What a fantastic day! Carly has declared it her best day so
far! It started way too early with Carly’s alarm (she really has to change that
darned thing!) blaring into my consciousness at 5.45am. The morning after hair
wash night needs to allow a little extra time to tame the locks and then we
were off to breakfast at 6.30am. The Wi-Fi continued to refuse to play ball for
us (though others seem to be able to get on occasionally) so we were only able
to send brief messages home via the lobby computer and then it was onto the bus
at 7.15am for the short trip to a nearby port and the 8am sailing for our day’s
adventures.
We settled on to the nice sized boat and soon learned that
we would be sailing for about 3 hours before we reached the first of three
islands we were to visit today – Hydra. So we settled in and chatted with our
fellow travellers, read our books, and marvelled at the beautiful scenery. We
were blessed yet again with perfect weather – sunny, low of 14°
and high of 20°.
When we arrived at Hydra we wandered around the tiny streets
– there are no cars or motorised vehicles on the island of 3000 inhabitants –
checking out the lie of the land as it were. Soon we saw some men offering
rides on donkeys…and just couldn’t resist. We couldn’t come all this way and
miss out on that experience! So up we hopped and spent 15 minutes being led
around the village – up stairs, down tiny laneways, passing other donkeys laden
with goods – it was a fantastic experience. The guy leading us stopped a few
times to grab my camera and take photos – all without prompting – I guess they
know what the tourists want!
After our ride we checked out the shops, including four
surprisingly cheap mini-markets and some great vantage points for wonderful
views, and then it was time to hop back on the boat at 12.30pm where we were
served a buffet lunch. Our next destination was Poros which we reached after
another hour or so sailing. We only had about 50 minutes to spend on this
island and spent much of that ogling pastries in a cute out of the way back
street and then directing our fellow passengers to the shop – we should have
claimed commission they got so much business though us.
Our third and final
island destination was Aegina, the largest and most inhabited of the islands we
visited. Randomly most of the shops were closed for the day but we still
managed to find awesome pastries – THE best lemon meringue pie I have ever
eaten and THE best freshly squeezed orange juice I have ever drunk. I would
swear the dude raced out the back and picked the oranges himself seconds before
preparing them for me it tasted so fresh and AWESOME. We stocked up on some
pistachio nuts as the island is famous for them, checked out a couple of
churches and the like and then headed back to the boat.
Another hour or so and we were back at Athens and heading to
our hotel, arriving at about 7pm, almost 12 hours since we left. Patricia
suggested we eat at a local restaurant “where Greeks eat, no tourists”. It was
only 2 short blocks away so we set off to see how the Greeks live Can I tell
you Carly and I decided after our meal that we are moving to Greece! We each
had a Gyros Chicken Pie, pretty much like a chicken kebab, and I think I would
have to say it may be the tastiest thing I have ever eaten! With one each and a
bottle of Fanta for me it cost a grand total of €5.20, about $6 or $7 dollars
and we ate it in a restaurant with table service! It was too embarrassing to
only pay that amount so we gave them €10 and invited them to move to
Australia! Our concern for the restaurant owners/workers may have been sparked
because apparently the national wage has been reduced yet again and now stands
at about €600
a month. This place is a powder keg waiting to go off.
Anyway, CJ and I headed back to the Plaka for one last look
and managed to find some jewellery for ourselves before heading back to the
hotel to prepare for our departure tomorrow. Tomorrow we will climb the
Acropolis!
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