Agistri 2016 (Saronic Gulf):

The domed church of Agioi Anargyroi on Agistri

As mentioned in my previous  post about Athens a city break there also affords the opportunity to make day trips to a number of islands. Whilst there in May 2016 I was in no doubt where I would go - back to the little island of Agistri (Angistri) which lies less than an hour away from Piraeus port via high speed hydrofoil (slightly longer by ferry). As I wrote in my earlier post about Agistri this island has the distinction of being the very first Greek island I ever visited (back in 2002). An experience that has led to a life long love of the small islands of Greece.

Boarding the Hellenic Seaways hydrofoil Flying Dolphin XX1X I was full of anticipation about what changes (if any) I would find on Agistri after fourteen years. The first, and pretty much only change, was that the hydrofoil docked at a new marina area at Milos whereas last time it came into Skala -the main village on the island. For those that didn't want to walk the fifteen minutes or so to Skala the hydrofoil was met by the local bus (handily labelled Local Bus). I certainly wasn't going to miss the chance of the short seafront walk to Skala and set out on foot.

Arriving at Skala it all seemed pretty familiar but smaller than I had remembered. Now as this was primarily a

The former home of German artist Gerti Brauner on Agistri

photographic expedition (I wasn't taking photographs in a serious way the back in 2002) it was a bit disappointing to find a sea mist hanging in the air.  I struggled with the light all day but, all the same, managed to get a set of images good enough to upload to my various agents.

After exploring Skala and enjoying a snack on the beach I decided to head up along the coast road through a dense covering of pine trees. This was one of my favourite walks last time and as a bonus I had the nostalgia of passing the apartments where I had stayed. Returning from this walk I then diverted uphill to Metochi which has commanding views down to Skala and onto Aegina island just a short distance away. I was interested to see a plaque on a whitewashed house marking the former home of the late German artist Gerti Brauner. I must admit that I haven't been able to find out much about her on the internet other than a website of her work set up by her family and, inevitably, some stock photographs taken by photographers like me who felt this was something that needed to be photographed.

Flying Dolphin XX1X arrives at Milos on Agistri

Back down to Skala and it was time for a late lunch of cheese balls with chips complimented nicely by a couple of Mythos beers -all at a charming taverna overlooking the beach. This pleasant scene was ended by the sudden thought that I might be about to miss my last hydrofoil home to Piraeus. Because Aegina is so close you can hear the hydrofoils power up and then watch them make the ten minute crossing to Milos. Though my watch said I had an hour until my transport home I have had a previous bad experience with my
watch strangely losing an hour (see my post on Lipsi). Even checking the time on my phone didn't really reassure me that all was well (maybe that was wrong as well?). I needn't have worried as arriving at Milos after a speedy walk I found that the hydrofoil I had seen was the rival service to Hellenic which runs an hour earlier. This did provide a lesson though as I had only taken enough cash for the day and no cards so if I had had to stay on Agistri overnight I would have had no means of paying for it! That said, I know Greek hospitality well enough to be sure that someone would have helped me out.

The final part of my day trip was spent photographing the boats in the Milos marina in the, by now improved, afternoon light before boarding the Dolphin home.

It was good to see Agistri again, nothing much had changed and it was rewarding to see where my Greek island adventures had all begun. Regards, David.