Day 2

          The UMF group started off our day in Greece early on day 2, with breakfast at 6:15am in order to catch our bus at 7:00 am that left from the port in Athens. Our day was planned to consist of an islands tour, on a cruise ship, of some of the many islands that Greece has to offer. Greece consists of over 3,000 islands, which of only 250 are inhabited. The bus picked our class up with about 40 other tourists already occupying seats on the bus. We arrived at the port at 7:40 am to board the cruise ship, called the Hydraiki. The Hydraiki consisted of 3 floors with a dining hall area, and two outdoor decks for people to relax and enjoy the views. Our team headed up to the second deck to start the day where we cruised along the Greek coastline, seeing some of Greece’s finest towns along the rocky edges of the coast. We sailed past our first to locations initially, heading to the furthest island to start.

We arrived at Hydra at 11am. When we landed at Hydra we had free range to do as we please throughout this quaint town. Hydra was a heavy tourist attraction with many shops and fancy restaurants that looked to lure oncoming traffic into they’re shops from unloading tour ships. The island itself had many things to do, including viewing the museum and history of the island, as well as walking around or even taking a horse back ride through town. Regardless of what we decided to do everyone was able to capture the beauty of the island. Hydra is constructed of a unique white stone that made it perfect for our group to take pictures. The group enjoyed their time touring the island and met back at the front of the cruise ship at 12:55pm.

The cruise tour then continued with lunch on the boat in the dining sections, bottom floor. Lunch consisted of traditional Greek food. They served us fish, potatoes, Greek salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, with oil dressing), rice, and chicken. The class ate on our way to the second island, which was about a 45 minute ride from Hydra. 

Our second stop of the island tour was the island of Poros. We were only allowed 30 minutes in Poros, a much less touristy town. Most of the class elected to buy local homemade ice cream or drinks at cafés lining the coast. The visit was short but well worth it as the class was able to have a nice refreshing desert after lunch.

We quickly boarded the Hydraiki, and headed to our final destination. A little less than an hour from Poros, is the island of Aegina. Aegina, being the largest of the islands was more similar to Poros. Both islands were not as touristy as Hydra and also consisted of more housing and seasonal houses. The main attraction for Aegina that the other islands did not offer was a beach area which some of us took advantage of. The cruise allowed almost 2 hours in Aegina, the longest of any of the islands. After a quick dip in the Mediterranean sea the class was able to meet up at a café across from the marina to have a few drinks and even grab some snacks. Upon boarding the cruise we met many other groups also from America, including a football school from Tennessee and even the women’s basketball team from University of Maine Orono. As we arrived back into the port in Athens, we had the tour bus waiting for us along the marina. Our drive back was quick and most gathered at the hotel after to head to dinner to end our day.