Greek Island of Aegina

Date of this adventure: February 23, 2013

The previous night, Liz, Greg, James, and I decided to travel to the Greek island of Aegina the next morning. 

Walking through the neighborhood near our hotel toward the metro

Pireaus is the largest Greek seaport and one of the largest sea ports in the Mediterranean Sea. 

Hopping on the ferry to the Greek island Aegina

Aegina's port

Crystal clear water

We discovered a land scattered with many pistachio trees.

James, Greg, and Liz heading up to Kolona

Kolona was the location of the acropolis of ancient Aegina. 

Ancient Aegina was a major rival of Athens until the 5th century when Athens defeated Aegina. 

Aegina

The sole standing column of an ancient temple

After visiting the archaeological site, we headed to the beach to soak up a little bit of sunshine. 

The temperature was about 15 degrees Celsius (about 59 degrees Fahrenheit). While sporting our shorts and t-shirts, we saw the locals sporting puffy winter coats, scarves, hats, and gloves. We had a good laugh about it.

James' toe shoes collected flowers and carried them around the whole day!

Walking through the quiet town

Due to February being part of Greece's off season for tourism, the island was not very busy, and many of the shops were closed until summer. This also meant that we had the beaches to ourselves!

Greek Orthodox Church

Pistachios were plentiful!

Even though the beaches were not prepared for tourists, the views were a dream.

Liz, Greg, James and I decided to take a long walk around the island to explore. After about an hour of walking around the west side of the island, we had only discovered these amazing views.

James and I headed straight back to a nice little beach to absorb as much sun as we possibly could. The air still had a slight chill (it was February...), but we were determined to wear our swimsuits! Our faces (+James' neck) were sunburned by the end of the day! It was an amazing feeling to have seen so much sun!

We are incredibly thankful for this amazing opportunity to travel and explore the world.