Greece Part II: Εδρα

December in Greece is, obviously, the off-season, which is part of why we found a good deal to go there. And I think it can be cold there in December. But it was so perfect and beautiful when we were there. Every moment it was just the right temperature. When we walked outside I'd usually take a sweater but never really need it. The afternoon sun felt gentle and energizing. The night air felt soft and refreshing. However, it was certainly not weather for going to the beach, so I wasn't sure if we should even try to visit the ocean at all, or just stay in the city.

Of course there are a million Greek islands. (Actually from 1200 to 6000, Google tells me.) And there are cruises that go for days and weeks to take people between the popular ones. But I found out there are some islands close to Athens, in the Saronic Gulf, which are close enough to have ferries to them! Well…you know we do love a good island. So I found a day cruise that would take us to three of those nearby islands. And then a shuttle bus picked us up from near our house and drove us down to the marina early Saturday morning.

Immediately I was glad we'd come, because I love the beautiful water! It seems right to be near the water in Greece.

The ship was nice. A top deck that was open to the air. And two lower decks with tables and places to sit. It is fun to be on a ship like that—like being in a playhouse.

Do you know where the Saronic Gulf is? I definitely did not. So here is Athens, first of all. (And me! The little blue dot in it!) From this far out it looks like it's just a point at the end of a peninsula sticking out into the Aegean Sea. (That is Crete down there at the bottom, kind of a border between the Aegean and the Mediterranean.)

But as you zoom in a little more you can see that Athens is actually on the west side of that long peninsula. And the body of water next to Athens, with more of Greece on the other side of it, is the Saronic Gulf.

As someone who is from Utah and has been accustomed to being able to draw my location with reasonable accuracy:

…Greece makes me kind of uncomfortable. All those inlets and outlets! All those gaps and peninsulas! How would one ever be able to visualize one's place in the world? It doesn't even seem like it should all be one country!

However. That's what makes it fun, I suppose! And certainly islands are fun. And interesting.

It definitely didn't feel like open sea we were floating in. Lots of islands and rocks and shorelines. I never knew if what we were seeing was mainland coastline or other islands. If there even is such a thing as "mainland" in Greece!

It was not cold even out on the water. Breezy. But still nice. I liked walking around between decks and seeing the scenery from all sides.

The first island we stopped at, and the best in my opinion, was Hydra. (They say it more like "Ee-dra." The Greek letters make me want to say "Edpa" or "Edba," which is honestly a lot closer to correct than many of the Greek words I tried to sound out English-ly.) Even from far away you could tell it was going to be such a cool place.

Like a little secret world. Like Brigadoon. (Except I don't like Brigadoon. 'Tis a silly place.)

On the island of Hydra, they don't allow any motorized vehicles. (Maybe scooters? But I don't think so because I didn't see any.) When I read that, I was worried it was some kind of gimmick. Like one of those Potemkin Villages they made in Russia to impress the Empress. And maybe it does increase tourist visits, I don't know. But there were not many people there at this time of year. And even our ship didn't bring many. So as we explored around, I didn't feel like I was being performed for. It felt like a glimpse into a lovely little world that wasn't for our benefit at all, but we just happened to slip into. I loved it. And I could see, looking at the terrain, why it wasn't just some arbitrary "We want to seem charming so we're not going to allow cars!" More like "What earthly good would a car be on these rocky cliffside paths through step narrow passageways?"

As the ship pulled into harbor we saw this guy casually riding on a donkey and leading a string of others.

Just sitting there checking his cellphone. On his donkey. Such a funny little moment to glimpse.

Right next to the dock these strangely undirectional stairs led up toward the hillside. The cruise people were offering a (paid) walking tour, but we preferred striking out on our own, so we just headed…up.

First thing we saw was a cat. And then there was a cat everywhere we went! Not mean-looking, mangy cats. Nice, furry, contented-looking cats. People must feed them and take care of them like Sam told me they do in Israel. There weren't so many that it seemed alarming. They were friendly and I liked them. Malachi did too.

There aren't really any streets. Just paths. Sometimes they are made of rocks. Sometimes dirt. Sometimes rickety-looking boards and stairs. Such an interesting jumble of materials and building methods!

The town surrounding the harbor is the most charming collection of buildings. I've seen pictures of places like this before, and they seem almost too picturesque to be true! So it was amazing to be there in real life.

We had time to explore so little of the island. We loved what we did explore! But I would have liked to see what was behind those walls and fortified areas in this picture. Wouldn't it be fun to actually stay here? Someday if we ever come back…

The houses are beautiful. Tucked into whatever crevice of the cliff they can fit into. Precarious steps leading up to them. Little eked-out courtyards and rocky gardens surrounded by hand-built walls. Many of them have doors and window frames painted this beautiful Greek blue.

The vegetation isn't profuse or lush like it is in a tropical climate. But it still felt so abundant to me. Flowers spilling out everywhere. Vines flowing over gates and over walls. Lots of flowers I haven't seen before and don't know the names of.

The bougainvillea was abundant and seemed to come in every color. So different from the pampered little houseplant I've seen it as in garden stores at home.

I wanted to climb over every gate and peer into every little walled garden. They added such magic to the winding paths and twisting stairways.

The higher we climbed up the hillside, the better we could see the layout of everything. There really was no town center or evenly-laid grid you could find your way through. Just a jumble of paths and hills and dead-ends, like a maze.

Finally we got up high enough to look back out the way we'd come. Across the water you can see the mainland, the Peloponnese Peninsula which is across the Saronic Gulf from Athens.

We stood on the foundation of an old house where we could see the town and the harbor all spread out beneath us.

With the sun coming in and out of the clouds and the absolute peace of the surroundings, it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

Finally we had to wind our way back down the hill. Many of the houses had wooden boats carelessly propped up by doors or leaning against sheds. It added to the old-fashioned feel of the place.

It took me great pains to figure out what this said in Greek. (You can't just put it in Google Translate. You have to type the Greek letters, and these are all capital letters so they sometimes look completely different from the lower-case ones!) But I finally figured it out. Christina!

These are pitcher plants! I've never seen real ones. They're smaller than I imagined.

There weren't many flat streets like this. This might have been the only one. I loved the arching trees along the side.

Lemons (or maybe limes?) spilling over a wall.

Cat!

Another cat!

They rather seemed to think they owned the place.

Malachi. Probably looking at a cat.

We saw donkeys "parked" outside houses from time to time. And one guy was walking along next to a donkey carrying his grocery bags!

Lots of the houses had these decorative tiles on the roof.

Rather fearsome up close!

That beautiful blue color

If there was any sort of "town center" I guess it was here at the waterfront. There were shops there, and a little Christmas light display.

With no baby Jesus in the manger, as is the Catholic custom. (Not before Christmas!) We do this at our house too.

We saw a cat come running up from the harbor triumphantly, his paws a little wet, and realized that what he was carrying in his mouth was a fish! I can't believe he just caught it! Maybe people don't feed these cats; maybe they feast on fish every day!

I liked the lacy look of this church steeple. But what is that guy doing?

Dropping something? Or driving a remote control car? He looks so taken aback.

The steeple belonged to some kind of museum, previously a church, I assume. It had a pretty arched entry that led through an outer courtyard to an inner one. Very pretty with the yellow accents!