Day 4-A Peppas Returns To Aegina

Boat Hair

My grandma's family (last name of Peppas) on my mom's side of the family is from this island.  Aegina.  I feel so blessed to have been able to go to one of the islands that my ancestors were from.  Aegina is surprisingly more rural than I would have thought.  Lush green landscapes cover the rolling hills, and there are tiny speckles of homes here and there, but for the most part Aegina is rather underdeveloped.  It was beautiful.

We sailed out of Piraeus (where my entire family emigrated from).  While the ferry ride was rather enjoyable there was an unpleasant number of seagulls surrounding the boat.

We began our adventure in Aegina at The Temple of Athena Aphaea.

She's Pretty

The Temple of Athena Aphaea

 

To tell the truth I was rather distracted at this archaeological site.  We were going to Agios Nektarios next, and that Church holds great significance in my family's history.

THE STORY OF SOTERIA KALANGES

(my great grandmother)

Soteria was about three years old when her mother who was expecting her fourth child fell off a step ladder and died.  Her father who was a fisherman and a bit of a drunk was never around.  The three children got split up and Soteria ended up living with her grandmother.  She lived with her grandmother until she passed; Soteria was around fifteen or sixteen years old at this point.  Soteria was sent to live with her Nouna (god-mother), but her Nouna didn't want her, so she had her sent to Agios Nektarios Monastery (before he was a saint).  Soteria had two cousins at the Monastery who were becoming or were nuns at this point, and with no where else to go this was her only option.  Every morning she used to serve Agios Nektarios his coffee and paximathia (Greek biscotti).  Before you are allowed to take your vows to become a nun they send you out into the real world to think, say goodbye to family, and make sure this is the right decision for you; in Greece at the time once you became a nun you couldn't leave ever, for any reason, ever.  While she was out supposedly some family member had arranged a marriage for her (he who arranged the marriage got the bridal goods).  Before she knew it she was engaged, married and then immigrating to the United States.

THE END

If she had become a nun, I wouldn't exist.  That's weird to think about...

Great-Grand-YiaYia Lived There

Carved Wooden Iconostasis or Templon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got to take a tour of the Monastery.  It's a beautiful church that's in surprisingly good condition.  I made sure to light a candle in every church we went into for good measure.  In the cathedral there was a tiny room off to the side that had Agios Nektarios in his little silver coffin; I say little because in actual life he was considered rather short, and the casket was on the tinier side of things.  I hadn't actually expected to see him there.  I was in the middle of trying to choke back what was sure to be an onslaught of strange emotional release when Roula asked me to tell the story of my great-grandmother in front of the entire group.  I had barely known these people for four days and here I was crying and mumbling half in English and half in Greek.  It was graceful.  But it was also one of the most amazing experiences to have been there.  Soteria was there for 3 1/2 years, and I lit a candle in the same place that she used to.  It was a very grounding experience, and I felt such a closeness to my family and my heritage that day.

     

After the unexpected emotional tidal wave that occurred earlier it was time for lunch.  We ate right on the water.  And I continued my exploration of Greek seafood.  The rest of the day was full of swimming and shopping.

Under The Sea...la la la la...

 

          

       

                                    

The rest of the day was full of swimming and shopping.  

The beach was quite rocky

Aegina was such a simple island.  It was the Greece that I knew existed in my heart.  Apparently the house my great-grandmother grew up in is still standing.  There is also apparently still property under the Peppas name in Aegina.  The next time I go back, it will be my mission to look them up.

And now, some scenic photographs of Aegina!

It's a yellow door!

 

And a tiny cat!

Sam, Sara, Lyndsi, Dan and I decided to go out for dinner together.  After being taunted with menus by practically every restaurant host in the Plaka and after being lost for an hour and a half somewhere around the Roman Agora we settled on a taverna.  This was the night of the Infamous Raptor Meeting--local chapter coming to a town near you.  It was on this night that we learned that after having two liters of wine, someone needs to take away Danielle's coin purse, because apparently she has a weakness for small Greek children selling shit.  And I say shit because they are clearly flowers that they picked from their backyard, but for some reason I think they're adorable.

I bought that flower for five euro from a tiny Greek child and gave it to Sara as a wedding present; yes, this was our wedding feast...

Joe said Sara and I wouldn't last past Nauplion.