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Published: January 13th 2015
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Somehow I never found time and / or had telecoms difficulties to write about my travels in the latter half of 2014 and some folks might have thought I had given up and handed in my passport - of course not !! So urged by some friends and followers to catch up I find I have some time ( I am actually having a month in Dubai) and a new iPad so no excuse now.
I did not intend to fill up the year with trips but they just seemed to happen - there was a glorious English summertime in July and August and lots of visitors kept me amused enjoying the delights of Sussex. Then September rolled in and I was off to the Greek island of Agistri a one hour ferry hop from Piraeus. My travelling pal Lesley was with me and this was a definite first for me - first time in Greece and first time on an an activity style holiday with classes of Chi Gung/ yoga and Meditation - all in the beautiful setting of Rosys Village overlooking the island of Aegina.
I had an image of what I wanted a Greek island to
be and I was ecstatic when a walked into this idyllic place , white walls, blue doors, flowers , a turquoise sea and as it turned out great food and amazing people. Les and I had spent 2 nights in Athens to see the Acropolis ...loads of tourists there but you can still sit on the marble steps and wonder at the history of it all.
Nick and Annie, practitioners of shiatsu and chi Gung in Sussex, ran the classes -'wonderful teachers and with a great group of
So a week of wonderful relaxing classes and a couple of trips on Nondas boat .. around the island to swim in the most perfect clear sea and to Epiduarus - amazing amphitheater. Another swim found us over a sunken city and there I was standing on the rooftops- awesome!
Reluctantly we left for our second week and did another bit of island hopping - in late Spetember it is quieter but along with that ferry services are not so frequent so sometimes you have to backtrack and on another note ticket offices are not always staring you in the face ... Sometimes down a back streets - but
we found everyone was very helpful and would keep offering us senior discounts!!
If you get a chance go to Hydra .. An island with no cars - donkeys and guys with carts carry the heavy loads along cobbled streets ... while away the hours in the bustling little harbour, take walks out to litle pebbly coves and swim, and watch the sun go down with a beer. About twice a year there is a storm with the most horrendous deluge for an hour or so and we were unlucky enough to experience that but it was an amazing sight to see streets turned into rivers and the steep steps turned into waterfall cascades. That's where my Iphone fell out of my pocket and got rather wet. With no phone it was difficult but if you are ever in Hydra there is the Internet Pharmacy ( yes not a cafe ) to help out. The rains had even got through the windows of our room and we found soaked bedding and an inch or so of water on the floor. Our host was mortified and quickly gave us another room and he was so nice and thankful that we
didn't make a fuss ... Honestly would Les and I do that !!,
Finally it was a another 2 ferries to Aegina via Poros ... Watch out for different docks if you are travelling by ferry ship or the quick catamarans. More relaxing and swimming and wandering the narrow streets and harbours with a pistachio festival in September not to mention more Greek temple ruins.
A tip .. back at the ferry port of Piraeus you can pay 40€ for a taxi to the Athens airport but a cheaper option is the bus ... Right opposite the port. We were told it was 3€ but once again we were offered half fare for seniors so we didn't deny it and took the 90 min journey... Well we got to see a bit more of Greece.
Next time we need to explore the mainland .... part 2 coming up .
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Don't hand in your passport!
I was worried when we went to Greece because it was the place I had "dreamed" of since childhood. I was afraid I had built it up too much and I would be disappointed. That was not the case. I feel in love and felt like I was living in a postcard. I love the Plaka and have jewelry to prove it! Eager to read more.