Some of the mountains and valleys near Molos, Hydra
February 11
I awoke again bright and early to turn on the water and enjoy the early morning quiet. The weather had changed from clear skies to cloudy, but it was still very comfortable. I was getting quite enamored of this special place. I hadn’t felt relaxation that deep in quite some time. It was clear that Hydra was having a great effect on me.
The plan for the day was simple: we were going to do a day trip to the nearby island of Spestes. Spestes was noted for being covered with pine trees (something that couldn’t be said about sparse Hydra). With the Flying Dolphins running two boats between Hydra and Spestes, we figured we’d take the morning boat and return on the evening boat. We made our way to the Minoan Lines office at the harbor to buy our tickets. When we told the ticket agent our plans, she discouraged us from making the trip. She said that a storm was moving into the area. While the boat would run in the morning, there was no guarantee that the afternoon boat would run. Thus, we would risk getting stranded on Spestes. Since we were planning to leave Hydra the next day, we didn’t want to be in a situation where our luggage was on one island and we were on another. We reluctantly agreed to pass on the Spestes trip. As we left the office, I realized that I didn’t know about the storm because I hadn’t seen a television or heard a radio since I’d been in Hydra. Somehow, that fact didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would.
Since Spestes was out, we headed off to Il Forno for some breakfast. After buying a few pastries and some milk, we headed off to our favorite bench by the harbor to eat and come up with a new plan for the day’s activities. There were a couple of large boats in the harbor that morning. We watched them maneuver and dock in the harbor’s very small boat bays. We also watched a local cat, who decided to jump on the bench with us. The cat’s charm and purring were just too much for us, so we ended up giving him some food. In between all of these distractions, we decided to go back along the northwest coast to see the sights beyond Vlyhos.
As we got to the port of Kameni, a dog started following us. It didn’t look like a stray dog, but one who thought that we looked interesting. We thought nothing of it as it walked through Kameni with us. But when it started following us outside of Kameni, we became concerned that it wouldn’t find its way home. We started telling it “Go home” and “No”, but the dog kept following. Finally, Dianne got the idea to tell it “Ohi”, which is “no” in Greek. The dog’s ears perked up when she said that. After telling it “ohi” a few more times, the dog started walking back to Kameni. It didn’t occur to me that a dog would understand Greek. However, once that thought became apparent, I felt embarrassed because the dog probably understood more Greek than I did.
We walked past Vlyhos and into the countryside of Hydra. We eventually passed several herds of sheep and goats that were grazing on the hillsides’ meager foliage. It was out past Vlyhos that we more fully understood that Hydra was just one step above desolate. While there are some trees and shrubs, most of the landscape appears to be rock and small grass. One would think that an island would have a lush landscape. But, Hydra is as barren as the mainland. It wasn’t unattractive to see. But, it did get a bit monotonous.
We hiked all the way to Molos. By this time, the skies were beginning to look threatening. Additionally, the wind had whipped up whitecaps on what had been mirror smooth water. We decided it would be best to head back to Hydra Town. It turned out to be a fortuitous decision, because the skies opened up just as we made it to the harbor. We hurried back to our hotel room to change out of our wet clothes. The walk back to the hotel had made us quite hungry. However, the lightning and heavy rain put us in no mood to search out a new place to eat. So, we went back to the Taverna To Steki for lunch. We had fried fish, cheese pie, and (of course) more tzatziki. The meal’s cost was 5,800 drachma. The food continued to be excellent.
We strolled around the town looking at the various shops. However, the rain didn’t let up and we were getting wet. So, we went back to the hotel. The lightning continued to crash around harbor. I then understood why the ancient Greeks thought that Zeus was responsible for the lightning bolts. The power of the storm was truly magnificent. Unfortunately, it put a total stop on any other activities we had planned. We stayed in our room reading and talking until we fell asleep.
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