Our guards while waiting for the bus to Piraeus kept us safe from taxi cabs.
As we loaded, a neighboring ferry finishes unloading.
Ships waiting in Piraeus
Ships beyond the Piraeus breakwater queuing for points west.
Other morning traffic.
Salamina in the background, I think.
A ferry and a boat that works for a living.
A remora?
Agia Marina?
The foredeck of our boat. Behind that glass is the bridge.
How did this ship find the sun?
Rocks just off the Peloponnese north of Hydra
Ramming speed, captain?
A distant view of Hydra
Very curious. Hut for instrumentation? Actually, I have it from a good authority that this is a small chapel.
The port of Hydra
A crane leaving Hydra on the Christos Nektaria II, which was laid down in 1964 as the Bencol
Gun Emplacements, Port Hydra
The Demetra(?) in the port of Hydra
Water taxis and ground transport. The donkeys were awaiting tourists.
Our ship was the M/V Platytera Ton Ouranon. She was launched in 1997 and refurbished in 2008. 57 m long, 15 m beam, a catamaran with a cruising speed of 15 knots and a crew of 15 (which may or may not include the folks directly involved with the tours groups). Details: http://www.onedaycruise.gr/showdocument.asp?content=platytera&area=vessels
The Georgia M
Hydra waterfront
Our ride to the island, the Platytera. Wikipedia says Platytera is Greek for 'wider' or 'more spacious'. In Greek it would normally be written Πλατυτέρα.
Port of Hydra
The eastern side of the port as viewed from the western.
Evidence of the past.
Looking at the Peloponnese
An old windmill.
A small chapel on a small rock.
A small church. The larger island beyond is, I think, Dokos.
Looking down on the port of Hydra.
Three towers of Hydra. The center one is a church, and I have a photo of the interior of the dome just a bit later.
A path back down to the port.
Church Courtyard
The church dome. I don't see a 'do not photograph' sign. Do you see a 'do not photograph' sign?
What knockers!
An apparent local on a donkey. No cars are allowed on the island, so the locals still use donkeys and the like.
From Wikipedia: "Statue of Andreas Miaoulis, Greek admiral during the Greek War of Independence (1821-1830)."
The Platytera leaves without Beth and me.
Jeff, though, didn't miss the boat.
I found a bar on the waterfront, had an ouzo, and relaxed awaiting the return of the Platytera.
Now we were headed north, which was into the wind.
Fluorescent wake.
Approaching Poros
Poros Town
Traffic between Poros and Galatas, across a narrow strait on the Peloponnese.
Elvis?
Even if the canopies are down, they can still look phallic.
A loaded ferry approaching Poros.
More tourists approaching Poros.
The Flying Cat II, Poros
Leaving Poros
Lighthouse at the west end of Kalavria.
Exciting doings below. This is the middle deck. Though it was cool and windy above, it was smoke-free. There was no smoking on this deck, but maybe on the one below. Still, the air smelled heavily of tobacco here, so I preferred outdoors.
Way Out
Have to like a place where sailing is an option in the middle of winter. Okay, it is also an option in Florida, which isn't really worth visiting except for the Everglades, Big Cypress, etc. Yes, Florida has beaches and alcohol, but so do most places.
Entering Aegina
Aegina harbor
Temple of Apollo, Aegina. In the winter most sites close at 3pm, and we were too late to enter. But we were able to walk around most of the periphery of the site. The beach just to the north of the site was a good view of the monument, and a great view of the sunset, the sea, the Peloponnese, etc.
Temple of Apollo
A hydrofoil arrives at Aegina.
Aegina Town from the upper deck of our boat. I used some magnification, so the depth is fore-shortened.
The view entering the harbor. I didn't realize this at the time, but from the satellite view these "rocks" appear man-made, and have likely been there in some form or another for a long while.
Disembarking at Aegina. A bit later, when leaving the boat for the last time at Piraeus, I learnt that my Portugal hat had worked. One of the women crew members who had been charged most with dealing with passengers, when I thanked her in Greek, responded "obrigada," in Portuguese.
A short pier inviting one to a long walk.
The tour group up-sell. Once we were on the boat, they gave us a song and dance about how much of Aegina would be inaccessible for us if we didn't pay €30 for one of two bus tours. Of course, the places I most-wanted to go were on different tours. We didn't fall for it, and I think that was the right choice. With just a limited time on the island, on foot was best. The blonde crew member (dark jacket and pants) with another woman (probably the Japanese tour guide, in white jacket) in front of the center bus is the woman I mentioned two pictures back.
Separating me from the Temple of Apollo was an opportunity to tear another pair of pants, not to mention an opportunity to spend my last night in Greece in jail while missing our morning flight back to the States. In retrospect, I can't think of why I failed to hop the fence.
On the beach to the SW of the monument.
I believe this is the other side of the submerged structure that we saw from the ship.
It turned out to be impractical to stay dry while getting around the monument perimeter, so we back-tracked. That's the Platytera, Aegina town, and hills of Aegina in the background.
Late afternoon sailing past old stuff on the Saronikós Gulf
I was totally happy where I was, and yet I wouldn't have minded being out there either.
The remaining standing column from the Temple of Apollo.
Zoom for caption. The German translates as "late Roman acropolis wall."
Based on the tree, I think the sea is to our right.
The Peloponnese from Aegina
Islands. I suspect the bright-colored island is Platia Nisida since it's in about the right place and in Google's satellite view Platia Nisida is distinctly bright bluish.
Peloponnese from Aegina
View from the beach to the north of Aegina Town
Sailboat, sunset, and the Peloponnese Peninsula from the beach to the north of Aegina Town
Back to Aegina Town
While awaiting departure, we split an appetizer, which was very good calamari. This was tasty and tender, suggesting some restaurants in touristy areas do a very good job. Actually, every restaurant we visited in Greece other than one a tour bus stranded us at for an hour was good.
Fresh octopus
Walking back to the ship for our return to the Greek mainland.
The Apollon Hellas loading automobiles just past the Platytera
The Apollon Hellas loading
I got this shot just before being abducted by aliens. I have no recollection of being probed.
The Apollon Hellas pulling ahead of us as the last of the sun sets.
Entertainment below. This guy was pretty good.
They made some of us dance. The three main languages of the tourists were Japanese, Spanish, and English. Multiple times I said "no bailo." The guy to the right is the Italian father from the family of three. He had sung at the amphitheatre in Epidaurus the day before.
They got Beth on the floor as well. That might be the Italian daughter to her right.
Passing like ships in the night?
