Aegina!

We returned from Meteora on Friday night, and four of the girls from my apartment, myself, Amy, Kaitlyn and Lauren (we do a LOT together) all decided that with our approaching two days off, we should do something interesting and exciting. We explored the options for ferries to the nearby islands, and finally settled on trying to get to Piraeus (the port) early in the morning to catch an 8:00 ferry to one of the islands on Saturday. I got up at 5:45 :( and we started to walk to the Metro. It was raining, which made us all a little nervous, however we all proclaimed that the weather on the islands would certainly be better. Every time it rains in Athens, however, I feel as though I'm going to kill myself. All of the sidewalks (or at least most of them) are marble or a very smooth stone, which means that I usually slip and slide, and almost face-plant about every 5 steps when the sidewalk or path is wet. So after a treacherous walk to Megaro Moussikis (metro) we successfully made it down to the port by 7:30. We were able to get ferry tickets to the island of Aegina for just under 10 euro, and hopped aboard the 8:00 ferry. It was also slippery on board... and it took the four of us about 5-10 minutes to find the E deck (which is outside with benches, as opposed to cushy chairs inside)! But after a few minutes of travel away from Athens, the sun broke through the clouds is a beautiful manner, which really encouraged us as to the weather on Aegina.

We arrived at Aegina, and before starting our tour, we checked on what times the ferry left for Athens, and the last one left at 6:30. We wandered up along the sidewalk to the left, and discovered an archaeological site/museum, and the ruin of a temple to Apollo. The museum was very interesting, and included pottery from 2,500 BC... which is 4,500 years ago! I suppose coming from a country where our history (even before we were a country) only dates about 500 years, everything here seems all the more ancient to me. I think I actually enjoyed the ruin of the temple to Apollo even more than the Acropolis, because the Parthenon is covered in scaffolding, and you can't really even go that close to it, whereas at this ruin on Aegina, you can walk all over the site, and stand directly next to the column that survives, and I at least felt it was a more authentic experience than it was when we went to the Acropolis. Maybe it was also the fact that there were four of us as opposed to twenty-five... I don't know. But it was wonderful. I also met a lovely German lady from Koeln, and we enjoyed speaking about our experience so far. I love taking the opportunities to practice my German :D

The four of us then continued on, doing a little window shopping, and stopped for a bite to eat. (I had an apple croissant and a cappacino fredo (iced) which was AMAZING!) We asked one of the shopkeepers in a place we stopped what else we should see on the island, and she recommended the Temple of Aphea Athina. So we went and (with difficulty) figured out the bus system, and bought tickets to head to the other side of the island - only a twenty minute drive - to see the Temple of Aphea. The bus ride was extraordinary... my first in Greece so far, and I described it while speaking to my dad as being a sketchy bus making tight turns around sharp corners at seemingly high speeds. We held on for dear life and made it safely! This temple was built in the same style as the Parthenon, with Doric columns, but is still largely intact. Obviously it is still in ruins, but is quite well preserved. The views of the sea were marvelous, and after looking over the site, we waited for around an hour for the bus to come pick us up at 3:00. The ride back was similarly eventful to the trip there, but we again made it safely. We were all feeling a bit hungry again, so picked out a picturesque little restaurant on the waterfront with white tablecloths and blue chairs, and had a delicious and large lunch. Chicken kebabs with lime is truly rather divine when one is hungry :) We had a long lunch, enjoying the sights and the sounds of the island, and having a good conversation about lots of different things! After lunch it was time to buy the tickets for the last ferry, and we had enough time to walk up and down along the line of boats one more time before walking aboard.

Because of the timing, the sun was just beginning to descend when we got aboard, and the sight as we left the island was truly beautiful. I was absolutely entranced as we continued our journey back to Athens as the sky slowly turned pale orange, and pick and slowly deepened into darker reds and purples. The other girls went inside after a while because it was a bit chilly with the wind, but I couldn't leave. I took a picture probably once every 3 minutes, because the light kept changing, and getting even more and more beautiful. By the time we reached Athens, the moon (which was close to full, if not already) had risen on the left hand side and the sky was dark, and the sea was a deep navy, just with the light of the moon in a line, and then the sky slowly turned to a deep purple, and then lavender and then down into the deep red behind the mountains as you looked to the right. It was truly magical... and I felt as though there was nothing more important that I could have done with that hour than just sit there and listen to music and watch the sunset. I think Greece may be slowly teaching me that every now and then it is just as important to do not much of anything than to do something in particular.