Athens - On the stunning, tiny Greek island of Skopelos – made famous as the location for the hit movie Mamma Mia! – you’d barely know there was a financial crisis.
The three banks in Skopelos Town are dark, quiet and depressing. But despite political leaders thrashing out a deal to finance the country’s debts and fears that the nation may run out of cash, there are no queues.
Although more than £875-million (R16.7bn) left Greek banks in one day last week, the locals seem bored when you ask: “What do you think will happen to the economy?” But back on the mainland in Athens, the graffiti on almost every wall is the biggest indication that all is not well.
It’s on shop fronts, apartments and offices. It is mostly unreadable, and when it is legible, it’s largely unrepeatable. Then there are the streets and streets of abandoned shops and boarded-up windows outside the main centre.
Many Britons arriving at Athens airport this week had followed advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office: bring as much cash as possible.
Philip Knowles and Julie Graves, from Kent, have owned a little villa in southern Greece’s Peloponnese for 11 years.
They usually keep their spending money in a Greek bank, but this year have bought cash to cover their 12-day trip.
Mandy Seymour and her daughter Zoe, 18, are heading through Athens on their way to the Greek island of Agistri for 10 days. They’re staying in a hotel they’ve visited three or four times before, but on this trip rang ahead to make sure they were accepting bank cards.
Mandy hadn’t checked her travel insurance to make sure the money she had brought with her would be covered if it was lost or stolen.
This is vital for travelling to Greece. One in 10 policies won’t cover cash losses, according to comparison site GoCompare. Though cards are taken in Greece, they are not accepted everywhere.
Mark and Mandy Gates, both 52, from Brighton, were on a cruise for a week, stopping off at Crete and Rhodes before arriving in Athens.
The trip had been so lovely they’d almost forgotten about the country’s problems, until they arrived at their hotel in the capital.
The receptionist at check-in warned of potential riots.
Then when they went out they discovered that few places would accept their bank cards.
Mandy, a civil servant, says: “We felt a little under-prepared. We’d lost touch with the worsening economic situation – like most people on holiday, we’ve been sightseeing, not watching the news. We weren’t prepared for so many places not accepting cards, so have had to check what they take before going in.”
The guidance from the UK government is to steer clear of trouble-spots. It’s likely your insurance won’t cover you if you get caught up in a protest.
You also have an obligation to keep up to date with any strikes, and should check your insurance policy for its small print on transport delays. The problem if you don’t know what’s going on – as most tourists won’t – is that strikes and protests can sneak up on you.
On Sunday evening, thousands of Greeks congregated on the capital’s central Syntagma Square to protest against austerity.
Not even the taxi driver taking me to a nearby popular restaurant area knew it was happening.
Just hours earlier it had been filled with tourists watching the soldiers in their traditional dress.
But now the crowd brandished signs and chants outside the parliament building. It happened again on Monday night.
The following morning there was no sign the protest ever took place – or little clue that this is a country that could have been about to go bust and that a run on the banks may still happen.
And for tourists, as long as you take care it’s still a lovely holiday destination. The restaurants are open and full.
The Acropolis is packed with tourists, mainly American and Chinese.
It’s back to business as usual in Greece.
Daily Mail