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THE day : John- despite yielding to the advice of people who cannot hope to understand what it is like to be in our shoes and taking the recommended 3 islands in a day cruise ( in lieu of a multiple day island cruise), today ends up being the most exhilarating day of our trip to date. Despite being on a ship with around 250 intrusive, photo-obsessed people from different parts of Asia, the islands we visit completely override that annoying element.
As we dock at Hydra, the first island, we feel that we have stepped back in time to a surreal Greek 1950s film set. Donkeys, the traditional mode of transportation in Hydra, are located on the shore, either being restrained by their owners in anticipation of a joy ride for the arriving tourists, or actively involved in transporting supplies/ the fish catch of the day to other locations on the island. All long the foreshore are local Greeks drinking coffee or ouzo , with the men handling their worry beads in traditional fashion. Most importantly there are NO tourists other than our fellow cruisers who have thankfully either invaded the gift stores around the ship or are utilising their $2000 digital SLRs to individually take 200 or so pictures of themselves from the same reference point. We instead venture as far as time allows up the steep ancient terracing on either side of the island. This small island is staggering, unbelievably beautiful . Fortress walls with cannons look out to crystal clear waters and myriad islands etc etc ...just look at the photos, they speak for themselves.
As soon we re-board the ship, a substantial banquet lunch is served. We are seated next to Theresa a lovely woman from Portugal, who provides us with great life lessons. Theresa retired early from teaching because she figured that life was too short to toil away into old age and not experience the joys of continuous travel. She quoted research that indicated that people who retire at 55-60 live to an average age of 80, whilst on average, people who retire between 65-70 are dead within 5 years of retirement. Because Theresa is multilingual, she has acquired the dream job. She earns more money than a teacher by translating computer games into other languages. All her work is online, so she continuously travels and translates games in the evenings. All she has to do is ensure that her accommodation has efficient Wi-Fi prior to booking. After this trip, she was heading to the Peloponnese for 2 days, then on a 6 day cruise staying at Santorini, Mykonos and Patros- 2 nights each. We are aghast because we had been told that it is pointless going on bigger island trips because everything is closed for the winter. Like us, Theresa hates travelling in tourist peak season. We finish our conversation disappointed that we didn't pursue personal research to travel the islands more extensively.
Poros, our next island, has less impact, but in terms of life experience to date, is still very very pretty. We stroll around the vacant side of the peninsula/ waterfront - all the happy snappers have headed to the other side....How did we manage to lose them?????We stop for a coffee and are the only customers. We are served by a very kind young man, who discloses that it has been very quiet and asks why we would want to come to Poros when it is not hot and the place is so empty. We reply with the same response that we provide all Europeans: we travel to see each location in it's authentic state, with local people going about their lives, NOT to see the destination inflated one thousand fold to strangulation point with tourists. He seems to understand our perspective, but suggests that a better time might be late September/early October, when most of the tourists have gone and the waters are warmer.
Our next and final destination is the island of Aegina, popular with rich Athenians as a place to have a holiday homes... Only 40 minutes from Athens on the fast ferry. Again, it looks so beautiful. We have opted for an archeological site bus tour, which takes us to the beautiful Temple of Aphaia, the best preserved temple in Greece and the Orthodox Church of Saint Nectarios. Aegina is also known for it's pistachios, with pistachio trees growing everywhere in plantation or wild form. I buy a 250 g bag, but after sampling a few, buy a 600 g bag. Grazie Jesus. I have never known pistachios to taste like this. They have obviously been soaked in lemon before roasting, the result is food for the Gods. I hope to move to Aegina to live a diet of Pistachios. The sun is setting as we leave Aegina for the 90 minute leg back to Athens. We are the only couple sitting outside on the open deck, staring at the lights twinkling on all the islands and the starry sky. Today has been sheer ecstasy!!!
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