Route B
One week starting and ending in Athens.
- Alimos
- Epidauros
- Methana
- Poros
- Sounion
- Aegina
- Alimos
Suggested islands
Poros
Πόρος, the ancient Kalureia, lies south-west of the Methana Peninsula, separated from the north coast of the Argolid by a strait between 250 m and 1000 m wide, 1.5 km long and up to 4 meters deep. Most of the island is covered with thin woodland and macchia. The inhabitants, many of whom are of Albanian descent, live by farming the fertile coastal areas on the mainland which belong to Poros and, increasingly, by the tourist trade. There was a settlement in Mycenaean times on the site later occupied by the Sanctuary of Poseidon. The ancient city was abandoned after the Roman period, and the modern town was established only in the late Middle Ages.
Amorgos
Αμοργός is spectacular island of bare rocky hills 33 km long and up to 6.5 km wide. For the most part the south-east coast falls steeply down to the sea, but the north-west coast is gentler, with two deep inlets – the sheltered Katapola bay and Aegiali bay and several coves like Fjord cove, Kalofana bay and Akrotiri bay proofing that Amorgos should be included in itineraries on a sailing holiday. The population – much reduced by emigration – lives by farming and fishing. Ferries are not frequent, which explains the surprising low numbers of tourists.
The remains of several ancient cities, extensive cemetery areas, finds of coins and rock inscriptions bear witness to the importance of the island in Minoan and Hellenistic times as a port of call on the sea route between Milos and the south-eastern Aegean. Used in Roman times as a place of exile and in subsequent centuries frequently harried by pirates, Amorgos has remained since then an island of no economic or political importance and has in consequence retained much of its distinctive character.