We traveled to Greece primarily to see Athens and its ancient sites but we were hoping to take a day trip to a nearby island to get a sense of what a Greek island experience entails. There are many islands close by Athens and reachable within a couple of hours on a ferry but the one island that called out to us, and was highly recommended by our Accropolis walking tour guide, is Aegina. Aegina is a favorite weekend destination for Atheneans and has many small harbors with fishing boats and sailboats. It also has great hiking opportunities in the hills with grand views of the Aegean Sea and nearby islands.
Once we saw the weather forecast for Friday indicated clear skies and nice temperatures, we decided to visit Aegina. We took a 11:00 am ferry, arrived at the Aegina port about 12:15 pm and met our guide for the day, Sherry. I found Sherry through a search for private guided tours of Aegina just the day before.
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| Hilltop of Paliachora |
She met us with her car and proceeded to take us to the first stop, a hilltop enclave of 30+ tiny chapels built mostly in the 13th c. referred to as Paliachora. There were originally 365 chapels on this hillside - one for each day of the year and for each saint's day. There are about 30 remaining in various stages of repair. We visited about 15 on our several hours walking around the hill. The chapels are still in use by local worshipers who come to visit the chapel of the saint named for the day of their birth.
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| View towards hazy Athens |
The hilltop was originally settled over 1,000 years ago to provide defenses against pirates who frequented the islands.
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| Paliachora chapel |
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| Paliachora chapel |
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| Double chapel |
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| Interior of double chapel with passage between. |
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| Two saints living side by side. |
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| Paliachora chapel |
We also visited a functioning monastery built to protect an important icon of Mary.
Aegina is also the site of Greece's best-preserved doric temple built about 2,500 years ago. Perched atop another of Aegnia's hills with 360 degree views of the water and nearby islands.
Once we saw the weather forecast for Friday indicated clear skies and nice temperatures, we decided to visit Aegina. We took a 11:00 am ferry, arrived at the Aegina port about 12:15 pm and met our guide for the day, Sherry. I found Sherry through a search for private guided tours of Aegina just the day before. 
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