I ♥ Pistachios.. and oh yeah Aegina, too

The next day we left Athens by way of a ferry out of Piraeus..to go to Aegina!

It is said that Zeus kidnapped Aegina (while in the form of an eagle) and took her to the island, where she later gave birth to their son, Aeacus, who named the island after her.

Mauricently, Aegina has been a popular spot for city-dwellers to get away for a weekend because of its proximity and beautiful beaches. In fact, many Athenians own second homes there. The ferry ride only takes about an hour, and only costs about 5-15 euros.





Our first stop on the island was at the Temple of Aphaia. Aphaia was a Greek goddess who was exclusively worshipped at this temple. Initially, however, the temple was thought to be dedicated to Zeus or Athena. After more extensive research in 1901, however, it was discovered that it was in fact dedicated to the local Agenetan goddess, Aphaia.

After the temple, we visited the Monastery of Agios Nectarios. Saint Nectarios of Aegina is a fairly recent saint in the Greek Orthodox church, as he was officially recognized as such in 1961.

This site was of extreme significance to one of our Greece-rs, Danielle, whose great grandmother used to serve coffee and and biscotti to Saint Nectarios. It was a very touching moment as she recounted this story to all of us. I know it was probably hard for her, but it made the experience much more personal for the rest of us as well, and it helped us get to know her better.

After the church we had several hours of free time in Agia Marina, which we used to to grab a quick lunch, buy some of the pistachios, and swim in the Mediterranean sea! It was quite a lovely afternoon. At around 3pm we took the ferry back to Athens and bused back to the Hotel Astor.