Yesterday we spent the day on the island of Aegina, a brisk 40 minute boat ride from the port of Piraeus near Athens. We all zombied our way out of the dorms at 7:15 am and made our way to the Flying Dolphin XXIX, our speedy transport that whisked us away towards our destination. The first order of business upon arrival was to hop on a bus and drive to the Temple of Aphaia, a local goddess whose sanctuary has been partially rebuilt and restored. Unlike some of the sanitized sites we have encountered here, this one actually thoroughly impressed me.
After we walked around the site and attached museum we returned to the town near the port and walked the streets. A few of us found a neat little cafe and got some coffee and cheese pies before the majority of the group made a beeline for the beach. The water was crystal clear and refreshingly cool. Some of us ended up off the beaten path on a small rocky portion of the beach. Small pools of water formed among the clusters of rocks and we spent a few hours either swimming or scouring the shallows for ghost shrimp and crabs.
Our next destination was a seaside taverna for lunch. We had an interesting variation of Greek salad with stringy lettuce and corn tossed in, herby meatballs, feta wrapped in zucchini topped with tomato sauce, moussaka, and watermelon for dessert. Yum! Feeling considerably full of food, we lounged for a few moments. To our great surprise, a small storm rolled in and sprinkled the island with rain. It was the third time this week that we got rain, an epic anomaly this time of year in Attica. After the rain settled we all went our separate ways and spent a few hours exploring the town. I ended up finding a sweet shop and invested in a superb chocolate souffle before sitting down at a cafe for my second coffee of the day, this time a frappe with Bailey's. After what felt like an eternity we met up and boarded our boat back to Athens. We got back to the dorms around 10 pm, wrapping up a tiring but satisfying 15 hour day trip to the island of Aegina.
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