July 26 Three Islands in the Saronic Gulf

 

The Saronic Gulf

An interesting little harbour where we met the boat

Athens, in fact the whole region, was extremely hot and definitely not wandering weather. So we decided to take a one-day cruise to three of the islands in the Saronic Gulf - Hydra, Poros, Aegina. I think we regretted the decision when we saw the vessel and the crowds pouring onto it - images of media reports of an overloaded ferry sinking in Greece flashed before my eyes.  It was veerry crowded and very noisy!  

Our ferry

First stop Hydra

Hydra and Poros were quite quaint tourist spots and we wandered a little in spite of the heat. Lunch was included and we were herded into an overcrowded dining area. The food was OK and plentiful. By the time we reached Aegina, the largest of the islands we’d had it.  We chose to stay onboard and read as the on-shore your options all cost extra and didn’t particularly interest us. Unfortunately, that port stop was a long one. Rather a wasted day in many respects but a good lesson. 

Hydra was well protected 

A pretty harbour

Near the port of Hydra we found an art exhibition space displaying interesting work

Poor donkeys - there are no motor vehicles on Hydra

Poros is a larger island and has vehicles - it is very touristy

The sign above caught my eye, it says "Stop Fish Farms" (and deplete the seas?!)

It was so hot when we got back to Athens that a number of food outlets had closed. We fpound one opened for a take-away and were relieved to get back to our airconditioned hotel.