May 25th Athens

Published in the The Greek and Cypriot Notebook

Music Heard on the Radio After Being Dragged Out of Line and Interrogated by Passport Control in Athens

Bob Dylan: Like a Rolling Stone
Mike Oldfield: Tubular Bells
Steely Dan: Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
Santana: Samba Pa Ti
Bachman Turner Overdrive: American Woman
Rolling Stones: Honky Tonk Women
Led Zeppelin: Heartbreaker
The Eagles: Hotel California
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Sweet Home Alabama

Journal Entry
This afternoon I was pulled out of line at Passport Control, trying to re-enter Athens. The guards were yelling at me in Greek and pointing at my passport. They pushed me backwards through the crowd, one on each arm, one of them carrying my bag. They pushed me into an office and I sat on the couch while the two officers yelled at each other and at me. This went on for several minutes, the officers getting more and more agitated, demanding my wallet, my birth certificate, receipts, pointing to a calendar impatiently, speaking quickly in Greek. Then the door opened and the passport agent I’d befriended on my way out of Athens came into the room. He looked down at me and said, “What are you doing here?” I shrugged my shoulders and he looked up and the three of them got into an argument, with a lot of waving and barking. After several heated exchanges, it was clear my protector was winning the argument because the two Custom’s agents picked up my passport and left the room without saying a word. After they’d gone he explained that I hadn’t had my passport stamped when I left Athens and there was a 200 Euro penalty (about $360) for breaking the rules, but it would be okay because he was their superior and could verify that he had seen me leave for Cyprus the week before. He told me to relax, that they were getting authorization to let me through with a special stamp. When they returned and handed me back all of my things, I shook hands with my savior, thanked my captors, and was led to the gate, where D. was waiting. She had already picked up our luggage and put her arm through mine. “You can tell me in the cab. Let’s get out of here.”