Upon arriving in the Port of Piraeus we got right on the boat and set sail. The boat was huge (3 stories!) with an upper deck for sun bathing, middle deck with windows all around for hanging out and checking out the sights, and the lower one was air conditioned and used for eating. We ended up in the middle deck with a group of characters all around us. At least it kept up entertained. We got to the first island Hydra, that was one of the small islands closest to Athens. In Hydra, there are no cars allowed on the island, so right after getting off the boat you are bombarded with all these guides trying to get you to ride a donkey (some horses as well but donkeys are more popular) around for a tour of the town. We settled at a nice like tiki bar with a view of the water. Trying to explain the color of the water on the sea is almost impossible. From where we were the water was a bright blue, green, and turquoise. It was breathtaking. People were jumping in the water left and right because of the heat! We got to walk around a little more and made it around half the island before heading back to get on the boat. We ended up in the lower room for a "traditional Greek lunch". There was a buffet with lots of different food and everyone seemed very very hungry. We ate a lot of bread and Greek pizza bread, with Greek salad and lots of different types of veggies.
After lunch we were at the next island, Poros, the smallest of the 3 islands. We were able to walk along the bay of the small fishing town. We also did a little shopping and went into a little shop where I ended up buying a new hat (perfect for blocking the sun). We found a small gelato shop with 46 flavors! It was amazing. Better than Baskin Robbins thats for sure. Dad got chocolate, I got cherry, and mom got lemon sorbet so we got to try all the flavors.
We got back on the boat and played some cards and arrived at Aegina, the largest of the islands. It was beautiful! We got off the boat and got on a bus for our optional tour, which was a great decision! We were off to the Temple of Afea, the BEST preserved temple in Greece. What is interesting about this temple is that the Temple of Afea, The Parthenon, and the Temple of Poseidon form a perfect triangle, meaning the three are the exact same distance from each other. This is called the "Sacred Triangle" of Greek antiquity. The Temple is at the top of a hill and you can actually see Athens from the island across the sea. The tour guide was full of information on the Temple and we learned a lot. She told the Ancient myth of how the Temple came to be. She explained that the temple (built 100 years before the Parthenon) was dedicated to the Greek Goddess Aphaia. King Minos of Crete had fallen in love with Aphaia and so to get away Aphaia was said to have swam across to the island of Aegina and disappeared into the woods. After, it was said that nobody on the island could find here, therefore the name Aphaia was created, which comes from the Greek word for "missing" or "cannot be found". She also told us about this pediment that used to have a sphinx on top. She explained that the sphinx did not originate from Greek culture but actually was discovered while traveling to another country (possibly Egypt). She explained that the Greek sphinx was actually created much less menacing and stood there to guard the temple.
The island of Aegina is known for their pistachios so naturally mom had to buy about 4 bags of them from all different vendors. We also got the opportunity to go to the Church of Saint Nectarios, which was another beautiful location. We were able to go inside and take some pictures. At this Church, we actually veered off a little from the group to spend more time inside, which was beautiful. The decorations and inner workings of the church remind me a lot of the churches I visited in Italy and nothing like the churches at home. They are all extravagantly decorated and have lots of gold and different pictures and statues. In one of the rooms of the church was the Shrine and Coffin of Saint Nectarios, where people were actually putting their ear up to the tomb. I looked up the story and basically it is said that the faithful can hear his blessing by putting their ear up to the tomb. The Church is connected to a monastery that nuns still use to pray.
After getting back to Athens, we went out for a Greek dinner with my friends Yentl and John. We had lots of salads, saganaki, pasta, and other delicious foods.
Today, we spent the morning hiking to the top of the Acropolis and took a lot of pictures and learned more about the history. I stood and listened into a tour and learned some more about the Parthenon. She explained that the Parthenon has actually been on fire twice before, and had to be reconstructed many times because of different problems they were having. The marble is also not in the best condition because of weather, humans, and a few other things, so they are working to fix that. Also, she explained that inside the Temple were many statues. One interesting material that was used for some of the statues was actually gold. She said that not only were the statues beautiful, but were also movable. She said that if someone ever tried to take over Athens or the Temple, they would be able to move and hide the statues from whoever was trying to take them. She also said that if there was severe economic troubles, they would be able to take the statues and melt them down to make coins. She said that these statues are not in Athens anymore but rather were moved to Istanbul into a museum. After lunch, we got to do a little shopping! I finally bought the purse I've been looking for and mom and dad got me 2 dresses for my birthday! It was great. Now were in the rooftop bar enjoying the view of the Acropolis from the inside, air conditioned area!
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