Our Wakes: 2019

Not far from Hydra, is the island of Poros. We have stopped several times at Poros as it offers a  good shelter when the Meltemi wind ( the local mistral) is blowing. It is also well served by ferries  that can take you to Athens in 45 minutes. Poros is otherwise a tourist city where you will have no problem finding B&Bs, restaurants, noisy discos etc... On weekends, the island is packed with people from Athens who on a 2 day visit. If you prefer quieter days, you should go on Wednesday or Thursday. If you want to place you boat along the jetty you had better arrive around 11am to be sure of finding some space. If the jetties are full, you can easily find some good shelter nearby with clean water if you wish to swim. North of Poros lies the island of Aegina. This island is the closest one to Athens and it is very easy to get to from Athens as there are plenty of ferries that provide a link to the island. The harbour is very busy and noisy, but if you move away from the harbour, the island is a quiet place. North of the harbour you can find some remains of a temple dedicated to Apollo. Only one column is still standing; the rest are blocks on the ground. If you want to enjoy the island, I highly recommend that you rent a car or bike. Inland on the island you will first discover large plantation of pistachios. Aegina has the best pistachios in Greece they say, and in early September there is even a pistachio festival. The island has a very complicated history as it was regularly invaded by soldiers of all kinds. The Byzantines, the Ottomans, the Venetians and the Hellenic armies all occupied it. Not many buildings are left from  those periods. In the middle of the island there once was a city called Peleaora. Nothing is left except  for more the 15 churches that are mostly in ruins. The density of churches is very impressive indicating that in the past the place must have been wealthy. To visit the churches there is a trail for pedestrians that allows you to walk along the churches. Further East, you will find the temple of Aphaia. This temple forms a perfect isosceles triangle with the Parthenon and the temple of  Cape Sounion. Form the temple there is also a good view of the sea south of Athens and you can realize how much boat traffic there is near the capital, Athens. South of the island you can enjoy numerous beaches and coves where you can anchor. You also have the little harbour of Perdika with a few nice tavernas. Between Aegina and Poros lies a nearby island that is still attached to the mainland. This place is called Methana and has had numerous volcanic eruptions. The last eruption was in 230 BC. Several villages are located on Methana, but we found on the West side a beautiful harbour that offers space for max. 10 boats. Vathy is very quiet and 4 tavernas are located nearby the boats.. The harbour of Vathy is a good starting point to visit the crater from the last eruption. Most of the walking is on a road that takes you into a small village were a few farmers tend to their herds. Some of the houses are built up against the old lava making you believe that the house prevented the lava from flowing any further. If you continue to climb near the top you leave the road and walk towards the crater. It is a very nice walk, with beautiful scenery and vegetation. At the end, you discover the crater but it is very disappointing as it is located between two pieces of rock.  One piece of advice, however, if you want to go to the crater, is to start early in the morning as the sun will most of the time be on the other side of the mountain and the temperature will be more comfortable. 25 miles to the North West of Poros, is the harbour of Epidauros that is a good place to visit with  the very well-preserved amphitheatre of Epidaurus. This theatre can seat about 14,000 people and has incredible acoustics. Plenty of tourist do not hesitate to drop a coin on the scene while others can hear the noise of the coin hitting the floor. During the summer, a lot of old plays are  put on there.  Even Maria Callas gave several concerts there in 1960 and 1961. Next to the amphitheatre you are the remains of the temple of Asclepios (the God of medicine). According to the legend, Asclepios was very famous and could even to resurrect people.  Zeus got very upset about this as he wanted to be the only one that could bring people back to life. To solve the problem Zeus, killed  Asclepios with lightening. The most common way to represent Asclepios is a staff with a snake around it. This is the symbol that even today represents the medical profession.