Summer in Hydra

This summer seemed to be all work and no play. I took three exams right after I returned to Athens and then I had to start studying for the rest of them, in September. So, July was kind of hard to cope with -the high temperatures of Athens did not help me either! This is why I was thrilled when Ariola called me in order to organize our annual trip to Hydra. A weekend away would be the ideal plan for me to relax and get ready for more and more studying afterwards!

Hydra is a small island in the sea of Argosaronicos. It is very close to Athens (imagine that it belongs to the wider area of Attica, which has Athens as its capital) and you can go there on a flying dolphin. It takes an hour and fifteen minutes to go directly to Hydra and almost two hours if the flying dolphin has to do a stop at Poros first. Poros is another island of Argosaronicos, much bigger than Hydra and more like a “city”. Let's go back to Hydra, though. Well, I think that someone will either love it or get bored. There is no middle solution. This is because Hydra is rather small, as I already said, and this limits the visitor to certain choices. Without a great variety of activities, one will easily get tired of Hydra if what it offers is not their cup of tea. Obviously, this is not the case for me -or for the majority of travelers for that matter. Here, I will write some facts, that may serve for anyone who plans on visiting my favourite greek island:

• There are no cars in Hydra. There are only a couple of the municipality's tracks, in order to take away the trash or help with the electricity or water -but even those appear just once every day. In order to go from one place to another, you will have to walk or go on donkey. That's right -donkeys are the island's trademark and they help local people move heavy boxes or suitcases etc, but they are also an attraction for tourists who want to ride them and take photos. To be honest, I have never made a route on a donkey, because I feel sorry for them -they already have to walk many roads lifting the weight of bags, boxes etc, I think it would be too much putting them in even more trouble just for my fun. I have taken their pictures, though, when they are resting by the port! Walking would not be a problem for you, though -everything is close to everything! Some places are built somewhat higher, but most of the restaurants, clubs and bars are right next to each other, at the port.

• The city of Hydra is built on stone. High heels are definitely NOT going to help you walk. The first time I got there, I made the mistake to carry a pair with me, but it turned out it would just stay in my suitcase for the rest of my stay. To be fair, some women do manage to walk on heels, even in the grounds of Hydra. But I think that you have to be used to doing it, otherwise, chances are you will slip and -God forbid- fall. It is not only the stone, it is the fact that this stone is slippery. But anyway, like I said, it's your call.

• Visit the jewelery shops in Hydra, even if it is just to take a glance. You will find some unique pieces that will probably remind you of the island forever. There are many shops whose owners sell handmade jewelery, very different from the ones you would see in just an ordinary shop. My personal favourite shop is called “Spoiled”. It is not in the port, it's almost hidden in a small street, but there are signs with little arrows hanging on the nearby streets, which will lead you there. “Spoiled” sells clothes, jewlery and accessories. It is decorated just like a house -it even has a couch and a coffee table in the “living-room”. Also, if you want some traditional souvenirs, there are two or three lovely shops in the port, exactly where the flying dolphin will leave you.

• Hydra is not famous for its beaches. Although they are clean, the great majority do not have sand, so families with kids do not put them on the top of their list. This doesn't mean that there's a lack of people at the beaches -on the contrary, you'll meet couples, group of friends and large families, from early in the morning up until the sunset. There are beaches that you can reach on foot (Lagoudera, Castello etc.) and others, where you can go on a boat and return the same way. There are boats every hour, or even half-an hour, so that you can go to any beach you want on the back part of the island and get back whenever you want, without having to wait until the afternoon. Some of those beaches are: Mira Mare, Plakes Vlychou, Vlychos and Saint Nicholas. I definitely recommend a visit to one of them, but not Saint Nicholas if you get boat-sick -it is situated in the farest part possible and going there takes fourty-five minutes. But if you're cool with that, it's definitely worth a visit -this beach is all sand and it is huge. It also has some bars and restaurants next to it, so you can make it a day-trip! The rest of the beaches also have bars and restaurants nearby and I prefer them, thanks to the twenty minute distance from the port of Hydra.

• Hydra does not have a traditional food, like a trademark. But its fresh fish and seafood are definitely worth tasting! There is a great restaurant called “Psaropoula” which offers a great variety of food and it's always full of people. The meat is also well cooked and a quick and cheap solution would be the greek souvlaki. Our personal favourite one is called “kai kremmydi” and is situated in a street near the port, but not right next to it. There is also an amazing pizzeria, called “Ciao” which offers pizzas that are made right there in front of you, with fresh ingredients and a great taste!

• The traditional sweets of Hydra are called “amygdalota”, a word which means that they consist of almonds. Also, some kinds of jam and marmelades, which consist of pieces of fruit and syrup (which are called “the spoon's sweets”) are made and being sold in many shops of Hydra.

• Beware of the stairs! Many hotels and guest houses are not in the port and you have to walk some stairs (again, made by the slippery stone we were talking about earlier) until you get there. Ariola and I, who are going to Hydra every summer for some years now and it has become sort of a tradition, are always staying in the same guest-house that is both cheap and cozy. It is called “Theano's Guest House” and it also has some great, very polite, owners. However, the first time we went there, it was rather hard finding it, since it is kinda high and our sense of orientation was not the best. After a couple of years, though -and many, many, MANY climbs of those stairs, it now takes a quarter to go from our room to Hydra's port and, no, we never get lost anymore...

• There are many museums and historical places to see in Hydra. Almost every time I go there, I visit the Historic Museum, which is right at the heart of the port. The building itself is really worth seeing. Inside, they keep old navy and army uniforms, old guns, houseware from the time of war, and even some handwritten letters or diary pages from greek heroes that fought in the war. This museum always brings me closer to my country's history and I feel good visiting it. A bit higher in the city, we can find Miaoulis' House. His descendants have maintained most of the furniture and objects used during the war, so that visitors can feel as if they were traveling in time, many years before, to Miaoulis' era and they get to know the history in an interactive way, walking through Miaoulis' house corridors and seeing his personal objects, instead of just reading about them. Finally, there is the old high-school, which has now been moved to a different place and the old building is now used for art exhibitions with artwork or famous or upcoming artists!

• As I said, Hydra does not offer a wide variety of choices, due to its size. However, there is a reasonable amount of cafes and bars for travelers to enjoy the night. You can start with a coffee at Isalos or ice-cream at Porto Fino and later go for a drink at Amalour (one of the few bars that are not at the port) and then get back to the port and visit the Pirate-Bar, until it's closed, at around 3 or 4 in the morning. Afterwards, you can go to Papagalos, Kokkino or Omilos, which offer different types of music for different styles of people -I'm sure that among them, you will find your own.

This is pretty much what I've been doing every summer since I got into Law School up until now that I'm finishing it. This is what I did this summer as well. Ariola and I only stayed for a weekend this time, because we both had to study, but we still had our fun. We still went there with a smile on our faces, happy to see the well known streets of Hydra, after a year. We still left with an even bigger smile, glad to have enjoyed a weekend away from our books, our troubles and concerns. Back in the flying dolphin, on a Sunday evening, we waved goodbye to our favourite island, promising we'd be back soon. And I do hope we will!