Scoot Scoot Scootering!
Trip Start
Jun 17, 2009
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34
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Trip End
Jun 21, 2009
Where I stayed
Athens International Airport- on the waiting benches
Aegina, Saronic Gulf Islands, Greece
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The ferry ride took about 35 minutes and we were on a hyrdofoil boat. The boat basically had a wing under water that allowed the front end of the boat to be pushed out of the water and "fly" above it. The boat was fast, but not as smooth as one would have expected.
We got to Aegina, and had a light breakfast, sun-screened up (from head to toe) and rented a motor scooter (which we dubbed "Dory") for 15 euros for the entire day. We scooted around the island, taking Dory where no scooter has ever gone before- especially not with two people aboard! We rode along the coast, the scenery was amazing. We tried to find the highest point on the island (go Dory go! C'mon you can do it! I think I can... I think I CAN!) Found the highest point and then rode down. We were looking for one particular scenic route and ended up off-roading the scooter along the beach and onto a dirt path through a jungle of plants and brush. Good ol' Dory, our trusted steed.
We stopped at one coastal point and went for a swim in the Mediteranean. The water felt so nice and refreshing.
For lunch we had some Baklava, a traditional dessert from Turkey that Greece has claimed as its own. We also had pita (what we would call a gyro at home).
Went back to scootering some more until it was time to go catch the boat. We snacked on some pistachios that are native to the island and even found a pistachio tree. Ryan taught me how to ride the scooter and got video of it. We found the ruins of the Temple of Athena along the island and found a church where an old woman named Sophia tried talking to us. Despite our telling her we only speak English... no greek, she kept on talking. This conversation had a lot of smiling and head knodding.
We caught the boat back to Athens and went to our hostel. We showered (used towels from the linen closet we found--- oh the joys of fresh towels!) and took a bus to the airport. We werent really tired when we first got there, so we killed time by eating pistachios and trying to land the shells in Ryan's hofbrauhaus mug.
We went to sleep around 3, and woke up at 8 for our flight to London at 9:15.
