Me watching our luggage being loaded on a local “taxi”. Hydra, Greece. A Dianne Lima photo

 

February 8

 

We awoke at about 6:30 a.m. to get ready to go to Hydra. The taxi that the good folks at the Adrian Hotel’s front desk had arranged for us was supposed to arrive at 7:30 a.m. Of course, the taxi was there early, and we were being charged for the time that they were waiting for us. We quickly hurried downstairs and settled our hotel bill.

 

As I’d mentioned before, I was particularly wary of Athens taxi drivers. I’d read plenty of horror stories about them charging exorbitant fares to clueless travelers. I had also read about the various tricks they used to get these fares. But, I also felt informed enough that I was ready for them. As it turned out, it seemed like we got an honest driver. It did take a while to get from Athens to Pireaus, but that was because the traffic was very bad. Even with the gridlock, the fare was 3,500 drachma.

 

The driver left us off on the dock next to a Minoan Lines boat. Unfortunately, it was the wrong dock. We were looking for a Minoan Lines Flying Dolphin. He left us at a Minoan Lines ferry. Once again, Lonely Planet had an excellent map that detailed the different docks and where the ships leaving those docks were going. After a few minutes of study, we determined that we needed to be about five docks (or about a half mile) to the south. The only problem was that we had about 20 minutes to make that jaunt while carrying our luggage.

 

We did a brisk walk to the dock where Lonely Planet said that boats for the Saronic Gulf islands would be departing. There were several Flying Dolphins at the dock, but there were no large signs listing which boat was going to Hydra. Fortunately, there were passengers boarding only two Flying Dolphins. Since it was almost departure time, we figured that one of them had to be going to Hydra. Luck remained with us, because it turned out that the first Dolphin at which we stopped was the boat we were trying to find. We handed in our tickets, stowed our luggage in the luggage compartment, and took our seats.

 

The boat departed on time at 9:15 a.m. It turned out to be a great trip. The water was a smooth as glass for the entire two hour ride to Hydra. Along the way, we also stopped at Poros for about 10 minutes to drop off a few people. While we didn’t get off the boat, we were able to get a good look at Poros Town through our window. We were also able to clearly see Galatas on the Peloponese side of the channel.

 

About a half-hour after we left Poros, the horseshoe shaped harbor of Hydra Town came into view. We could see people sitting in port side cafes, sipping coffee and watching the ships come into dock. When the boat came to a stop, we quickly grabbed our luggage and disembarked. It wasn’t long after we disembarked that the boat left port for its next stop: the port of Ermioni on the mainland. As the boat left, we both felt that we had managed to isolate ourselves from the world.

 

It didn’t take long before a man came up to me asking if I needed a taxi. I said yes. He proceeded to take our luggage and begin to strap it on a donkey. His actions didn’t surprise me. I knew from my reading that there are no vehicles of any sort on Hydra. Instead, everyone gets around by either foot or donkey. Given those conditions, I expected to see a donkey serving as a taxi. The driver quickly loaded up one donkey with our luggage and began putting the rest on another donkey. Since there was some room on the second donkey, he asked Dianne if she wanted to ride. Despite my encouragement, Dianne politely declined. Our taxi caravan then left the port on its way to the Hotel Dina.

 

I thought that the donkeys would only travel on the streets and not on any private walkways. I was right, but I hadn’t defined the “private walkways” correctly. In our short walk from the port, I had noticed a number of stairs rising up the hills to various houses. I thought those stairways were private walkways. Instead, those are also public streets! And the donkeys walked right up those stairs. It was actually very amusing to watch.

 

Eventually (after about 100 stairs), we got to the front door of the Hotel Dina. Our driver rang the doorbell and began unpacking the donkeys. An elderly lady opened the door. It turned out to be the Dina whose name was on the hotel. After the taxi driver finished unpacking our bags (and collected 3,000 drachma from us), she led us into the hotel. The hotel was actually a house. She lived on the bottom floor, while the guest rooms were on the top floor. She showed us a couple of rooms before we settled on a two bed, one bath room with a patio that gave us a view of the harbor. The room was very simple, but also rather cozy. Dina then told us in very broken English about how to turn on the hot water to our room and the different keys that we would use to get into the house. With her frequent laughter and smile, it was clear that Dina was a pretty friendly person that would do anything reasonable to make her guests feel comfortable. After she headed downstairs, we stored our bags and set off to explore the town.

 

Hydra Town doesn’t look very big. However, there are a surprising number of nooks and alleyways that manage to keep the inquisitive visitor busy for a few days. Since everything radiates from the harbor, we headed there first. By the time we got there, all the shop keepers had put out their goods for the day’s business. I thought it would be pretty nice to live in a place where the stores opened at 11 a.m. We strolled along the harbor for about 200 feet, and then headed back into the heart of the town on Volsi Street. Soon after we passed the police station and the telephone office, we found an ice cream shop called the Zaharoplastero Anenomi. Given that there was a park right across from the shop, the thought of eating ice cream in the park seemed to be a wonderful idea. So, we both grabbed strawberry ice creams to go. The ice creams (served in a bowl, not a cone) were topped with whipped cream, which was a delicious (but fattening) addition. The cost was 700 drachma for each ice cream.

 

We headed back to the harbor. By this time, a couple of cruise ships had pulled into port. Streams of visitors were browsing through the shops that had opened about a half hour before they arrived. It was at this time that we noticed that the town’s streets were surprisingly clean given the fact that donkeys were the primary means of transportation. Before long, we discovered why they were so clean. Each donkey had a burlap bag tied to its saddle. When the donkey chose to relieve itself, the owner would pull a brush and a dustpan out of the bag. He would sweep up the donkey droppings, and place everything back in the bag. It was a little old fashioned, but it was effective.

 

We walked over to the battlements at the mouth of the castle and watched the harbor’s scene. Tourists were still mingling in the shops and cafes, although some were boarding the ships. The locals were tending their boats and generally ignoring the tourists. It was a busy scene. However, the overall feeling around the harbor was one of peace and calm. Much of that sense came from the lack of noise due to the absence of cars. I didn’t realize how much stress and noise the automobile brings to life. But, Hydra certainly brought that realization home to me. True, it was more inconvenient to get around. But the slower pace and the stronger sense of community more than made up for the loss. It became very clear to us that we had picked someplace very special to spend this portion of our honeymoon.

 

The last cruise ship left at about 2 p.m. Within a half-hour, the storeowners along the harbor had closed up their shops. We thought it was pretty funny that these folks would only be open for the tourists. But, we then got worried about what establishments were open. We figured that anything for the locals had to be more toward the interior of the town, away from the harbor. We retraced our steps back to the ice cream shop. From there it was a short, one-block walk east to the Taverna To Steki. We entered the restaurant and were greeted by the owner. He took us to the kitchen and showed us the dishes that were available that day. We chose the chicken soup, bread, stuffed pork roast, and Greek salad. The meal was absolutely delicious. Best of all, it only cost 5,300 drachma for both of us. The only downside was that the Taverna didn’t accept credit cards, despite the credit card emblems on the door. Still, the food and atmosphere were wonderful. I highly recommend the Taverna To Steki.

 

Since we had a late lunch, we figured we wouldn’t be too hungry for dinner. Fortunately, there was a small grocery store just one building south of the To Steki. We bought some munchables, and headed back to the Dina. By this time, Hydra’s relaxing atmosphere was having an effect on me. It seemed to be pulling all the stress of the wedding and work out of me. I got to our room and promptly fell asleep. Other than waking up for a half hour around 7 p.m., I slept straight through from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.

 

                                                                                                   

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