The second day (Dec. 25th) was supposed to be a tour to the ruins at Delphi.
But the tour was cancelled because of it being Christmas, and instead I
transferred this to a tour of 3 of the Greek islands by cruiseship -- Poros,
Hydra, and Aegina. It was raining and we had some rough seas, but taking after
a seasickness tablet I was fine. First stop - island of Poros. It was a nice
little port with tiny cobblestone streets (not enough for 1 car to go through),
and lot of little white houses with blue roofs and windows. Very nice!
Second stop - Island of Hydra. By this time I was getting sick and glad to be
on solid ground! I didn't go too far from the ship though - just walked around
the waterfront and back on board in 1/2 hour for departure to Aegina.
Third and final stop after a big 4-course lunch (drinks not included) and a nap
on the ship - Island of Aegina, which is the largest of the islands in the
Saronic gulf, and used to be a major seapower 3000-2500 years ago until it was
invaded by Athens. Later occupied by Byzantine Empire. So there are ruins from
both periods.... I took another tour over there to visit Temple of Apollo -
very nice... then an old Byzantine church, rebuilt in 1921. Got drenched in
both places because of the rain, but it was still fun!
By the time I got back to the ship I was exhausted and fell asleep and did not
wake up until we had docked in Athens!
Poros: Mainly a resort island. Across the narrow strait is the town of Galatas on the Peloponnesian peninsula.
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Aegina: Temple of Apollo (5th century BC) shown here. The island was flourishing in the 10th-7th centuries BC as a major sea power. Attacked and defeated by Athens in 459 BC. Today it is the "pistachio nut capital of the world"
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