Advertisement
Published: December 3rd 2022
A pomegranate never tastes like a fig… ~ Greek Proverb
HE SAID... Today we were travelling south from Aegina to
Poros– by ferry.
After exploring the narrow backstreets of Aegina Town (the island’s bustling port area) in the early morning light, we made our way to the Chapel of St Nicholas – a tiny church built right on the dock – which provided much needed shelter from the sun as we waited for our ferry to Poros.
Having familiarised ourselves with the size of Greek ferries the previous day, we were ready for this journey. We even boarded as seasoned ferry travellers. Well, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but at least we weren’t as shell-shocked as we’d been at Piraeus the previous morning. We set off from Aegina at 10:30am, stopped briefly at Methana on the Peloponnese peninsula along the way, and arrived at Poros around midday.
I loved this trip. For a start, the ferry wasn’t crowded. There were many places to sit and relax, so we opted for a bench seat and table at the stern. The view from the back of the ferry was amazing, and the breeze as very cooling. We passed small deserted islands that housed stone lighthouses and churches, jutting
from the arid soil in the blue haze of the Saronic Gulf. These small rustic structures had been built close to the waterline, and I wondered how many people had lived in them. Sheltered in them. Worshipped in them. I wondered how many ships had been warned by them. How many sailors prayed in them. These unembellished stone structures once served a purpose. Now they stand empty and alone. In time they will simply crumble into the sea.
Anyway, enough day dreaming. I really need to get out more. I loved the stark contrast of blue water and blue sky against the green foliage and jagged rocks of these diminutive islands. I loved the blue and white stripes of the Greek flag crumpling in the breeze as the ferry powered towards Poros. I loved the trail of white water we were leaving in our wake. It disappeared to Aegina on the horizon, churned by the ferry’s propellors. It marked our journey between two Saronic islands, if only briefly. I loved this trip.
On docking in Poros, we faced another ferry disembarkation – our second in as many days. While it wasn’t quite as manic as our experience in
Aegina (due to there being less people and less cars on the ferry), it was still a scramble. We had to collect our packs from the car storage area, and we had to navigate cars as we made our way off the boarding platform onto the busy promenade of Poros.
Greece’s searing midday sun takes no prisoners, and we wilted immediately in the midst of luxury yachts, meandering tourists and busy locals. Our hotel room wasn’t ready, but it mattered little, as we had a deadline to meet. We jumped into an air-conditioned taxi and sped towards our first Poros adventure – a cooking class at the Odyssey Cooking Centre.
Now I’ve had mixed experiences with cooking classes over the years. Some have been good, others not so much. I’ve had bossy cooks, bored cooks, incomprehensible cooks and disengaged cooks. I’ve been in small, pokey, smoky kitchens where I could barely see or breath. I’ve been in kitchens with systematic cooks who required tasks to be performed ‘as instructed’. I’ve been in kitchens with control-freak cooks who couldn’t help but do everything themselves. And, of course, I’ve been in kitchens with engaging, entertaining and informative cooks who let
me do as much or as little as I wanted.
Dora, our cook at the Odyssey Cooking Centre, was fantastic. Her approach was one of the best I’ve experienced, and her ability to herd cats (namely us) was amazing. The class started with a glass of white wine, and my glass seemed to re-fill itself of its own accord as the afternoon progressed. She also made us an extraordinary gin cocktail, and the amount of gin she poured into the pitcher was enough to floor a small donkey. We couldn’t stop smiling. I’m not very good with detailed cookery techniques, so I was more than happy to dice onions, chop tomatoes, sip white wine and assemble the
tirotrigona (cheese pies).
By far the best part of the cooking class was sitting down and enjoying the dishes we’d prepared with Dora’s guidance and endless patience. There was a beautiful shady dining area just outside the kitchen, and this is where we settled – at different stages during the afternoon – to share the following dishes:
>
tzatziki (yoghurt, garlic and cucumber dip)
>
melitzano salata (eggplant dip)
> grilled vegetables
>
tirotrigona (cheese pies)
>
aubergines imam (stuffed eggplants)
>
psari plaki (baked fish)
>
bougatsa (custard pies).
Our time at the Odyssey Cooking Centre drew to a close around 4pm, and it had been a fantastic introduction to Greek cooking, and to Poros itself. Dora’s approach was a gentle reminder (for me) that not all cooks are bossy, bored or disengaged. This experience struck a happy medium. It was a relaxing afternoon in a beautiful location. We cooked, yes, but we also laughed, chatted and ate. A lot!
We bid farewell to Dora, jumped into a taxi and headed to Hotel Pavlou, our accommodation for the next two nights. The hotel was located quite a distance from Poros Town (the island’s main port), which sits on the western edge of Sferia – a small land mass on the southern end of the island. We were staying on Kalavria, a larger and more remote part of the island, and our only means of getting to Poros Town was by taxi. It was too far to walk.
The view from the hotel’s outdoor dining area was fantastic. We looked over the narrow sea channel that separates Poros from the Peloponnese peninsula, and it was amazing to think
we were only 200 metres from the Greek mainland. A road separated us from the beach, which had been infiltrated by perfectly placed deck chairs and shade umbrellas. I made an immediate decision to avoid the beach.
Our room still wasn’t ready, so we settled at one of the dining tables and relaxed into the late afternoon with drinks from the bar. We made the best of this place, but there were some obvious cracks I’m not going to dwell on. Apart from the barman, that is. I’ve never given a second thought to ordering drinks when we travel, but this bloke made the process difficult. I doubt he’d slept in the past 48 hours, and he had some serious attitude (coupled with some residue deliria from a life-lived-hard). When I asked for the drinks menu, he informed me that ‘he’ was the drinks menu – pointing to his chest, no less. Oh please! When I asked what beers he had, he told me that he only served boutique beer – not the garden-variety local rubbish that anyone can buy in a supermarket. ‘Unless, of course, that’s what you’re after’, he said, staring at me down his sanctimonious nose.
I told him that was exactly what I was after, channelling my father’s stubborn smile. For the next two days, this bloke and I did not get on.
Anyway, enough of my musings on Hotel Pavlou. We were on an island in the Saronic Gulf, we’d just experienced the most amazing cooking class, and we were heading into Poros Town later in the evening for dinner. So as we waited for our room, we relaxed in the late afternoon sun with drinks from the bar. And yes, I made a point of ordering garden-variety local beers… 😊
We headed into Poros Town (by taxi) around 7pm, where a steep set of stairs and narrow alleyways led us through a maze of closely built houses to the township’s crowning landmark – a beautiful blue and white clocktower. The clocktower is located on a rocky outcrop overlooking the main port area, and the view across the channel to the Greek mainland was sublime. A few others had made the climb to witness the sun setting behind the Peloponnese mountains, but the place wasn’t crowded. There were kids, teenagers, families and tourists alike. I loved the gentle atmosphere of this lookout.
We lingered for a while in the orange glow of the sun, then made our way down another set of steps and narrow alleyways to the main township, passing more of the same closely built houses where locals were going about their daily lives. ‘We could easily live here’, I thought to myself, as we slowly descended to sea level.
We wandered the promenade of Poros Town for a while, bewildered by the size and functionality of the yachts moored along the dock, and by the affluent lifestyles of their owners. The place was buzzing. We settled at a small table on the pavement and ordered
souvlakis (grilled meat wrapped in a pita with hot chips, tomatoes, onion and yoghurt sauce) from a nearby taverna. The staff were extraordinary, carrying our
souvlakis and drinks across the busy road to our dockside location. With the gentle rattle of sail rigs filling the warm evening air, we enjoyed an incredible meal on the docks of Poros Town. It is difficult to describe the atmosphere of this meal. Suffice to say, I loved it!
We wandered the bustling promenade for a while, then settled at a local bar with a
glass of
mastika (which was fast becoming my favourite Greek liqueur). A perfect way to end a perfect day. When we decided to return to our hotel, we discovered that taxis – our only mode of transport on the island – were in-demand at this time of night. As a result, they were few and far between. After waiting for a while on the docks, we eventually clambered into an unoccupied taxi and sped back to our hotel, crossing the tiny isthmus that joins Kalavria and Sferia on the way.
When our taxi pulled into Hotel Pavlou at 11pm, we knew it was time to retire. We were travelling to Hydra the following morning, and we had a reasonably early ferry to catch. We purchased some bottled water from old-mate the barman and headed straight to our room.
SHE SAID... We caught another Saronic Ferries ferry from Aegina to the nearby island of
Poros. This time I was mentally prepared for the chaotic passenger ferry experience, and to be embarking the boat via the busy vehicle ramp!
Last time we caught a ferry, I had wondered about the seemingly unmarked spot Georgia (our group leader)
had indicated we should leave our large luggage in the vehicle bay; but this time it seemed even weirder – under some random stairs. I would never have known to do that had I been travelling on my own.
We then proceeded upstairs to look for seats for the hour-long journey. We checked out the open upper deck, and even though there were bench seats up there this time, there was still no shade. We were eventually driven downstairs after the ferry left the Aegina port.
We wanted to write some travel notes, so we settled at a nice outside table on one of the undercover decks. We had a great view from the back of the boat and it was a lovely place to write. However, a combination of cigarette smoke and the humid heat eventually drove us inside. We ended up spending the rest of the trip on a comfortable couch seat in the air-conditioned area. It was a very pleasant journey – helped very much by the ferry not being packed to the rafters. Although we were using the same ferry company as the day before, this ferry was a newer and plusher model.
Poros is much smaller than Aegina, and separated from the Peloponnese mainland by a narrow channel of a mere 200 metres of water. On our approach to Poros, I realised that even from this distance I could make out the many prominent neoclassical buildings in the waterfront area. I could also see that the beautiful buildings continued uphill into the green mountains of the island.
Even though the ferry hadn’t felt very crowded, when it came to the disembarking process, it was as hectic and manic as in Aegina. Thankfully our bags had been stored at the front of the boat this time, but on at least two occasions I saw people being ‘nudged’ by the cars and vans driving off the ferry! 😱
No sooner had we planted our feet on the wharf in Poros Town than we were in taxis and heading to the Odyssey Cooking Centre in the tiny town of Askeli. The island of Poros is comprised of two land masses connected by an isthmus (which was so minuscule that I missed it every time we crossed it!). The small land area of Sferia is more populated and holds Poros Town, while the much
larger area of Kalavria has a few small towns, longer beaches and seasonal hotels.
They weren’t quite ready for us at the cooking school when we arrived, so we put our luggage in the office space and relaxed in their beautiful shady courtyard. The Odyssey complex also had apartments to rent, a bistro and a bar; and there was a nice-looking beach was just across the road. We hadn’t even started our cooking class and I was already in love with the place… and wished we were staying here.
Our three-hour cooking class commenced with a glass of white wine and us doing what commercial kitchens call the ‘mise en place’ for our seven dishes. This entailed preparing all the vegetables and starting the base processes for all the baked dishes. We also made the cheese fillings and cooked the custard for the pies. Dora was our chef, and she was clearly very competent and passionate about Greek food. But more than this, she had that engaging quality that’s essential for teaching and imparting knowledge. We immediately felt at home in her kitchen, and I loved every minute of our cooking class with her.
Our seven dishes
were:
tzatziki (dip of yoghurt, cucumbers, garlic, salt and olive oil); smoky
melitzano salata (roasted eggplant/aubergine dip); grilled vegetables;
tirotrigona (triangular cheese pies);
Imam Baildi (roasted eggplant/aubergine stuffed with onions and tomatoes);
psari plaki; (baked fish with onions and tomatoes); and
bougatsa (custard phyllo pie) for dessert.
We eventually had a short break, which was very much enhanced by a fabulous gin cocktail with a Greek twist. Dora ingeniously added the cucumber juice extracted from the grated cucumber (for the
tzatziki) to gin, tonic, ginger ale and homemade lemonade. With mint we picked from the herb pots, it was very refreshing and delicious. The Greeks never drink without food and the kitchen brought us out a meze plate of bread spread with Dora’s beloved Kyknos tomato paste, olive oil and dried oregano.
Dora had explained that when she visited her Greek grandmother for school holidays (she’s half Dutch and grew up in the Netherlands), her grandma would often give her an afternoon snack of rusks with the Kyknos tomato paste. It’s a much-loved food item, and apparently very sought-after in countries with large Greek populations. I googled the Kyknos company while writing these notes, and not only are
they a major producer of tomato paste and sauces in the Peloponnese region, but they also sell their products to other global brands.
On returning to the kitchen, we stuffed the semi-cooked eggplant with a mixture of cooked onions and tomatoes and baked it; and the fillets of white fish got a similar treatment with the same mixture of cooked onions. Andrew and a few others filled pre-cut strips of phyllo pastry with a feta filling for the
tirotrigona, while the rest of us did the same with custard for the
bougatsa. The custard had been made a bit stodgier than normal, so it didn’t get too runny as a filling, and an addition of the zest of a whole orange had made it smell absolutely heavenly. No sooner had we finished making the little triangular
bougatsa parcels than all three of us ‘attacked’ the leftover custard! It’s funny how it doesn’t take much for us to regress to our childhood states. 😄
Normally the best part of a cooking class is sitting down to taste your dishes, but this time, the cooking and eating parts were equally enjoyable. We sat at a long table in the light
dappled courtyard and feasted on our food. I loved the two dips and the
tirotrigona. However, not being a fan of the strong flavour of onions or cinnamon, I didn’t enjoy the roasted eggplant and baked fish dishes as much as I thought I would. If I recreate the
Imam Baildi dish at home, I’d cook off the onions a lot more and definitely reduce the quantity of cinnamon. On a more positive note, having helped make the custard as well as assemble the
bougatsa, I was very pleased that this was the dish of the day (for me anyway!). 😊
Very happily full, we said our goodbyes to Dora and started piling into taxis to head to our hotel. Quite suddenly we noticed a commotion in the office where we’d left our luggage, and it turned out one of our group members had injured their back while picking up their suitcase. Hoping it wasn’t too bad, we proceeded to our hotel, while Georgia sorted out medical attention for the injured person.
Our taxis seemed to drive a long way before we arrived at Hotel Pavlou. It was a bit disappointing that yet again we were in a
hotel out of the main centre, but this time it really was quite a long way away. However, there seemed to be a beach right in front of the hotel, and there was also a front bar we could sit at while we waited for our rooms to be ready.
Well, it didn’t take long for us to not be that impressed with the bar, or should I say, the show pony of a barman. I went up to ask for a cocktail menu and he theatrically threw his arms out to the side and announced that he WAS the cocktail menu. He kept smiling at me bizarrely with his arms held in that position, and a gross sweaty bare chest on display. Oh dear. One of those. His behaviour and state of undress made me uncomfortable, so I decided to return to our table and let Andrew deal with him while I chatted with Dani. Even Andrew, who gives people far more rope than I do, returned to the table furious with the guy. We henceforth called him the idiot barman.
We had a couple of hours to relax before we regrouped to catch taxis to Poros
Town for an evening orientation walk and dinner. We were dropped off on the main promenade, and while we waited for the others, I could see very clearly that the town was quite beautiful.
Poros Town has been built between the water and the mountains, and we walked up to the gorgeous hilltop clocktower to get an elevated sense of the town. The pastel blue and white art deco clocktower is an icon of Poros, and it overlooks the narrow channel between the island and the mainland. The hillside was a maze of steep steps, narrow alleyways and traditional houses that seemed to organically meld into the slope.
From the vantage point of the clocktower we had a gorgeous view of the water, the terracotta roofs of Poros Town below us, and the Peloponnese mainland to the west of us. The mainland was beautifully backlit by a bright orange sunset. The Saronic Gulf sunsets are pretty damn exquisite! 😊
After basking in the lovely auburn sunset, we eventually retraced our steps back down to water level. Poros Town is dominated by its meandering quay which houses a lively mix of bars, restaurants and shops in pretty neoclassical
buildings; and marinas that have every shape and size of boat from the cutest tiny wooden ones to massive super yachts. The closer we walked towards the deep harbour, the bigger they got! The marina seemed much busier than the one in Aegina.
We walked along the waterfront checking out the rows of shops and eateries, but also being mindful not to stub our toes on the large metal cleats on the quay or trip over the mooring lines of the boats. Andrew did (slightly dramatically) trip on a line, but thankfully didn’t end up in the water!
All of us were still full from the cooking school lunch, and unanimously settled on the classic street food of
souvlaki for dinner. We wanted to sit at the handful of atmospheric tables on the quay (rather than on the busy pavement outside the restaurants), and even though there wasn’t a table big enough for the seven of us at ‘Corner Souvlaki’, the staff jumped to action. They carried out an extra table across the road to us. So far, the level of hospitality service in Greece couldn’t be faulted – nothing has been too much trouble for waiting staff.
We could hardly read the menu by the weak street lighting, but we were only interested in the
souvlaki section anyway. I opted to have a chicken
souvlaki and Andrew had a pork
gyros (pronounced YEE-ros). I probably should explain the very different terminology (for us Australians) around
souvlakis in Greece. A
souvlaki is any type of cubed meat on a skewer that’s grilled; and a
gyros is any meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie. But in everyday language,
souvlaki is also used as a general term to describe the dish of meat served on or in a pita with tomatoes, onions, hot chips and yoghurt sauce. In Australia the most common meat for a
souvlaki is lamb, but I have yet to see a lamb
souvlaki in Greece. The main meat on offer is pork, followed by chicken.
Our food was delicious. We were normally a talkative group, but when those pita parcels were delivered to our table, all you could hear was contented munching! The street food experience was made even more special by eating within almost touching distance of the moored yachts in that pretty marina. It was also very enjoyable watching people out and
about, eating and drinking in that warm night. Having just flown out of winter in Tasmania, this vision of a summer evening was so delightful! 😊
We opted to get gelati for dessert and walked back to a place Georgia had pointed out to us earlier in the evening – Th. Vessala. I opted for a pistachio gelato which was nice, but nowhere near as rich and flavoursome as the one we’d had in Aegina the night before. After Andrew and Pedro had a quick-ish nightcap of
mastika (a liqueur seasoned with resin from the mastic tree) at a nearby bar, we all piled into taxis for the drive back our hotel.
For the second night in a row, I was too tired to write any travel notes. On the plus side, I slept like a baby until we had to force ourselves awake and get ready for a day trip to Hydra. I’m fairly sure we are well and truly over any jetlag we’d had.
Next we travel south to Hydra, a tiny but rich jewel of an island.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.101s; Tpl: 0.018s; cc: 14; qc: 29; dbt: 0.026s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Chris L.
non-member comment
Postcard
Indeed, it looks like a postcard. It is wonderful reading of these lesser known places.