Aegina

In 2011, we went to Aegina,and for variety's sake, we visited Hydra in 2012.  Hydra was so beautiful, we went again in 2013.  But this year we opted again for variety and returned to Aegina.  It was a lovely trip with some serendipity thrown in as a bonus.  Here is the story

We got up at dawn to catch an early-morning ferry.  Rosy-fingered dawn, indeed.

First stop was the temple of Aphaia, which has been partially reconstructed and is very beautiful.

There is a second archaeological site on the island, Colonna.

Colonna is right on the beach near the port.  There area beaches on both sides of the site, and the views are gorgeous.

I love the play of color in the Greek landscape.  The land is so dry and brown in the summer (foreground), but the sea ranges from sage to sea-green, to azure, to deep blue...we spent a few hours on the beach swimming, playing paddleball, frisbee and napping.

Fruit boats bring fruit from all over Greece to the port.  Our little shoppers are striding confidently past on their way to a delicious lunch.

But who needs a fruit boat when it hangs into the public street?  This is a fresh fig, for those who haven't ever seen one.  Nature's candy.  As we were eating the figs on the street, we heard a few musical notes floating on the breeze.  I went to investigate and found a hidden courtyard where they were setting up for a concert that night and were testing the mics.

As we wandered, we found a Catalan tower, one of the few markers of the European occupation left on the island.

Tightly locked up with this $5.00 lock advertised as "Top Security."

We wandered a bit more, had some coffee and frozen yogurt, and then meandered to the port to wait for the boat.

The sun began to descend when our boat came to pick us up.

Lovely day!