Ain't nothin' gonna drag me down! Oh no!

Our last day in Greece, Marika and I took the ferry to the island of Aegina with the aim of exploration and getting away from the cities and waterfronts we had hitherto experienced. We rented an ATV, our noble steed Betsy, which Marika drove and headed along the coast with the wind in our hair (or at least over our goofy helmets).

Look at the colour of the water!
It is difficult to describe how incredibly, naturally beautiful Aegina was. Everything was far richer than appears in a photograph. The sky was bluer, the olive trees and the crumbling rocks and the translucent aquamarine depths of the ocean all had such vibrancy that, rather than being bleached out by the sun, it was enriched by it.

After following the coast almost to the east side of the island, we cut inland and headed into the hills. Much of the farmland is terraced olive groves, spotted with the occasional whitewashed house and stone fence.

Atop one of the tallest hills, stands the ruined Temple of Aphaia (or Afaia). The nymph Aphaia was a daughter of Zeus, associated with Artemis, and worshipped solely on the island of Aegina. We essentially had the site to ourselves; I think we saw four other people. The temple is in a reasonably good state of repair (much of the damage done to the Acropolis etc. was done by the Persians and I suppose they didn't get to this island temple).

Proof that I was there:
From the temple, we drove back to the town of Aegina by the inland road. It took us along back country roads, with no other traffic and endless vistas over hills and fields and groves and the sea. Saddlesore and dusty but elated, we relaxed in Aegina over an ice-cold Mythos, a Hellenic lager.

Visiting Aegina was the perfect end to our stay in Greece. I've tried a number of times to try to explain the joy and liberation of that day. But there is too much. I cannot even sum up. I liked Greece more than I expected to and would very much like to go back.