Sailing to Eyina

Traveling Classroom^™

Sailing to Eyina - Day 1

In the early evening we depart on Nikos' boat Suzanna bound for the island of Aigina (Eyina, Egina or Aegina). There are eleven of us aboard, Duane and me, Nikos and eight of his students. More students will be coming to the island tomorrow. Surprisingly, there is enough room for everyone. Nikos divides us into two teams and assigns jobs. Everyone will get a turn being "captain" and sailing the boat, even Duane and me. We set sail and move to our posts on the boat. Instruction begins with Nikos lecturing on boat safety, then moving to navigation. These are not beginning students; they are all sailors, several are merchant mariners and one is a naval officer. It starts to get dark rather early and the wind feels colder. Nikos' discussion switches to navigation by lighthouse beacons and the necessity of spotting ships that could be on a collision course with our small boat. The watch team will have to keep a look out for cruise ships and freighters, and call out warnings to the helm. In this part of the Saronic Gulf the shipping lanes are busy every hour of the day.

We will arrive at Eyina later than expected because the wind vanishes several miles from our destination. Instruction continues, in Greek, and several of the students act as translators for us. Suzanna must continue under power. Motoring into the harbor under darkness, we find it fairly crowded. We must find a place large enough to accommodate the boat and convenient to shore. Nikos decides to use the ferry terminal until we can find a spot. This is against the rules, but Nikos is a friend of the port authorities and there will be no more ferries tonight. Better moorage will be located after we find suitable lodging and a meal. The helm team docks us stern to shore.

We all troop into Aigina Town, the capitol of Eyina, and Nikos stops at a friend's restaurant to make telephones calls around town to arrange for rooms. Six of us hike to the Hotel Marmarinos by way of Leonardou Ladha. This is a very narrow, cobbled lane, just wide enough for one car and single file pedestrians. Cars, mopeds and walkers must share the same space, hopefully without incident. We pass small shops, residences and the Tourist Police Station. Krista, one of the students, registers us at the front desk and gives us the room key. Duane and I carry our backpacks up a marble staircase to the fourth floor. It is a good room, with antique furniture, shutters and two balconies. We unpack, wash up and walk back to the quay to meet with the others at 10 o'clock. We discover that the Suzanna has already been moved to a central location on the quay, just across from where we are meeting.

Nikos has a place in mind for dinner. We all follow him through narrow alleys, dodging small cars and mopeds. Buildings are right at the road edge; no sidewalks. When we arrive, we find a little taverna with ten tables. The owner, Spiro, greets us at the door and gives Nikos a big hug. Nikos makes a short speech in Greek about his sailing days with Spiro, when they were boys, and extolling the virtues of Spiro's cooking (Krista translates). Spiro smiles and shouts commands to his staff, who appear to be his sons. We are seated and a paper table cloth is spread out on top of the cloth one. There are no individual plates, just serving dishes and our own forks and knives. I had expected a simple meal, but dish after dish of wonderful food arrives. Tzatiki and fresh bread are served first, then plates of olives, greens, artichoke hearts, shrimp, squid, pork and chicken. We spend almost two hours talking, laughing and eating. By the time we are finished eating the paper cloth is quite messy, but we just roll it up and continue with our conversation.

We leave the taverna very satisfied and a group of us walk up the street to find a place with music. After a short walk through several narrow streets, we find a crowded place with traditional bouzouki music. Our group adds to the noise and music, and Duane dances the Syrtaki with several of the young men in the crew. Soon other men in the place are dancing. Krista and the other women of the crew shout "bravo" and "opa" and toss petals torn from the flowers at the tables. This must be a substitute for tossing crockery dishes, which is the traditional way of showing appreciation for Syrtaki dancers. It costs much less to throw flower petals.

When we finally look at the time, we realize it is several hours into tomorrow and we decide to call it a night. We say goodnight to our friends and retrace our steps to the hotel. In a few hours we will have to get up for breakfast. Nikos will go sailing with his students and we will take a bus to the Temple of Aphaia on the other side of the island. We need some sleep.

Day 2

We get up and open the shutters to see if we have a view of the town. Daylight brings colors to help define what we had seen when we arrived last night. All the buildings are two or three stories high, with patios on flat roofs. Most are painted white, ochre or beige and have blue shutters on windows and doors. In the early morning, the shutters are closed. Some have small courtyards surrounded by stone whitewashed walls. There are a few trees, mostly pistachio and olive, and bushes near the houses. There are a few dogs barking from the rooftop patios of some of the buildings. These are pets. Most of the dogs on the streets seem to have no owners, but the tavernas and butchers feed them scraps every day.

The streets are wet and the sky is overcast. I hope it won’t rain! We dress, and being from Seattle, go in search of our morning cup of coffee. We walk back towards the harbor and notice that most of the buildings are a mixture of residences and small businesses. As we pass, shopkeepers are beginning to set up outside the stores. They all seem to use the sidewalks and street as an extension of the store.

At this early hour, people are already arriving on ferries and begin to crowd the streets. Car ferries and hydrofoils arrive every half hour from the mainland. We drink our coffee under a canopy across from the waterfront watching the parade and, unfortunately, the rain. It is also a miserable day for sailing: not a hint of wind. No sailing boats of any size are out on the water.

After finishing our coffee we walk down the street in search of the crew, carefully keeping out of the way of cars, mopeds and buses. One of the harbor dogs follows us, licking our hands and hoping for food. The dogs seem to stay at the waterfront and people bring them scraps. They are well-behaved and even friendly. We find the rest of our group seated at a sidewalk café drinking morning coffee, munching sweet rolls and discussing plans for today's activities.

Nikos has decided to postpone the sailing lesson. He gives his crew the morning off and arranges to meet again after lunch in the hope that the wind will pick up. The rain also interferes with our plans to travel to the east side of the island and visit the small temple of Aphaia, an ancient deity who was patroness of Eyina. Aphaia, a goddess little known to the Greeks, was later replaced by Athena to encourage locals to participate in the war against Troy. This is why the temple is known today as Aphaia-Athena. Our friends tell us the temple grounds will be very muddy and that we should probably explore Aigina Town instead. They also point out that the ruins of a local temple may be found at the far end of the harbor.

The island of Eyina, with a population of around 10,000, is a popular vacation place for Athenians. It was a major power in Classical times, with far-reaching trade, the first silver coinage, prominent athletes and craftsmen. During the 5th century BCE they made the mistake of siding with Sparta against Athens, so Athens came in, defeated the islanders, sent them off, and resettled the island with more reasonable colonists. Over the years, it has been ruled, like the mainland, by Romans, Franks, Venetians, and Turks.

The main town, Aigina Town, was the first capital of the Greek nation following the War of Independence. The main street of the town parallels the harbor so we can sit at the water's edge and watch the people. Sail and motor yachts share space with fishing boats and produce boats from the mainland.

After some consideration, we decide to catch a bus with some of our crew going to Perdhika, a small fishing/tourist village on the south coast of the island. The bus won’t arrive for 40 minutes so we hire a couple of taxis. We are off, flying down a winding coast road, past beaches, resorts and pistachio orchards. We pass the 17th century monastery of the Virgin Chrysoleontissa on the road to the seaside hamlet of Marathon. In a surprisingly short time, we arrive in Perdhika.

The village is set up for the tourist season, shutters painted, tables set outside, and taverna owners and staff waiting for the people to come. However, we seem to be the only tourists around. We walk down a new stone promenade, past the small harbor where a few fishing boats, sailing boats and one very large motor yacht are moored. At the end of the street we decide try a little taverna that looks out over the sea and the mountains of the Peloponnese in the distance. We find out that the owners have just come from Athens and it is their first day open. Nevertheless, they are glad to serve tea and food. After tea, some play backgammon to help pass the time. Others want to walk around the area.

The rain has died down, so Duane and I decide to explore. New walkways and a beach area are under construction. A new tower is being added to the neighborhood church and other areas are being worked on. The beach is rocky and edged with green plants. Geraniums, daisies and other flowers grow wild. We walk to the tide pools and notice the clean, clear water. We are surprised by the lack of tide pool life. There are only a few sea urchins on the rocks (of course, these are eaten in certain seafood dishes).

Most of our morning is spent quietly roaming around the village. When we return to the taverna the group votes to take the 2:30 bus back to Aigina Town. The bus comes early and we must run to catch it. We are joined by a few local people and start our swaying, careening trip back to town. The bus travels inland and we pass local pistachio and olive orchards. We also see the ruins of the abandoned city of Palaiohora, which was the capital of the island from the 9th to early 19th century. There are remnants of the medieval castle where the population sought refuge during pirate raids.

Back in town, we find that the students will have a brief lesson and have free time until 8 p.m. when we will meet again. So Duane and I are on our own for a while. We walk back to the hotel but then decide to go exploring again. Perhaps we can find a place to cash travelers' checks. We haven't enough drachma to cover the hotel bill and dinner. Unfortunately, we find the post office is closed, as are the banks and the tourist office. One waterfront café, whose owner is a friend of Nikos, agrees to exchange money for us later this evening.

After solving the money problem, we wander down the road to find the temple ruins our friends said were at the edge of town. The historian Pausanias writes that near the harbor there were temples dedicated to Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus and Asclepius. Nothing of these remains but a single Doric column from the 6th century temple of Apollo on a hillock overlooking the sea. Local folk call it "Kolona". We find the archeological museum first, but it is closed and the grounds are locked up behind a tall wire fence. Farther up the road, we can see the column and take photos in the rain and dim light. We will have to be content with our distant view.

We walk back towards town and pass the house where Nikos Kazantzakis wrote his famous book "Zorba The Greek." Many people know him; few remember that this island is also the birthplace of Aristophanes, the most famous of all Greek writers of comedy. Back in town the narrow streets are full of busy people shopping and on the way to evening work. There are more people than cars. We stop at a green grocer to buy apples and oranges, and then go to a market for bottled water and a bag of flavored, thinly sliced toast (a popular snack in Greece).

We try to walk streets parallel to the waterfront so we can keep our bearings. Many businesses and tavernas are open. Some stores only sell one item and the lights are often turned off during the daylight hours to save energy and keep things cool. As we head towards the harbor, we see a beautiful church with painted frescos on the front wall. Bells are ringing, calling people to prayer. Across the street is a small waterfront park where we find a place to stop and eat our snacks.

We return to the hotel for showers and a brief nap before dinner. I wonder what marvelous foods we will try tonight. After washing and resting, we head back to the boat to find a pre-dinner party in progress. The music is familiar; they are playing our Joe Cocker tapes on the portable stereo! There are new students and local people there, and Nikos introduces them. One of them, Theodoris, is chief of the port authority, and another owns a nightclub near town. Nikos has friends everywhere on the island, as he has been sailing these waters since he was 12 years old. Indeed, he spent so much time here that he considers these people childhood friends. And there are others whom he raced with and against during his years of competitive sailing. Now they are grown older and hold positions of influence in Aigina Town and surrounding areas.

Dinner is again at Spiro's but this time he is not prepared for the crowd. He welcomes us in and then sends one of his sons running to the butcher's house for more meat. Another great meal is presented: mussels and risotto, lamb, greens, bread, etc. Dessert is a creamy yogurt, made by Spiro's brother, topped with honey and cinnamon. Again we are eating for hours, and having great fun and learning more about our new friends. There are navy officers, merchant mariners, young professionals and college students. Most speak some English but some are too shy to try. We assure them that we don't mind because we speak less Greek than they do English.

After dinner, a group of us head to a club to hear a famous bouzouki player. Duane and I are told it isn't far and that we can walk. Theodoris offers us a ride in his car. We accept and ride several kilometers to the club (much farther than we expected). After dropping us off, Theodoris goes back to shuttle other members of the crew to the club. Our friends start showing up as the band comes in. There are three singers, a piano, bass guitar, drums and an electric bouzouki, which is a lute-like instrument that produces very complex chords. The music and songs go on without a break. It is a combination of traditional and modern Greek music. We all take turns dancing traditional Greek dances while those at the tables throw petals and flowers. Finally, the crew talks Nikos into doing a solo Syrtaki for the entertainment of everyone. It is 4:00 a.m. before we make our exit. I can't believe how late we stayed ... but it was great.

Day 3

We set sail for Mikrolimano around 10:30 in the morning. Nothing too eventful happens this morning. I think everyone is a little tired. We have to tack two or three times before we get away from the island. Again, we are divided into groups. One group does the sailing and the other works with charts and positioning. Again someone gets out our stereo and we sail in the sunlight listening to Greek music on the radio. Unfortunately, the wind dies when we are halfway across the gulf, and we are forced to motor sail through the shipping lanes and into port. We arrive at around 2:30, unpack and wash the boat. Several of the crew are interested in Zoe Zoe, as so we give them a tour. Then we say good-bye to our new friends and thank them for their good company. We are lucky to have met so many people who are fun to be with and interesting to talk to.

Duane and I are tired from all the late hours, sun and wind, and we end up falling asleep on the Zoe Zoe. It has been years since I have taken a nap. We fix an early dinner in the galley on the boat and have coffee on the deck as the sun sets. We can still see the Acropolis and the Parthenon is being lit at night. Evening is a great time. We can sit and watch lights or walk along a street we haven't explored before.