the islands together. It took about to hours to get to our first island, Poros. We had been sitting up on the top deck and the sun was so, so strong! I must have applied sunscreen three or four times. It was a relaxing ride for the most part; I had brought my Herald Tribune from yesterday so I read that and later on I picked up today’s copy and had it for later (omg, how I love newspapers). I actually read two articles about a very bizarre and tragic murder on the island of Santorin (the Herald Tribune, which is the Global Edition of the NY Times, also includes an English version of a local paper…Athens puts out the Kathimarini which the Herald includes). Supposedly, some guy murdered his girlfriend and the girlfriend’s dog and beheaded them! He then proceeded to carry them around the town but was caught, thank goodness. Just goes to show there are crazy lunatics everywhere. On a lighter note, the under 18 basketball team from Greece beat Lithuania in the EU championship Sunday night. YAY. I learned all this and more on the two hour ride. 
As we were approaching Poros, I became very excited upon seeing the picturesque center of town-all the houses were cream colored with tan/orange roofs (orange is too extreme a description…) and they were all made on the slope of a hill. Like Hydra where we were going to next, Poros was very hilly and mountainous. Supposedly, although I didn’t know this when we were on the island, Poros is actually two islands, Sferia and Kalavria. The island has about 4,000 inhabitants, most of them living in the town of Poros, which we briefly explored for about 40 minutes. Since we had limited time, we just walked around, looked in shops, took 
pictures, etc. The first thing we had done was climb up to the clock tower, which dates back to the 1920s. It was a lovely, quiet, sweet town that I only had a brief taste of. I think I would like to return one day, and maybe spend a weekend. We reboarded the ship and spent a little more than an hour traveling to Hydra. During that time, we had lunch and unfortunately, it wasn’t traditional Greek food…I was bummed. But when we got to Hydra, I fell in love with the area. It felt larger than Poros but has a population of only 2,000 ish. The main port area is crescent shaped, and as one would expect, is filled with restaurants, cafes, and
shops. We had a little more time here, but it was spent the same way: walking the streets and exploring the landscape. Hydra is an extremely rocky place, but it was awesome! When we got there, we walked along a path/street right on the ocean…and we were stunned at how beautiful the Aegean waters are…the colors are unlike anything you’ve ever seen before…blues, greens…for lack of a better term, it’s completely magical. We walked for about a half an hour and came to another townish area, and then ran into an English guy who showed us a path that 
would take us back to the port area but not on the sea. We followed his advice and walked through lovely paths in between beautiful white washed houses with the blue doors…all the typical Greek colors and architecture…through areas no tourists were (yay!) . My friend David ended up buying some things in the shops we went into but I decided to wait until we got back in Athens (aka tomorrow here I come!). Hydra was without a doubt my favorite of the three islands. Poros probably would have been second. They both felt more authentic than Aegina, our third island we visited. On our way there from Hydra, we sat with a life long learner named Pat and engaged in wonderful conversations. I love our vintage vagabonds…they have been absolutely everywhere and led such fascinating lives. They have traveled more than anyone I know…actually, our professors too, have traveled more than anyone I’ve met back in the states. It’s just awesome to be around people who have the same desires as you…who appreciate the diversity of culture, language, religion…simply fantastic. Around 4pm we got to Aegina, the largest of the three islands. In the past, Aegina used to rival Athens as THE place to be. According to Herodotus, Aeginaii was the first capital of modern Greece. Like many other Greek islands, Aegina has an extinct volcano which comprises most of the island. When we 
first arrived, we saw a small church called Ai Nikolas, named for the patron saint of sailors. Very tiny church, more like a squared, 1 room building. One of the first things we did was stop for a snack at a place called Kanellas, and I had some kantaifi, which was very good. One thing I’ve repeatedly noticed in Greece. The majority of restaurants and cafes have areas to sit outside and the outdoor furniture is REALLY nice. Seriously…REALLY nice. Every single place! Very chic. So, we did the whole walk around thing, met some random people, more walking…finally found a beach area and went in to wade…it was the warmest water I have ever been in!!! I was so sad I didn’t have my bathing suit on…or else I would have gone in for
a dip! Instead my toes were just the happy parts of my body. If feet could smile, mine totally were. Seriously. I wish we had time to the Temple of Aphaea, or the Monastery of Agios Nectarios but honestly, we didn’t really know how to get to these landmarks, and were worried the boat leaving. On the other hand, it was nice to just walk around and take everything in. I’ve been puzzled lately about why I haven’t been doing as much “sightseeing” here in the Mediterranean compared to in northern Europe. I feel like I see a whole lot, but not many of the landmarks. At least that’s how I felt in Italy and Greece but I think I’ve figured it out. It is so DAMN HOT here! We are out baking in the sun the whole day…and we get dehydrated and very tired. I don’t have the energy to go out even if I wanted to! Really…it is so hot. 97 today in Athens. Weee. In Norway, Russia, Denmark….even Holland and Belgium, I always had a jacket with me. I never left without one. But here, it’s the complete opposite. And you know what’s funny? I’ve felt hotter here in Greece than I did in Egypt, and in Egypt, I was wearing much more clothing! So …that’s my explanation. Everything’s so much more chill here anyways.
Tommorrow, last day in Greece! I’ll get back on the metro and go to Athens…should be fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment