Exploring Greece (Part 2)

And now comes the long awaited second part of my story in which you can get to know a lot more legendary sites. If I remember correctly I left off last time in Athens just after being to the Acropolis.

Since we were on the upper peninsula of Greece we went to the most Southern part of it which was the Temple of Poseidon located in Sounion. However we didn't just go there because of the ruins we went there before night fell to see how the sun sets over the Aegian Sea. And I have seen a lot of magnifisent sun sets but this one surely takes the cake.

Then came the real fun part of the trip when we went to the Port of Piraeus that lies just on the outskirt of Athens. From there we went on a whole day boat trip to three unique island in the Aegian Sea. The first stop was Poros a remote little island filled with tourist and beatiful sites. An important fact to know about this island is that it lies right next to Ithaka where the legendary kingdom of Odysseus was. The second stop was Idra where the sea is said to be the cleanest and the bluest which as far as I could tell is a very accurate statement. And the third and final stop before returning to the mainland was Egina where the biggest amount of pistachio is grown in Greece. Besides buying pistachio I also went for a swim in the sea and I must say that the water was just perfect.

The next day after the boat trip came another long bus trip but the sites that were included in it were worth it. First we traveled over the Corinthian Channel which was originally based on the plans of a Hungarian architect. Then came the first historic stop on the the lower peninsula which was Corinthos one of the oldest trading cites of ancient Greece. The ruins of the city were quite fasinating especially the tails and facts that our tour guide mentioned there. It was very good there except for the fact that when I wanted to take a piece of stone from the ground I was stopped by one of the security guard so I came home from Corinthos empty handed.

The next stop was the legendary city of Mycenae which is where the conflict began which provoked the Trojan War one of the biggest wars in ancient times. But the city itself and the surrounding areas had such a huge influence on me that I felt like I was sent back in time even though it does sound kind of silly but that's what it really felt like. What caught my attention the most were not really the ruins but the artifacts inside the museums for example the Golden Burial Mask of Agamemnon. Come to think of it The Loin Gate, and The Treasury of Atreus were infact the most exciting sites.

I thought that I could finish this story in this entry but there are still so many things that I have remembered and want to tell so please be patient till next week when I will surely conclude my story of exploring Greece.