Island of Hydra
Hi Everyone...............I've been away for a few days. My sister Laura and her husband Craig have arrived in Greece and I went to Athens to receive them. I am very blessed and lucky to have my in-laws Nic and Therese in Kavala to watch my three little Greek Monsters!!! We toured Athens for two solids days, explored an island for the third and then I shipped them off to Santorini and I flew home to Kavala. Before flying home I spent a lovely lunch with Great Grandmother Giagia and Great Aunt Keti and Great Uncle Elefterios (Lefteri) in Athens. They took me to lunch and even though it was my treat, Great Uncle Lefteri knew the restaurant owner and tricked me out of paying. I was very thankful and of course we ended the afternoon at the toy store buying toys for the kids courtesy of Great Aunt & Uncle!!! Anyways, more on Athens later!!! Here we go, off to the islands!
The island of Hydra is a beautiful little gem about 90 minutes by fast boat from Athens. I spent the day visiting the island with my sister Laura and her husband Craig. It was the first time for all of us to Hydra and we did not leave disappointed. It is definite worth a visit.
You arrive to the bustling port full of boats coming and going. You are immediately thrust into the busiest place on the island where the port is filled solid with cafes, tourists, donkeys and picturesque views at every turn. Hydra is a walking town as there are no motorized anything on the land of Hydra. If you don't feel like walking around the island you are welcome to take high speed motorboat taxis that will take you to any of the many island beaches and/or towns. We decided we would explore the island on foot to take in the sights and elements of the island.
We explored the port, found a bakery, toured the Naval Museum, and began our walk out the port town. As you walk (on either marble cobblestone roads or dirt roads) you can't help but enjoy every liquid ounce of the beautiful blue water below you. You can see many variations of color as the depth of the water changes.
We had been on the island about 2 hours at this point and we decided to done our undies and dive right into the blue Aegean waters. Why we came to an island without swimsuits I am still questioning, but it added to the adventure. Of course my undies were white, that wasn't too helpful, but as they say "When in Hydra".......the water was spectacular, and there is something exciting about jumping off rocks into the water. We picked a spot that had a small concrete platform and thankfully a small ladder to make our climb out of the water, but otherwise you are just swimming in the sea!!! (no sand, just you, the water and the rocky cliffs) I loved it!!!
We continued our walk to the first two towns that are barely bigger than postage stamps, each with a small cafe, small port and a few cats of their own! When we arrived at the so called bigger town of Kamini, we took a fast boat water taxi back to the main port. We had picked out a great restaurant, overlooking the blue Aegean while on our walk, and we returned to a nice lunch with great views.
We then explored the hilly streets behind the main port town. Just imagine, little windy streets, tons of stairs, all white washed and colorful doors...............and me with walking cast hiking to the top!!
I followed the signs to the "Hydra Hotel" which did not disappoint. The wonderful owner invited us into the hotel, actually opened up their best room with best view for us to see and take pictures. She also gave us fresh yummy pastelli (chewy delight of sesame seeds, chopped almonds and honey shaped into a little square of heaven - one of my favorites!) We chatted for a while, and I definitely found the hotel & room I will be staying in when I return to Hydra someday!!!
We descended down to the port and Craig has begun to enjoy partaking in the "coffee habit" of Greece. We plopped ourselves down into front row harbor seats, drank coffees (I had sparkling water) and took in the scenery: donkeys carrying luggage from hotels high above on the hill, locals and their boats jockeying for parking spaces on the docks, families docking at the port to pick up groceries and treats and leaving again, and our cafe waiter answering my sisters questions and giving us the flavorful history of Hydra.................in a few words, Hydra was a powerful seafaring & Naval island, never taken by Turks or any other enemy, known as "the pirate island"; no enemy willing to attack the island, all enemies too fearful to attack it's ports because if they did they would not survive it! So exciting!!!! And the proof is in the marble.........we found this on a random wall, on one of the hilly streets confirming the story of "pirate island"!!! (and it was old, no disney effects here!)
Anyways, the sun began to set and we departed for Athens. Great day of new sights, new flavors and new experiences!! I brought home a little bit of Hydra with me for my office walls!!! I loved Hydra and I was happy to share it with my sister and brother in law! I will return to Hydra.....................with no walking cast, hotel reservations and a swimsuit!!!!!
I will post Athens tour pictures shortly............while in Athens I downloaded all my pics to my brother in laws computer and once he arrives in Kavala, I will share our Athens adventures!!!
The island of Hydra is a beautiful little gem about 90 minutes by fast boat from Athens. I spent the day visiting the island with my sister Laura and her husband Craig. It was the first time for all of us to Hydra and we did not leave disappointed. It is definite worth a visit.
You arrive to the bustling port full of boats coming and going. You are immediately thrust into the busiest place on the island where the port is filled solid with cafes, tourists, donkeys and picturesque views at every turn. Hydra is a walking town as there are no motorized anything on the land of Hydra. If you don't feel like walking around the island you are welcome to take high speed motorboat taxis that will take you to any of the many island beaches and/or towns. We decided we would explore the island on foot to take in the sights and elements of the island.
And yes............this tiny little old man got all those bags on his donkey and began the steep ascent into the hills. There were probably about 12 bags when he started and like a puzzle he slowly but surely got them all on and strapped down. I could imagine his little Giagia waiting for him at their little home way way up at the top of the hill. The fact he walks these hills, he's going to live forever!!
We had been on the island about 2 hours at this point and we decided to done our undies and dive right into the blue Aegean waters. Why we came to an island without swimsuits I am still questioning, but it added to the adventure. Of course my undies were white, that wasn't too helpful, but as they say "When in Hydra".......the water was spectacular, and there is something exciting about jumping off rocks into the water. We picked a spot that had a small concrete platform and thankfully a small ladder to make our climb out of the water, but otherwise you are just swimming in the sea!!! (no sand, just you, the water and the rocky cliffs) I loved it!!!
We continued our walk to the first two towns that are barely bigger than postage stamps, each with a small cafe, small port and a few cats of their own! When we arrived at the so called bigger town of Kamini, we took a fast boat water taxi back to the main port. We had picked out a great restaurant, overlooking the blue Aegean while on our walk, and we returned to a nice lunch with great views.
We then explored the hilly streets behind the main port town. Just imagine, little windy streets, tons of stairs, all white washed and colorful doors...............and me with walking cast hiking to the top!!
I followed the signs to the "Hydra Hotel" which did not disappoint. The wonderful owner invited us into the hotel, actually opened up their best room with best view for us to see and take pictures. She also gave us fresh yummy pastelli (chewy delight of sesame seeds, chopped almonds and honey shaped into a little square of heaven - one of my favorites!) We chatted for a while, and I definitely found the hotel & room I will be staying in when I return to Hydra someday!!!
We descended down to the port and Craig has begun to enjoy partaking in the "coffee habit" of Greece. We plopped ourselves down into front row harbor seats, drank coffees (I had sparkling water) and took in the scenery: donkeys carrying luggage from hotels high above on the hill, locals and their boats jockeying for parking spaces on the docks, families docking at the port to pick up groceries and treats and leaving again, and our cafe waiter answering my sisters questions and giving us the flavorful history of Hydra.................in a few words, Hydra was a powerful seafaring & Naval island, never taken by Turks or any other enemy, known as "the pirate island"; no enemy willing to attack the island, all enemies too fearful to attack it's ports because if they did they would not survive it! So exciting!!!! And the proof is in the marble.........we found this on a random wall, on one of the hilly streets confirming the story of "pirate island"!!! (and it was old, no disney effects here!)
Anyways, the sun began to set and we departed for Athens. Great day of new sights, new flavors and new experiences!! I brought home a little bit of Hydra with me for my office walls!!! I loved Hydra and I was happy to share it with my sister and brother in law! I will return to Hydra.....................with no walking cast, hotel reservations and a swimsuit!!!!!
I will post Athens tour pictures shortly............while in Athens I downloaded all my pics to my brother in laws computer and once he arrives in Kavala, I will share our Athens adventures!!!
But here's a sneak peak...................................................
Big Hugs
Val
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