A very short drive into Ancona brought us to the port ticket office where we picked up our tickets for the ANEK ferry to Patras. Unlike Dover and the Channel Tunnel where you are told exactly where you need to queue, Italian ineficiency meant that we were left with absolutely no idea as to which queue to join and only when Jane got out and asked the man were we reluctantly assigned to a lane. Many vehicles were picked out and moved to different lanes, often involving other vehicles having to back up. We were picked out and we thought that we were lucky to get on early only to discover that we had to back almost the whole length of the car deck and placed in a small slot. It was obvious that we were going to be one of the last vehicles off at Patras. Still, we weren't in a hurry! Unfortunately, we were too early for 'Camping on Board' where you can sleep in your motorhome during the night, so we had to book a cabin and leave Cara surrounded by the lorries on the car deck.
The ferry was very quiet and it was easy to find a good table in the lounge with a view over the bow. The cabin was comfortable and realtively quiet except for the normal shudders, creaks and rattles of a ship. The afternoon and evening were passed with planning the Greek itinerary - only very rough as we wanted to be able to decide whether to spend more time at places as we travelled.
Photos: Queuing for the Hellenic Spirit.
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