainland Greece, to await the 5.30pm ferry to the island of Andros.

Most of us had arrived from Australia either that day, or the day before and had one night in Athens. However we all seemed remarkably jetlag-free – maybe it was due to the enthusiasm about the great adventure of discovery we felt we were all about to embark on.

We arrived at the port of Gavrio on Andros on schedule at 7.30pm, and Meg drove the van, with Stavros aboard, to where we will be staying for the period of the dig: the Kantouni Pensione and Café at Batsi. The rest of us took the bus to Batsi (which leaves shortly after the ferry docks).

We’d been told our accommodation was 50 metres from the beach which we thought was pretty good. However we arrived, to find the beach was actually about 20 metres from the beach – literally just across a narrow road. A thirty second walk to the beach! (However, this is a rarity in archaeological accommodation, which is more usually in a desert in rudimentary accommodation, or in tents.)

Meg drove the van, loaded with gear, onto the ferry, and the rest of us walked aboard. We found out who we were rooming with, and took our luggage upstairs. The project has hired the whole first floor of a charming pensione for the accommodation of the team. Most of us were in rooms with either two or three single beds – so, sharing with one or two others. We all have ensuite bathrooms.

There is a large open air dining area at the front where you hear the wind through the trees and the sound of the ocean lapping the shore. We had a delicious dinner, provided by our Kantouni hosts (more posts about food on Andros later), and then headed up to bed around 10pm, knowing we had to get up early for breakfast at 6am, with departure in the team van scheduled for 7am. Would we, jet-lagged as we were, wake up and make it down in time for the van departure? You’ll have to read the next post to find out….