Every year I visit Greece I like to see something new! Of course I leave time to see family in Athens, but there is no point in sitting around in Athens when there is so much to discover around Greece. New year, new island and this year new region too! Don’t worry, I was in Greece for more than two days. But I took side trips, and each of these consisted of 2 days in different parts of Greece. It’s amazing how much you can see and experience in such a short time. Ok the full trip was three days, but the time spent discovering and experiencing each area really ended up to be 2 days in total not including the traveling.
My first adventure started the day after I arrived in Greece and a 40 minute ferry ride to the island of Aegina. Now that I have been here, I know that if I ever have extra days without plans while I am in Greece, I can hop on the train to the port and hop on a ferry for another quick visit. Afterall, I did not see everything I wanted in the time I was there this year, but I am happy with what I did accomplish. What I learned about the island as I searched to pick one, was this island was known for one major crop. The Pistachio. Yes, they have other crops produced there, but this is what they are known for. Like for instance Chios, many crops for sure, but they are best known for Mastiha. Luckily for me the time I chose to go was when the pistachios were just being harvested from the tree. Little did I know that you can just pull off a branch with several sprouted nuts and enjoy the nuts raw and fresh from the tree. Not at all like the “raw” nuts you get in the stores. These have been dried and heated already. I couldn’t wait to take advantage of all things pistachios, that is for sure!
The moment you step off the ferry, all you see are vendors selling and showing off all goods that are pistachio related. Of course I just wanted to stop and buy everything, but I wasn’t yet ready to shop. I arrived early Friday evening and hadn’t eaten much all day, and was looking forward to dropping my bags off at the hotel and heading back to port for some fresh seafood and a great atmosphere. Finally, vacation started. I could sit back, relax and not have a care in the world for time. For my first day, I decided upon a beach that was farther than I had originally planned to visit. This from a suggestion of a family friend. It was a great suggestion as this beach was on the south end of the island and it really required someone to have a car. I didn’t have a car so I found a taxi and I was on my way. I ended up using the same taxi driver the rest of the weekend. He was very nice and helpful; he would drop me off and we would plan for a pickup and he was always there as planned. Upon arriving at this beach, I was one of maybe three people there. That is typical for 9am in the morning. Within three hours the beach started to fill up. I definitely enjoyed the few hours of solitude and quiet. Once I was done, I called my taxi friend and I headed back to town to shower and rest before heading to the port and town. It was Saturday night, and all the town folk were out enjoying a nice evening by the water, sharing a meal or drinks. And all the kids met up and had fun with each other. Once again I found myself enjoying some fresh seafood and a small dose of people watching. Then I was off to walk off my meal and check out some of the local shops. I retired for the night early as I had planned a long day and an early start for the next day. (You know the saying, "2nd is the best!" or "I saved the beat for last!" That rings true for my 2nd day.! More to come from Aegina.......)
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