After a 4 hour train ride from Naples, we arrived in the port city of Bari at about 9 pm. We booked a hostel in the old town which was located very close to the harbour so that we could easily get on our ferry the next day. Our hostel only had check in until 10 so it was kind of important that we arrive before that time. There where no directions given to get to the hostel from the train station on the hostels web site. We figured this was so that you would use their pickup service. So we just put the address into Google maps and figured that would be good.
As it turned out this was not the case. Walking away from the train station was easy enough because the roads ran in a grid, but once we got into the old town the map had no street names and it was impossible to figure out which direction you where going in. So we ended up on the other side of old town at what we thought was the port. After not being able to find any road name that was on our map we decided to bite the bullet and get in a cab. This was the best decision we made. As it turned out we walked in quite the wrong direction. After a 5-10 minute cab ride the cab driver dropped us off right in front of the place. Another good thing because the hostel was down a small back ally with little signage. We could have been standing 15 feet from the place without realizing it.
At this point it was 10 to 10 and we got to the door and it was locked. Luckily a guy came to the door and let us in.
As it turned out we where kind of lucky. After walking away from the hostel going to get some food we found 3 different groups of travelers in a matter of 5 minutes looking for the place. This presented another issue for these people because the lone guy doing the check spoke very little English and now had to deal with about 10 Japanese people whose English was also not the most stellar. In addition the place ran out of bedding. The guy sleeping below Joel literally had a mattress, no pillow no sheets. Oh ya and the washroom was in the basement which was freezing cold. Needless to say this was probably the worst hostel we had been in on the trip. But we did end up having dinner with a nice Brazilian girl.
The next morning after that experience we headed down to the port to get our tickets and get on the ferry. Our next stop would be Corfu where we had 5 nights booked at the Pink Palace. After getting to the ticket desk the lady selling us the tickets informed us the ferry does not run to Corfu this time of year, we where apparently looking at the summer schedule. Instead it stopped in Igoumenitsa, about an hour ferry ride from Corfu. This would have been fine but our ferry from Bari would get in half an hour after the last ferry to Corfu. We asked the lady if Igoumenitsa was a big city and if we would have a problem finding a place to stay, she figured it would not be a problem.
So we boarded the ferry. Actually quite nice. There where multiple bars and restaurants and even a pool on board. Shortly after leaving port we used the internet on board to see if we could find a place to stay that night. After doing some searchng we founf out there was pretty much nothing close to the port. It was at that point we realized we would be sleeping in the ferry terminal for the night. So we arrived in Igoumenitsa at 11:30, hung out at the bar for a little and then found a nice metal bench for the night. I figure you are not really backpacking until you are forced to sleep in a train station/ferry terminal/airport.
The next day we hopped on the ferry to Corfu, gave the Pink Palace a call when we arrived and their driver came and picked us up. It was a beautiful day and we where able to check in right away wihtout even being charged for the night we missed. After the previous 2 days this small slice of heaven was exactly what we needed. This was the begining of our vacation from our holiday that would be the Greek Islands.
As it turned out this was not the case. Walking away from the train station was easy enough because the roads ran in a grid, but once we got into the old town the map had no street names and it was impossible to figure out which direction you where going in. So we ended up on the other side of old town at what we thought was the port. After not being able to find any road name that was on our map we decided to bite the bullet and get in a cab. This was the best decision we made. As it turned out we walked in quite the wrong direction. After a 5-10 minute cab ride the cab driver dropped us off right in front of the place. Another good thing because the hostel was down a small back ally with little signage. We could have been standing 15 feet from the place without realizing it.
At this point it was 10 to 10 and we got to the door and it was locked. Luckily a guy came to the door and let us in.
As it turned out we where kind of lucky. After walking away from the hostel going to get some food we found 3 different groups of travelers in a matter of 5 minutes looking for the place. This presented another issue for these people because the lone guy doing the check spoke very little English and now had to deal with about 10 Japanese people whose English was also not the most stellar. In addition the place ran out of bedding. The guy sleeping below Joel literally had a mattress, no pillow no sheets. Oh ya and the washroom was in the basement which was freezing cold. Needless to say this was probably the worst hostel we had been in on the trip. But we did end up having dinner with a nice Brazilian girl.
The next morning after that experience we headed down to the port to get our tickets and get on the ferry. Our next stop would be Corfu where we had 5 nights booked at the Pink Palace. After getting to the ticket desk the lady selling us the tickets informed us the ferry does not run to Corfu this time of year, we where apparently looking at the summer schedule. Instead it stopped in Igoumenitsa, about an hour ferry ride from Corfu. This would have been fine but our ferry from Bari would get in half an hour after the last ferry to Corfu. We asked the lady if Igoumenitsa was a big city and if we would have a problem finding a place to stay, she figured it would not be a problem.
So we boarded the ferry. Actually quite nice. There where multiple bars and restaurants and even a pool on board. Shortly after leaving port we used the internet on board to see if we could find a place to stay that night. After doing some searchng we founf out there was pretty much nothing close to the port. It was at that point we realized we would be sleeping in the ferry terminal for the night. So we arrived in Igoumenitsa at 11:30, hung out at the bar for a little and then found a nice metal bench for the night. I figure you are not really backpacking until you are forced to sleep in a train station/ferry terminal/airport.
The next day we hopped on the ferry to Corfu, gave the Pink Palace a call when we arrived and their driver came and picked us up. It was a beautiful day and we where able to check in right away wihtout even being charged for the night we missed. After the previous 2 days this small slice of heaven was exactly what we needed. This was the begining of our vacation from our holiday that would be the Greek Islands.
