Getting Close to the Olympians
It’s hard to believe that we’re only an hour away from the madness of Piraeus and Athens as we emerge from a serene, pine-scented forest to find the huge – tourist free – Temple of Aphaia standing right in front of us.
The difference between arriving at this temple and the Parthenon yesterday could not be starker. Yesterday, the crowds on arrival at the Parthenon felt like cup final day at Wembley, with thousands upon thousands of people milling around the ancient ruins, but today there’s just us. The only reminder that this is even a tourist attraction – besides the temple itself – is a small café and a ticket office, with a bored-looking attendant sat in a cubicle at the entrance.
This is peak season and yet we literally have the temple to ourselves, which for our eleven-year-old son, Harrison, means one thing – timing how long it takes to run all the way around the temple, and then seeing if he can beat this time on his next attempt. I’m not entirely sure why he’s become obsessed with doing this but I’m putting it down to yesterday’s visit to the Panathenaic Stadium, where the original Olympic games were held. There’s just something about Athens that’s inseparable from the Olympics, and it seems to be rubbing off on both our kids.
We spend less than an hour wandering – or in Harrison’s case running, and his sister’s case cartwheeling – around the temple, before heading back down through the forest to the sleepy town of Agia Marina. You wouldn’t think that this is one of the bigger towns on the island, such is the laid-back atmosphere when we get there. There are a few restaurants and shops, but the town feels all but deserted, given that it’s mid-August in Greece. We find more life at the beach, where there is a water sports centre, as well as some beach bars and sunbed rentals but still more than enough space for the kids to romp around on. The warm water shelves very gently and we’re able to still stand even when we’ve waded out fifty metres or so; it’s the perfect beach for young families, and yet you won’t find Aegina in any package holiday brochures.
The ferry back to Athens arrives late, but nobody seems particularly perturbed about this, and everyone seems as content with their day on the island of Aegina as we are. It’s ten o clock at night by the time we arrive back at the hotel, which feels late to us, but the city is just getting warmed up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a city that’s as pulsating as Athens when it comes to eating and drinking out at night. It almost feels as though no-one eats at home, because everywhere we turn there are tavernas, cafes and upmarket restaurants packed to the rafters. Much of this action takes place outdoors too, and the streets remain busy well into the early hours. Apparently, there’s a saying about Athens’ nightlife being as “mythical as its monuments” – although the nearest I get to it is by watching from the rooftop terrace of our hotel, the Brown.
The next day, after a delicious Greek breakfast, with freshly squeezed orange juice, we’re back to the daytime hustle and bustle of life in Athens. We’ve already ticked off the Acropolis, the Olympic Stadium, Hadrian’s Arch, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Roman Agora and the Ancient Agora. Most of these – except the Olympic stadium – were included in a pass we purchased for €30, which I felt was great value considering that the Acropolis alone usually costs €20. The passes were available for purchase at many of these sites, which was welcome as it’s really difficult to find information about them online; it’s probably best to purchase them at one of the quieter sites, like the Temple of Zeus, because once you have the pass it lets you skip the line, to some extent, at busier sites like the Acropolis.
Since we’ve already visited most of the sites on the pass we head to Syntagma Square, below the Hellenic Parliament, to watch the changing of the guard. It’s 30 degrees in the shade and I take my hat off to anyone who can stand still for an hour in this heat. Clearly, these guys are made of sterner stuff than me and even after their one-hour stint comes to an end they’ve still got to perform an elaborate ceremony that involves feats of balance on one leg that I can only dream of. Little wonder that this is one of the most famous changing of the guard ceremonies in the world.
After watching the performance, we head for a park behind the parliament building to find shade and cool down. We’ve only been inside the park a few minutes when Harrison shouts “look, look at that!” and we are surprised to find a tortoise making its way across the footpath into the foliage. We follow it for a while, astounded at finding this in the middle of such a busy city. Ella wonders aloud whether it has escaped from a zoo, but a quick search of Google reveals that wild tortoises are quite common in Athens. Later, we find a lake full of terrapins and also realise that the park is full of ring-necked parakeets. Normally this would be obvious because of the amount of noise parakeets make, but for a few weeks in August their noise is drowned out by the tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of cicadas that fill the bushes and trees in the park. The noise of them is incredible; they are the loudest insect on earth, and sound like a cricket would if it was armed with a megaphone. It occurs to me at this moment, that this is why I haven’t heard the sound of a motorcycle or car for the last hour, despite this being such a throbbing metropolis. The main road of a capital city is only a hundred metres or so away but it feels like – and certainly sounds like – we’re in the middle of the countryside.
This corner of Athens, at least, hasn’t changed since the ancient Olympians were running around the Panathenaic Stadium.
Practicalities
Direct flights to Athens from Manchester can be found with easyJet and at the time of writing a return flight in the first week of August cost around £170. Wizz Air often have cheaper flights from London, so this is worth considering too.
We stayed at Brown Kubic, a member of Brown Hotels, which was one stop from the Acropolis by Metro, but also walkable too. Breakfast was included in the rate and was the best breakfast we had in our three weeks in Greece. The chain has a number of other properties in Athens, including one with a rooftop bar overlooking the Acropolis and a beach club at nearby Corinth.
Saronic Ferries operate several services a day between Piraeus and Aegina, as well as the other nearby Saronic Islands. Trips cost around Є10 each way for adults and take just over an hour between each port.
