We docked at Piraeus at 6.30 am today. All the ship excursions went to Athens, but Valerie, Tom, Bill and I did our own thing and caught a ferry to the island of Aegina. We had a wonderful day on this truly beautiful island, with its blue sea, background of mountains and oozing a great sense of peace. We walked along the promenade, checking out the shops and restaurants. We had lunch at a restaurant right on the water’s edge. After this we took a taxi to the other side of the island where the views were magnificent. On this trip we passed many olive trees. Aegina seems to be a fishing village, where the fish a brought straight from the fishing boats to the market to be sold. We saw a bold albatross go to the fish market and pinch a fish, but he dropped it on the promenade. A kind Greek man who was passing, picked the fish up and threw it into the water where the albatross was able to regain its treasure. (Barbara). On Aegina we negotiated a cross-island taxi ride with a stopover for 40 euros. The girl taxi driver only put the meter on in one direction so I guess she made a good profit for the day. The ferry trip from Piraeus to Aegina was fast and comfortable. Only 40 minutes. The company was Hellenic Sea Ways ( http://www.hsw.gr ) for future reference. 25 euros per person return. Only 8 people out of 2000 had enough initiative to choose this fantastic self-run tour. See photos below. Other passengers seemed exhausted after their whirlwind tours of Athens – “Parthenoned-out” was the general feeling. The exciting day finished with three loud blasts of the ship’s horn as two portly ladies came running (if such a word could be used) alongside as the gangway was being raised. The Italian captain, although in distress from Italy failing in the World Cup, took pity and waited for them. However, we lost our window of departure and had to wait for numerous large ferries to enter and leave before us. Piraeus sparkled white in the setting sun as we sailed into the Aegean Sea en route to Kusadasi in Turkey. The amazing thing in the Mediterranean are the short distances we have to travel. (Bill)
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