Aegina

Following a 9:00 AM breakfast, with the juicer still causing problems, I walked to the Parliament square and took the subway to the nearby port of Piraeus, which has served as the main nautical entree to Athens since the classical era.  Today it's hopping with giant ferry boats, each with a complicated schedule to escape to the many near- and far-away islands.  Some of the big boys are featured below:

Big ferries in Piraeus harbor.

I chose a nearby island, Aegina, which is a forty minute ride away on my boat, the trim and lean "Venus I", a "Flying Dolphin" hydrofoil, pictured below.

The "Venus I"

I spoke with a pleasant Cubano and his girlfriend, both now living in Spain.  The Cuban fellow is a pharmacist who grew up in Havana.  He is ready for the Castro era to end and wants his friends back home to be able to use an iPhone4, etc., like he can in Spain.  He was not too worried about the 50th  anniversary of the Bay of Pigs this month.

On arrival on Aegina, I took a short walk to see the Temple of Apollo ruins.  Below is a nearby shot of a beach, etc.

Beach on Aegina

Aegina city seemed to have a nice waterfront, but not much else.  The island itself is small, so I opted for a 10 Euro bicycle rental as an alternative to the 20 Euro moped.  The bike, labeled "Doberman," had lost much of its fighting spirit.  But it was adequate to get me around the island, though working gears would have helped on some hills.

I made for ruins at Paleohora, a Byzantine monastery dating from the 9th century AD, in active use until the 1820s.  The bike ride was an adventure; it was at the fringe of safety with fast cars on the narrow roads causing some minor fright.  Asking twice for directions at outdoor restaurants brought offers of fresh roasted meats from the outdoor cooks.  I imagine Odysseus, Agamemnon, Nestor, and all the gang had similar eats in the old days.  After an hour of uphill cycling and walking, I made it to the monastery, pictured below, and took a quick look around.  

Exterior of some of the buildings at Paleohora monastery

Chapel interior at Paleohora monastery

It would have been nice to explore more, but "Doberman" had no lock.  The drive down was quick and easy, being all downhill.  Here is "Doberman," safe in port.

"Doberman" at home

JMP deserved a meal after this effort, and seafood beckoned.  My restaurant is below, along with my plate of grilled octopus and vegetables.

My late afternoon restaurant on Aegina

Grilled octopus and vegetables on the Aegina seaside

I hopped the 5:00 PM Venus I hydrofoil back to Piraeus and had a nice chat with a Greek man and his mother.

This new blue hat is a poor substitute for my reliable greenie.  It failed to do its prescribed job, and I picked up a sunburned nose, marginally apparent below from the Piraeus seaside.

My deficient blue hat which admitted a sunburned nose

Once at Piraeus, I made my way back to Athens from the metro station pictured below.

Metro station at Piraeus

There was some construction on the train, so I took an early exit and had scenic walk to my hotel.

Roman Agora (foreground) and Acropolis (background)

On return to the hotel, I turned on the internet radio.  Chicago's WFMT was featuring an extended interview with pianist George Vatchnadze, with lots of his live music featured. George used to be in South Bend at IUSB, and I booked him for a gig in the Ramada Inn as featured dinner performer for the ASME regional student meeting in the early 1990s. George was awesome, and has come a long way from the Ramada on US 31 North.