Ok well there are less than four weeks to go now and it is all starting to feel uncomfortably "real"!

Every time we do this there are usually a number of somewhat intimidating challenges for us to face into and endure and this year is no different ....1100 miles on a bike, camping for 15 nights straight, the language barrier, camping, the Alps, camping, my teeny tiny "lady" ankles, Marc's personal hygiene regime (or lack thereof) and of course, camping!

Imagine my surprise then when I discovered that the one element of our planned adventure that I had assumed would be a relative breeze could in fact trump everything else and turn out to be the most demanding and hateful of them all.

I am of course referring to the 31 hour ferry trip from Venice to Patras that will enable us to reach our end goal of Athens without having to take an addtional week of leave. "What could possibly be challenging about that Nick?" you may well ask....well let me enlighten you!

In researching how best to make our trip to Athens work I of course looked up some online reviews to better understand other peoples experiences and what works and what doesnt......and what a horror story I have uncovered!

Below is just a taster of the feedback posted by hundreds of really not so happy customers....these I promise you are direct, unedited quotes from Trip Advisor.

  • Disappointing

  • Swimming would be better

  • Terrible is not enough to describe this experience

  • I would like to give them minus 5 stars but system does not allow.

  • Try another company, not this one!!!!

  • Worst experience ever

  • Horrible, never again, DONT DO IT!

  • Most disturbing!

  • What an absolute crate!

  • Horrible company, horrible staff

  • Never again!

  • This was a horror story!

So that all sounds delightful then and something to look forward to ….NOT. Certainly doesn’t sound like the peaceful, relaxing waft down the Adriatic I had in mind!

Please do take a second to support our fundraising by clicking the donate button below and giving whatever you can….thanks!