Hydra...
| Going crazy with a self-timer. |
October 18, 2007
I woke up this morning having no clue where I was going to go. All I knew what that it was going to be a place surrounded by
water.
It wasn’t until I got to Piraeus – the port in Athens – when I finally made up my mind. It was mostly because the guy selling
the tickets didn’t hesitate for a second when I asked what the nicest place to take a day-trip would be.
So to Hydra (pronounced ‘Ee-dra’) I would go!
It’s so funny because there are times when I feel like I’m ‘a tough crowd’ when it comes to being impressed with a place. (Well,
now that I think about it, the only place that left me feeling that way was Ireland.) But lately, there doesn’t seem to be
anything that doesn’t leave me feeling giddy with excitement. And that’s what this island would do to me. There’s not even an
actual beach on Hydra…yet it doesn’t matter. It still draws a person in. Well, at least this person.
Being sans Greece guidebook, I literally didn’t have a clue of what to expect or what I should do or see when arriving. Upon
getting off my ferry I would quickly learn that donkeys are a big part of the island. In fact, they are the major transportation
out here. What’s not to love about that? Well, if you love donkeys, that is…
I ended up first climbing up some stairs towards the west side of the island (I only know that because the sun set over there).
Glimpsing the Greek-Island blue (yes, that should be an adjective to describe this certain shade of Aegean Sea blue) from the
views was incredible. I kept walking further and further to the top. During moments like these, I often feel like ‘Dora the
Explorer’. Except I don’t speak Spanish. And my name isn’t Dora. That’s not the point. She explores the world and when I
walk to places like this it feels like I’m doing that as well.
I eventually reached a flag. I couldn’t believe nobody else was up there! What were people thinking? I sat up there for quite
some time…just me and the views. But one thing was standing in the way of ultimate relaxation. I had to pee. I tried to work
out the odds in my head of somebody walking up there in the next two minutes. Nobody had been there for over 30 minutes
while I was up there. And it was so high up that even if people were looking up from below, they wouldn’t be able to see
anything. So I did it. I took care of matters up there on top of the hill overlooking the Aegean Sea. Now I was able to fully relax
and enjoy every minute of taking in the scenery. Traveling sure does weird things to a person’s vanity and modesty.
Over the course of the next few hours, I walked through the streets of the island – all lined with white-washed buildings.
Ohhh…it was all so typical of what I would picture a Greek island to look like. At this point, I couldn’t wait to plan a future trip
out to this country to do a true holiday out here. But I won’t do that trip solo. Islands like these scream for some romance.
Before I knew it, the water was getting less blue because the sun was on its way down. I watched the sunset and was blown
away yet again by the beauty of everything. By the time I was done with dinner, the lights of the island were illuminating the
dark sky.
Just a bit of time left to wander before hopping back on my ferry back to Athens…
I woke up this morning having no clue where I was going to go. All I knew what that it was going to be a place surrounded by
water.
It wasn’t until I got to Piraeus – the port in Athens – when I finally made up my mind. It was mostly because the guy selling
the tickets didn’t hesitate for a second when I asked what the nicest place to take a day-trip would be.
So to Hydra (pronounced ‘Ee-dra’) I would go!
It’s so funny because there are times when I feel like I’m ‘a tough crowd’ when it comes to being impressed with a place. (Well,
now that I think about it, the only place that left me feeling that way was Ireland.) But lately, there doesn’t seem to be
anything that doesn’t leave me feeling giddy with excitement. And that’s what this island would do to me. There’s not even an
actual beach on Hydra…yet it doesn’t matter. It still draws a person in. Well, at least this person.
Being sans Greece guidebook, I literally didn’t have a clue of what to expect or what I should do or see when arriving. Upon
getting off my ferry I would quickly learn that donkeys are a big part of the island. In fact, they are the major transportation
out here. What’s not to love about that? Well, if you love donkeys, that is…
I ended up first climbing up some stairs towards the west side of the island (I only know that because the sun set over there).
Glimpsing the Greek-Island blue (yes, that should be an adjective to describe this certain shade of Aegean Sea blue) from the
views was incredible. I kept walking further and further to the top. During moments like these, I often feel like ‘Dora the
Explorer’. Except I don’t speak Spanish. And my name isn’t Dora. That’s not the point. She explores the world and when I
walk to places like this it feels like I’m doing that as well.
I eventually reached a flag. I couldn’t believe nobody else was up there! What were people thinking? I sat up there for quite
some time…just me and the views. But one thing was standing in the way of ultimate relaxation. I had to pee. I tried to work
out the odds in my head of somebody walking up there in the next two minutes. Nobody had been there for over 30 minutes
while I was up there. And it was so high up that even if people were looking up from below, they wouldn’t be able to see
anything. So I did it. I took care of matters up there on top of the hill overlooking the Aegean Sea. Now I was able to fully relax
and enjoy every minute of taking in the scenery. Traveling sure does weird things to a person’s vanity and modesty.
Over the course of the next few hours, I walked through the streets of the island – all lined with white-washed buildings.
Ohhh…it was all so typical of what I would picture a Greek island to look like. At this point, I couldn’t wait to plan a future trip
out to this country to do a true holiday out here. But I won’t do that trip solo. Islands like these scream for some romance.
Before I knew it, the water was getting less blue because the sun was on its way down. I watched the sunset and was blown
away yet again by the beauty of everything. By the time I was done with dinner, the lights of the island were illuminating the
dark sky.
Just a bit of time left to wander before hopping back on my ferry back to Athens…
| Hi, Donkey. |
| At sunset in Hydra. |
