Aegina Olive Grove

Inland Aegina namely south of Pacheia Rachi, at the foot of it Terms, the highest mountain of the island (586 m.), is hidden from the surrounding hills a plateau, the olive grove valley (Aegina olive grove). In the unexpected and unexpected landscape, nothing reminds of modern culture, because there is no trace of human presence except for some chapels, such as those of Agia Kyriaki, Agia Triada and Agios Georgios.

The lunar landscape with wild vegetation, some low ropes, thistles, thyme, looks like an ancient theater stage with spectators in the perimeter mountains and starring the age-old olives, which with their movement and dramatic shape are like interpreting the dance of an ancient song.

It is no coincidence that those who know her Eleonas Valley - few locals and only a handful of visitors - claim that these olives come from antiquity, which of course is not confirmed by the assessment of the Institute of Materials Evaluation and the Archaeometry Laboratory of the National Center for Research of Natural Scientists "Demokritos" which reduces their age to four hundred years.

I measured the circumference of an olive trunk that exceeded seven meters and I admired these beautiful trees, which as they stand there freshly pruned, all the interest falls on their trunks that look like sculptures in a dancing movement.

There used to be access to the Eleonas Valley from a dirt road that followed the course of a torrent that lowered the waters of the valley to the sea, but now it is terribly inaccessible, so, the only way to go is to be guided by someone who knows the area well, through a settlement located in the mountains of Marathon.