Ancient Greek Lands on Aegina!

Kris and I had a dream travel adventure (unexpected) day, compliments of her French neighbors, Anika and Patrick (they have a car!). The original plan was to go to a new grocery store on the island of Aegina, have a light lunch, and swim in the sea. We did the first two, but there were more adventures lined up to take me around most of the fairly large island and some worthy sites.

The sunny cloudless morning showed off the stunning views of the Aegean Sea more than I could have imagined. Anika and Patrick, who divide their time between Greece and France, truly know the inns and outs of this cool place. They hike and explore many places here.

After stopping along the coast in various places, we stopped for a light snack and coffee (I had a handmade fresh lemonade), at a beach bar. Small and compact, the place was adorable. It was a leisurely stay until we were all ready to continue the island journey.

One place I was trying to plan to get to in the next few days was the Temple of Aphaia. It’s off the beaten path, and almost in the middle of the island, high up on the mountain that I could not walk to. This ancient ruin is one of Greece’s best preserved temples dating 500 BCE. Of course, the best one, the Acropolis in Athens, I’ll be visiting next week. It’s pretty cool to check out these incredible sites that are so old and made it to 2026!

Last stop before dinner was to an inner island site: the Monastery of Agios Nektarios. This particular church and monastery are a significant Greek Orthodox pilgrimage destination. Greeks from all over the world come to pray, observe, and worship here. It was actually quite stunning.

All my “tour guides” today were great (Kris has 23 trips to Greece under her belt), and Anika and Patrick were also helpful answering questions about these ancient lands and more. Sometimes it was simply enjoying the views and company as we drove along to see these special places, plus the orchards of pistachios and olives dotting the landscape make this place feel so natural.

Both Kris and I agreed how blessed and thankful we were to have such a wonderful day exploring Aegina with Anika and Patrick!

bSoleille!

Terri

Temple of Aphaia (having difficulty in adding more photos- WiFi connection challenges)