back to the islands

ferry I took to Aegina Island two hours away.
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Wow, just when things couldn't get better they did.  I decided to change my plans in a very last-minute manner and take a ferry=-ride to Aegina, 1.5 hours by boat away.  It's an island about the size of Oahu...maybe a bit smaller.

There was a brochure lying around in the lounge of the hostel and I picked it up before i left and saw it and said "I have to go".  It lokoed amazing and it completely lived up to its pictures.

I started out today at 9:30 AM and took the metro to Pireaus, the pier.  The ferry ride was 13 euro round trip.  I hopped on and got to the Island at around 1230.  I found a quick bite to eat at the port (just had a plain turkey sandwich and milk).  Oh yeah, breakfast was two bananas, a bottle of water, and a couple of bites out of an over ripe apple.  Okay, so I saw the temple of Afaia advertised and wanted to go there.  I walked along some small side streets atthe port city and took a couple of pictures of typical greek houses (white with blue doors, blue window sills, etc.).  I ran into the Temple of Apollo but it turns out that it was closed today for maintenance purposes.  Every archeological site closes one day of the week for maintenanace, but there appeared to be nothing going on.  oh well.  It lookedl ike one standing pillar in them iddle of mnowhere anyway so I wasn't too disappointed.  I walked into a hotel and found out that you have take a bus to the other side of the island to see the temple of Afaia.  I eventually found that bus station (small shack on the side of a road) and bought a round trip ticket for 3.40 euros.  The bus ride was amazingly beautiful!  It reminded me of driving up and through the Pali Highway except with out the trees lining the road so you could see everything.  It had great views of the port's city and of the tons of pistachionut orchards everywhere!  They also had very typical greek houses and churches lining the roads every now and then.  It was a beautiful 35 minute ride in a REALLY run down bus.  I felt like it was going to break apart, and on hills it seemed like it wouldn't make it!

View of the athens port city
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We got to the Sanctuary of Afaia.  It was sooooooo nice because it was on top of a hill overlooking a city (not sure which one but kinda like the Pali lookout overlooks Kaneohe).  It was almost empty because (1) Aegina isnj't as popular as Athens and (2) the bus station is tough to find.  So I was able to take a lot of eople-less pictures; which are the best kind.  I even snuck behind the do-not-cross0this-line line and took a picture!  Afterwards, i walked down the steep hill through a short cut that was labeled via chalk on a stone.  I figured I was healthy, had a bottle of water with me, and a cell phone with reception = I was invincble and taking this shady short cut would do no harm.  Luckily it didn't.  I reached the marina of Afaia and it was a ghost town!  Nobody was walking around, shops were all closed (this was at bout 1400 on Monday), and nothing was happening.  I found the one beach of the marina and stuck my hand in (yay I touched the Meiterranean!).  I was going to swim but had nothing to swim in.  The water was almost as warm as in Hawai'i!

Riding the ferry over
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I found a place to eat and had a tasty souvlaki and a greek salad.  Both were amazingly good for 6 euro.  The owner was really really jovial and spoke good-enough english.  He told me that the town didn't awake until after April when summer arrived and tourists were everywhere.  I was glad that I didn't come during tha ttime because it was nice to see such an empty area of greece!  By the way, did you know that Greece's official name is not "greece" it is the Hellenic Republic!  I didn't even know what the Hellenic area/period was until I read Let's Go!.  Okay, down with the city, time to head back into Aegina's port to grab the ferry at 1930 back to AThens.

typical greek house on the island was white with blue accents
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Oh no!  I just missed the 1620 bus back and then next one is at 1830!  I had to wait it out and hope that the bus driver would get me back in time to catch the last ferry out!  Luckily, this bus driver going back drove like a mad - woman!  She made the trip back in 15 minutes so I had a bit of time to spare wodering the docks and the side streets before the ferry came.

I called up my friend Christina, who I met in London and lives in Athens.  We arrnaged to meet at 2200.  But my ferry got back in 1 hour instead of 2!  I guess we were going with the current this time.  So I just hung out at our meeting spot: Syndagma square.  There were some skateboarders attracting a tourist crowd but I couldn't be bothered with them.  I hung around for an hour seeing the nearby area until Christina came.

walking around the island on this lonely road that ran near the beach
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We went to a greek restaurant at 2230 and had a snack of appetizers and I had a drink called raki.  It tasted like a mix of gin and vodka...very bad and very strong.  We had a greek salad (identical to the one I had earlier), fried cheese, roasted peppers, and some sort of dip with fries.  The snack was more like a meal and I was stuffed after eating a big lunch before!  We talked a lot about the differences between Greek islands and Hawaii and the differences between Greece and Europe in general.  I had a great time with her.  Her father is a Greek embassador, so she has lived in Germany (born there), Greece of course, Kenya, and South Africa!  How amazing is that!

sanctuary was beautiful mostly because nobody else was there
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Night's over, I'm back in the hostel.  Tomorrow is starting at 600 because I want to catch the first bus out to Cape of Sounion so I can be back in time for my 1500 flight to Berlin!  Plan: 0630 go to Cape, 1000 come back, 1200 leave for airport, 1330 check in, 1500 leave for Berlin.  Talk to you guys later.

By the way, I didn't go to an internet cafe, sorry.  And I did more laundry: socks and my shirt.  I'm still wearing the same pair of pants from day 1...good thing their dark!  Love all