Greek Islands of Poros and Aegina

I took a day to visit two Islands while in Greece- Poros and Aegina.  Poros is an island though close to Athens, it’s  really close to the Peloponnese peninsula.  It’s a beautiful island with a spectacular view of the Saronic Gulf.  The ferry I took went to Poros Town, which was built on the side of a hill.  It was so beautiful.  I followed tiny streets with white-washed steps leading up to houses and winding alleys that took you to shops and cafes.  I was mesmerized by the turquoise balconies and shutters hanging off the sides of houses, and catching glimpses of the sea in the cracks between them.  After a while I moved off the hill and back toward the water.  I went in and out of markets and found one that had fresh fish.  I saw this one table in particular that had over thirty varieties of fish on a bed of ice in all different shapes, colors and sizes.  Everyone was so friendly, and while admiring this man’s daily catch he showed me this one particularly ferocious looking fish with tiny, sharp teeth, and creepy eyes.  He pulled up this little antenna-type-thing and explained to me how it drew in smaller fish with that.  I love markets and I bought some beautiful strawberries and sat on a bench in a little square and people-watched while I ate the entire bag.  I went into an orthodox church on the waterfront and spent some quiet time looking at the ceilings, walls, icons and ornate chandeliers.  The perfect place to reflect and journal about my experiences.

I went back on a ferry and made a stop in Aegina.  It was a bigger island and busier!  It is really well known for pistachios, and I took full advantage of that.  I bought a ton of little bags of freshly roasted pistachios and even stopped at a little ice cream shop to get a huge cone of pistachio ice cream.  I spent a tiny bit of time on the waterfront, and dipped into another beautiful orthodox church.  After that I went into the town and did pretty much the same thing as the other island- I walked through the back streets.  I took pictures of every adorable door and motor-scooter, and walked on the smallest brick sidewalks and passed an English school, the tiniest Valentino store I’ve ever seen, and couples roaming streets on mopeds.  I loved it.  I made my way back to the waterfront, stopped at a cafe, caught my ferry, and sailed back to Athens.

I loved the two islands I visited, the people I met, and the little things I found along the way.