Aigina / Aegina

OMG you guuuuuuuyyysssssssssssssss ... I can't even with Aigina!  It is the most perfect little island ever.

Aigina

So, as I mentioned in my Athens post, Harri hadn't been to Greece before, whereas it's my favorite country.  Accordingly, she was really keen to see a Greek island as well as Athens.  I was also keen that she should do so because it's important that everyone goes to a Greek island!  Luckily - also as I mentioned last time - Piraeus is a quick 40 minutes on the tube from the centre of Athens, and from Piraeus, boats go frequently to not one, not two, but three islands just off the coast.  The choices are Hydra, Poros and Aigina (which for some reason is spelt Aegina on the interwebs but in Greece is spelt Aigina), each of which has its own website.  Of them, Aigina is the closest and most easily accessible because it's only 40 minutes by boat from Piraeus and boats go really frequently.  It was really this that decided us, because we didn't have much time overall in Athens so we didn't want to spend too much time on boats or waiting around Piraeus.  In addition, Aigina has a really cool history - it has been inhabited since about 3500 BC!  It was most prosperous between about 900 BC and 480 BC, and it minted the first Greek coins way back in the seventh century BC.  Further, it was actually the first capital of modern Greece from 1827 to 1829 - beat that for a random fact!

Tom in first class

We got on the early train in the morning and hit the port by 08:00, all ready for the first boat of the day.  After a bit of a kerfuffle at the port (the boat moved three times in the harbor, necessitating the entire queue of waiting passengers to move with it) we finally jumped on and settled in.  It's a serious business getting the ferry to Aigina - you get allocated seats and everything!  Romy and I were sitting at the front of the boat, while Harri was off to the side and lucky Tom got bumped up to first class.  Posh!

Romy Harri and Tom at Aigina port

The ferry ride over was pretty uneventful, and we landed at the Aigina port a little while later.  We jumped off to find ourselves in the most adorbs little town.  Seriously - it was so cute, with one main promenade boardering the harbor/port, lined with trees and (importantly) ice-cream parlors, pistachio vendors, and the usual tourist shops.  Aigina itself isn't really a tourist destination per se - its visitors are mostly Greeks who have come over from the mainland, so it doesn't feel like it's mass-produced, but it's good to know that you can buy sunscreen if you need it!

We debated which way to go, as we wanted to find a nice beach, and a quick consultation with GoogleMaps told us that there was just such a beach about 20 minutes away to our right.  We decided to head that way, because if we headed left, then the next beach would be about an hour's walk.

The walk to the beach

This was a good decision, because in true Greek style, the beach that we had chosen was actually at least an hour's walk away.  We were totally confused at first because we couldn't believe that it could be so far away, given GoogleMaps's instructions.  However, eventually we saw the umbrellas lining the beachfront looming up in the distance, remembered that we were in Greece, and pressed on.  I tell ya what though, first - the walk was absolutely stunning.  We didn't have to come off the seafront once, so to our right was the gleaming green and blue sea, above us was the blazing sky, and to our lefts were tiny white cottages lining the street.  We crunched along the sandy footpath, enjoying the view and - of course - taking zillions of photographs.  I don't know why we bothered, as literally none did it justice.

When we finally reached the beach, it was so perfect.  We literally could not have mail-ordered a more picturesque, perfect and private beach.  Although there was a shop/cafe there with ice-cream (oh, and other food, and loos), there was no-one else there.  We had the choice of the sunbeds and umbrellas entirely to ourselves!  After we settled in and ordered some frozen cocktails, it was time to put in some serious relaxation.  I take my tanning very seriously, so I immediately fell asleep, whereas the others read magazines and books and took turns dipping in and out of the sea.  We had opened a tab when we got there, and the shopkeeper would periodically appear to see whether there was any tiny whim of ours which he could fulfill (generally this took the form of more frozen cocktails, but we did manage to make the effort of ordering and eating lunch at one point).  Tom decided to wander further down the coast, so he left us for a bit, but the rest of the day was pretty much spent the same way.  It was the most ideal day - and leaving at about 17:30 was too early, frankly!  However, since we had to get back to catch the ferry, eventually we packed up and got going.

Snails covering the fence outside the beach

Rather than walk back, we took a cab so that we could explore the tiny town before we got on the ferry back - this was another excellent decision!  We soon discovered that behind the promenade was the cutest, tiniest town, with cobbled streets lined with artesan shops selling everything from clothing to pistachios (Aigina is known for good pistachio crops) and pharmaceuticals and natural remedies.  It was the nicest little town and I'm so glad we got to explore it.  If you're feeling more culturally minded than we were on the day, you can also visit the Temple of Aphaia and the Church of Agios Nektarios, which we saw from the outside but didn't venture into due to lack of time.

Finally, it was back to the ferry for us.  We were pretty shattered by all the energetic and aggressive sun-bathing we'd done that day, so we stayed at the hotel for supper as we could eat on the rooftop.  It was the perfect end to the perfect day.

If you're going to Athens and you want a daytrip to the most magical place ever, please go to Aigina!  I'm sure Poros and Hydra are lovely too, but Aigina is perfect.  I really hope that I can get back there soon.