Midnight Miracles

MIDNIGHT MIRACLES
As I was rushing to get back to Canakkale from Alexandria Troas and Assos, the time was getting late and I was not sure how I was going to make the connection buses from Turkey to Greece. When I got back to Canakkale, I jumped on the next bus and took the ferry across the bay and headed toward Kesan (northwest corner of Turkey near Greece). I arrived at Kesan at ~10pm and hurried to the clerk at the ticketing office to try and get on the next bus going to Alexandroupolis across the border in Greece. They said that there was no bus going to Alexandroupolis tonight. So I asked what about the last bus leaving from Istanbul and heading to Athens. In Turkey it is very common to jump on and off buses at different places along the highways (which is really convenient). The clerk said that it was coming soon and he made a phone call and then told me that the bus will drop me off at Alexandroupolis on its way to Athens. I was SUPER stoked at this news! He said I had to leave immediately and go to the highway. So I took off and got my butt to the highway (~0.5 mi away). In no time at all, the bus pulls up and I throw my backpack under the bus in storage and jump on and find a seat.
  
When I get on the bus the driver's assistant asks me if I am going to Alexandroupolis (in Turkish, of course). I nod and affirmatively say "evet" ("yes"). But as time passes on the trip and we near the border of Greece, the assistant comes back to where I am sitting and tells me that they will not stop at Alexandroupolis. I was a little confused at that point and it did not help that I was trying to speak Turkish and communicate with this guy. In the end of our broken conversation, he simple said "No stop, Alexandroupolis" in the best English he could.
 
The imminent situation that prevented me from continuing to inquire about the disheartening news was we had come to the border and there was a long line of vehicles and the line was not moving. We sat for 2 hrs in this huge line without moving an inch (and I have no idea why). Then after 2 hrs, we started moving slowly. As we neared the border control station, we all exited the bus and went through passport/customs control. For some reason, it was taking FOREVER to get everyone back on the bus after getting our passports stamped. I came to find out that there were 8 people from Syria on the bus trying to get into Greece (and my seat was next to one of them...lol). They were not terrorists or anything, but the policies of Greece's border with Turkey required more in-depth checking and confirmation before approving them entry into the country. Apparently, the border of Greece and Turkey is responsible for some 80% of all illegal immigrants that enter the European Union. So, I guess they have a good reason to be uptight.
  
Well, the Syrian travelers finally got approved and got on the bus and we crossed the border. From the time we pulled up to the border to the time we crossed and began driving away, it had been ~3.5 hrs. It was ~3:00am at that time. I tried to speak to the assistant again and told him to call the clerk at the station in Kesan because the clerk had told me the bus would drop me off at Alexandroupolis. The assistant kept saying that the bus was not going to stop and I kept insisting he call the clerk. I knew that if the clerk could talk to him in Turkish that it would be my best chance for sorting this misunderstanding out.
 
The assistant relayed my message to the driving and the driver called the station and had the clerk call him back. Mind you, bus drivers in Turkey smoke, drink, text, talk, and do every other distracting thing possible while driving...haha. I heard a lot of arguing going on from the bus driver like he did not want to stop (and technically the bus was not scheduled to stop at Alexandroupolis). After some bantering back and forth on the telephone, the bus driver hung up and told something to the assistant and he came back to my seat. He said that the bus will not go to Alexandroupolis but will stop near Alexandroupolis. I pulled out my map and asked him where the bus would stop to let me off. He pointed to a certain highway but not the one that passes through Alexandroupolis. It was on that by-passed the city altogether. I asked him how far the walk was to the city. He said ~10 km (~6.2 mi). I asked him if a taxi can meet me somewhere near there. He left and went back to the driver. In a few minutes he returned. He said that a taxi could meet me down the road toward the city a little ways.
 
After about half an hour, the bus slows and comes to a stop....IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!!! The assistant motions for me to get off. I exit and he opens the storage and I grab my bag and he points to a crossroad ~400m behind me and gestures for me to walk toward the city. I quickly reply back with, “How far until taxi???” He just says “Go, go, go” in poor English) pointing his hand toward the crossroad. He then jumps back on the bus and it drives off into the darkness.
 
So, I am left there on the side of this highway at ~3:30am and I just think that the only thing I can do is start walking...lol. I load up my backpacks on my back and start hiking down the crossroad toward some lights in the distance, which I assume was Alexandroupolis. I cannot remember how far I walked, but I was tired and my legs and back hurt. I began to see street lamps every 100m or so in the distance. As I came over the ridge of this one hill, I noticed a car sitting on the side of the road up ahead. I started walking faster. I thought, “Please let this be the taxi, please, please, please.” Sure enough, as I got closer, it turned its lights on and a guy got out and yelled at me and motioned to keep coming. I got to the taxi and threw my stuff in the trunk and then got in the taxi. The driver started speaking Greek to me. I was like, “Oh boy, here we go again.” I managed to make a gesture of a big boat and say “Samothrake” (the Greek name of Samothrace). He said, “Ahhhh” …..and then some more Greek and started driving. I wanted him to take me to the harbor where the ferry was leaving to go to the island of Samothrace but I had no idea where the guy was going.
  
To my pleasant surprise, in a few minutes we pull into the harbor and he motions for me to get out and he points to the harbor. I get out and grab my bags and then pull out my wallet. I ask him how much. He says “deka”, which means 10 and then pulls out a 10 euro bill. I was like uhhh I don't have any euros....because all I was holding was Turkish lira. I had totally forgot thinking about having any money changed before crossing the border. I ask him about American dollars. I had a 10 dollar bill and I asked if he would accept that. He shrugged and gave me a look that glared, “Stupid tourist!” and then snatched the bill and got in his car and hastily drove off (1 euro is worth 1.35 dollars, so he kind of got short-changed and was understandably perturbed by me).
 
I then went down to the harbor only to find techno music blaring and people dancing and cars everywhere. It took me a minute to figure out that there was a dance club on the main pier in the harbor with lights surrounding it. Talk about cool! However, I was too tired to investigate and I had all my bags on my shoulders as well. Thus, I walked on by and searched for the dock where the ferry boat was going to be at. After talking to some of the people leaving the club, I found the dock and booth where the ferry would arrive. The harbor was pretty big and I was trying to figure out where I needed to be in a couple hours. When I got to the dock, I decided to crash on one of the benches for 2 hrs before I needed to find a currency exchanger and buy my ticket and be prepared to board.
 
And so, the long night came to an end and as I lay on the bench I recalled all the obstacles and unplanned issues that I had encountered the last 10-12 hrs and how they had all worked out somehow to allow me to get here in time for the ferry and get a minute of shut eye. I concluded that it was only because of a series of midnight miracles that I found my way and made it safely to this place. I sent up a big prayer of praise to the Father before closing my eyes and falling asleep.
 
POSTSCRIPT
So, I wake up in two hours or so to find several old men on the dock fishing next to me and a puppy (looked like a lab mix of some sort) curled up by my backpack sleeping. Talk about even more unexpected outcomes...haha. I got up and found a Western Union, got some euros, bought a ticket, got on the ferry, and headed toward Samothrace!  :)

What a day it was!