Poros, Hydra and Aegina
This was probably the longest day ever! Like nearly every day of this trip, we were up way too early yesterday morning in order to make it by bus to Piraeus for another cruise. This one was only for one day, and would take us to the small islands of Poros, Hydra and Aegina. A couple of people from our group were late getting ready and out of the hotel, and Mr. Korns was worried that we would miss the cruise like they did the last time he took a group to Greece. Thankfully, we made it there on time and I sat outside with Selby as the ship left port. After a while it got cold outside so we went inside and found the rest of the horde playing cards.
When we reached Poros we were getting a bit hungry so we stopped for ice cream. Selby and Gill were in desperate pursuit of shoes so we went looking on the island for a store selling them. The ones we found were not great looking and too expensive anyway.
Back on the ship, as we were heading towards Hydra, we played lots of card games including scum and spoons, only as there were no spoons directly available, we used plastic straws instead. It was so much fun! But we found out why spoons are used normally instead of straws: Alex and Kim ripped one right in half!
Hydra was a nice island, especially because no motor vehicles are allowed. It had a friendly and peaceful feel that I enjoyed a lot. Rather shopped out, we mainly just walked aimlessly around the island. It is Easter weekend so there were lambs roasting on spits at every turn. It was a strange sight—traditional but just a little creepy at the same time. The temperature was starting to get hot, so Jeremy, protecting us from dehydration, treated us to some ‘Fanta’!
We played ‘straws’ again on the way to Aegina, only this time a little boy was watching us for a long time. We asked him if he wanted to play, and he gave us this great big smile and joined in. He couldn’t speak English, but spoons is a very straight forward game so we all had fun despite the language barrier. It was a very cool experience.
By the time we landed on Aegina we were starving (the cruise food was allegedly too cultural and almost all lamb) so we stopped into a little Greek cafe to eat. The food was very good. Eventually the sun started to set, and we just sat nearby the boat. Selby phoned her parents and Jeremy serenaded us on the tiny four-stringed souvenir guitar that he’d bought in a shop. It actually sounded pretty good considering the tuning pegs were glued and he was unable to turn them—he must be amazing on a real guitar!
Again on the ship, we passed the time by having a sing-along, much to the annoyance or fascination of the other cruise passengers. We mostly just sang Disney songs, but as we were getting off the ship, Gill and I were singing the Saga Begins by Wierd Al and this cute, short little oriental man took out his video camera and started to tape us singing. It was strange!
The trip back to Piraeus was pretty quick, and we soon found ourselves at a local Greek restaurant after a quick stop at the hotel. The atmosphere in this restaurant was so fun and upbeat! I wish I hadn’t been so tired! There were singers and dancers and it was just a really good time. When we came back to the hotel, we had about three hours before we would have to leave for the airport, so most of us just decided to stay awake rather than sleep for a short amount of time after packing.
Kim, Selby, Jeremy and I were left to our own means to entertain ourselves until it was time to leave again. We sat in my and Kim’s room for awhile, talking about random things. Selby tried to poke Kim and me to death! Then we went to the roof of the hotel because Kim wanted to call her family. While she was talking, the rest of us found this table identical to the one the judges in American Idol sit behind. So when Kim got off the phone, she found us all sitting behind the table. “Sorry, I’m not feeling it, dogg,” said Jeremy. Kim was confused. “You have potential, dear, but not this time…” said Selby. Kim perked an eyebrow. “That was absolutely the worst phone call I have ever heard!” I said. Kim suddenly laughed and laughed! It was great, and Jeremy’s idea of course!
Finally it was time to go to the airport. We were all in a total zombie state. The plane trip to Frankfurt was alright. I guess it didn’t seem too long. However, the stop over lasted I think six hours, which were very long. We got McDonalds and wrote in our journals a bit, but mostly we just sat and stared.
Now we are on the plane heading towards Calgary, with a bit over an hour and a half left before we land. I think I will go crazy before then! I need to get up and walk around but the aisles are infested with flight attendants serving drinks, and not to mention I am feeling rather dizzy! Ahhh!
“We won’t be late for the boat! We’ll make it, trust me; it is impossible for a Chinese person to miss a boat!” – John
