Refer to the
map below if you’d like to see the route we have traveled the past few days. We last reported from Kefallonia (which is
off the map to the west of mainland Greece).
We headed due west and entered the Korinthiakos Gulf (Gulf of Corinth)
at Patra, for a calm, scenic, 25 mile, 3 hour trip to the end of the gulf where
boats must transit the Corinth Canal (“Korinthos” on the map), a man-made canal
cut though limestone that is 3.2 miles long and 75 feet wide (supposedly…) The
walls of the canal rise to 230 feet above sea level at the highest point, and
traffic through the canal is tightly controlled and one direction at a
time. It was a little tense making our
way through – it’s 18 feet deep, but you can see the rocks along the sides and
there’s always a current of about 3 knots.
By late
afternoon on Wednesday, we had arrived at the island of Aegina (“Egina” on the
map). The island has a very interesting
city, having been settled 4000 years ago, and by the 7th century BC,
the people of Aegina controlled most of the foreign trade in Greece and minted
their own silver coins that became the accepted currency. But, in 456 BC, the neighboring Athenians conquered
the island. Then after centuries of alternating
Turkish and Venetian rule, Aegina enjoyed a brief period of fame when it was
named the first capital of modern Greece (1776-1857).
We rented a
car and drove around the island to see the variety of ancient ruins. The Temple of Aphaia is one of the
best-preserved Doric temples in Greece, dating from 490 BC. It was quite impressive. On another part of the island is a hillside, scattered
with the ruins of 360 small Byzantine churches. We hiked almost to the top, peering into the
remains of many of these small chapels, some with deteriorating painted frescos
and mosaic tile floors.
Also on this
island is the second largest Greek Orthodox church in the world, after St.
Sophia in Istanbul. We were disappointed
to find the entire inside of this magnificent edifice engulfed in scaffolding,
and we were unable to see any of the huge dome in the church.
The town of
Aegina has a quaint waterfront, with hundreds of colorful fishing boats, fresh
fruit and vegetable stands and of course, the endless array of “tavernas” and
restaurants. The island’s main crop is pistachios – trees are growing
everywhere and the waterfront stalls sell them shelled, unshelled, and in everything
from bakery sweets, to gelato (yum), honey and yogurt. After stuffing ourselves with yet another
great meal, we took off Friday afternoon for a 5-hour very bumpy cruise to
Kithnos (island at bottom right of map).
Largest suspension bridge in the world
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