Early Sunday, I found myself in a taxi, dropping me off a few miles down the road at the beginning of a trail. Off I go to an orchard of Olive trees. I specifically planned for an early start so I would not find myself hiking when the sun was at its hottest. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being a very tough hike, this was probably a 7 or 8. It wasn’t so tough, but it is also not a hike for anyone that would have trouble in a path of large rocks.
The view was amazing!! I stopped a few times to rest and drink water and looking back towards the town and the sea, the view was unreal.
Finally, after what felt like a long, long stretch of hiking, I came upon a few olive trees. Not quite there, a little teaser of what was to come. I truly hope no one goes that far and turns around, because they would definitely be missing out on spectacular. When I finally reached The Olive Grove, I could not believe my eyes to the beauty that lay around me. Fresh air, and a plethora of trees just feet from each other going on for several kilometers. These trees are said to be 400-500 years and beyond old. Not one was like the other! Each with its own characteristics, its own beauty. I truly could not believe my eyes!
I could stay for hours and just sit in pure peace and read a book or just be. If it wasn’t for the heat and starting to feel like I was in an oven, I would have stayed. I did not have much water left, and to be honest, all I could think of was to jump in the sea and cool off. After walking the path of beauty, I found another trail to go back with and this one I would probably rate an 8 or 9. Rockier than the one I came on, and mostly declines, rocky ones. Circling the mountain, following the trail right back to where I started, I found myself to be so thirsty I could drink a bottle of water in seconds. Which in fact is what I did after buying a bottle at a nearby beach bar.
From here, I was off to Portes, a beach on the far east side of the island. Just south of Agia Maria, which I was told was where all the tourists go. I was happy to go where there might not be one tourist. It was a bit rocky, but the water was nice and there were definitely only a handful of local. I threw my clothes off and I had planned to run in, until I realized there were more pebbles, so instead I slowly and carefully walked into the sea, up to the point where I knew I could just throw myself in. This was the best feeling ever after my 3 hour hike. I got out, dried off and went off to have lunch and return back for more water and sun tanning.
While it would have been nice to see more of the island, and I still had a list of must-sees, I am so pleased with the choices I made on where to go and what to see on my first visit to Aegina. I wouldn’t change anything about it. The night before leaving, I did my obligatory shopping, where I stocked up on everything pistachio, from Pistachio butter, Pistachio crunch butter, many bags of nuts in the shell, Pistachio liqueur, honey, nut candies, nougat, and confections. The following morning I packed and went off to the port for a coffee and pastry before my ferry back to Athens. Success!
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