Friday 21 September - Athens & Saronic Islands

Sunrise: Athens                  7:11am

Sunset:                               7:24pm

Steps:                                 11,799

Today we did some island hopping.
Both Christina, our TD & Dimitri, our driver, live in Athens, so neither were at the hotel for breakfast this morning.  We were to be picked up at 8:20 so we gave them a hard time, when they pulled up at 24 minutes past 8. It was only a short 15 or so minute drive to where to ship was waiting to take us and many others, on a cruise to a few of the Saronic islands.

The Saronic islands, in Greece, are part of the Aegean Sea and they are located between the peninsula of Attica and the north eastern coasts of Peloponnese.

Hydra

One of the most picturesque islands of Greece, The charming town amazes visitors at first sight with the elegant grey stone mansions constructed on the slopes of the hill. The special thing about Hydra island is that motor vehicles are not allowed and all transport is done by foot or boat. This little place is great for hiking as hiking paths lead to old mansions and monasteries in the countryside.
We arrived around 11:30 and sailed again around 1pm.  Some photos follow:

Poros

The Town, constructed on the slopes of a hill, is the center of most activities on the island. The most tourist place is Askeli, a sandy beach with clean water and lined up with many tourist facilities. The most picturesque spot of Poros Greece is the Love Bay, surrounded by the characteristic pine forests of the island.
I didn't particularly like Poros.  Mind you, I'm sure there are some beautiful areas on the island but the main town, for me, was rather uninspiring. We only had an hour here and that was more than enough for me.The sun was rather warm and not a lot a shade, so perhaps that affected my perception.

Aegina 

Aegina is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, 27 kilometres from Athens. This is why it gets very popular as a weekend destination for the Athenians.  Tradition derives the name from Aegina the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and became its king. During ancient times Aegina was a rival of Athens, the great sea power of the era.  A place with rich history, Aegina island was a great naval power in the ancient times and a capital of Greece for a short time in 1828. Even though the island small, it boasts a great number of sights and natural beauties, highlight of which is the famous Aphea Temple. It forms in fact an equilateral triangle with the Parthenon and the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, the so-called “holy triangle” of the antiquity.
The Town, with the elegant Neoclassical buildings, is a lovely place to stroll along the port promenade and the narrow streets. This island is also famous for the large production of pistachios.
This was our last port of call and we had almost 1.5hrs here. 

I went walking with Lois & Elizabeth.  There were many restaurant along the waterfront but we took to the back roads.

Tower of Markellos

After a while we found a shady coolish restaurant and sat and had a wine and some nibbles, then back to the ship and back to Athens.  We soon found Dimitri and the bus and we were back at the hotel by around 8:30pm.

Sat 22nd. For some reason I couldn't load any websites last night, so gave up and had a reasonably early night and have updated this before heading out for our day in Athens today.