The Cerulean Paradise

On weekends, day trips seem to be the name of the game. And this weekend was no different. This weekend's destination to Hydra (pronounced "ee-dra") was one of the most exciting, simply because of the lack of plans. We literally had one thing planned during the 10 hours we were there and that was lunch. Other than that, we had absolute and total freedom to do whatever we wanted and it was really nice.

Hydra is a really small island, located in the Saronic islands off the coast of Attica. So, to get there we had to take a sort of ferry, more commonly known as a hydrofoil. Hydrofoils are high speed boats that are elevated on metal rutters which are wing-like to allow them to get above the water in order to move faster.

An older hydrofoil

The hydrofoil we took to Hydra.

Now, for someone like me who has an extreme propensity for motion sickness, the thought of a super fast boat on the rocky waters of the Aegean sea was a little nauseating. And when the seat I was assigned was facing backwards, I was justifiably worried. After switching seats with a fortunate soul who was born with a stomach of steel, I got comfortable and tried to push any thoughts of sickness out of my head. While we waited for everyone to board, the rocking and rolling of the boat next to the dock was extremely unnerving and for once I was longing for the bitter, vomit-inducing taste of Dramamine. But once we were in transit and picking up speed, I quickly realized that this would probably be one of the most comfortable boat rides I've ever taken. Shortly after we began our hour and a half journey to Hydra, I fell asleep and didn't wake until we reached our beautiful destination. 

Hydra is a very small island; only about 25 total square miles. It's so small that cars aren't allowed so transportation is done by donkey, bicycle or foot. It has a population of 2,700 and thrives on tourism. Hydra is absolutely beautiful. I'm not sure if there's a law in place that requires orange roofs or if the town roofer only builds orange roofs, but let me tell you, the uniform beauty of the white-washed houses with their orange roofs and blue shutters is so cliche and characteristic of Greece, but still so unique. I took one look at the houses in the harbor and I knew I was in Greece. It's that sort of defining design that you'd expect on a Greek island. And it's beautiful. 

When we got off of the hydrofoil we were greeted by a tour guide who would give us a brief tour of the harbor and surrounding buildings (okay, so I lied about lunch being the only organized activity). This is where we got an introduction to the history of Hydra and got to explore the harbor in Hydra Town. 

       

The "donkey" that is most definitely a pony...

After the tour we changed into our swimsuits and set out in search of a beach where we could relax and cool down before lunch. We headed in the general direction of the coast and after about twenty minutes of walking came to a beautiful beach with crystal blue waters and gorgeous rock cliffs. When we got down to the beach, we realized that this was similar to the beach we visited in Sounion; that is, club style, with lounge chairs, umbrellas, waitresses and a full bar. After paying only three euros per person, we claimed our chairs and let the relaxation begin. 

We took a quick dip in the ever-chilling waters of the Cerulean sea, enjoying the see-through blue waters and the panoramic views of cliffs in the distance, before trekking back across the hot, rocky shoreline to our chairs. I decided to order a pizza (which turned out to be one of the best pizzas I've ever had), and my favorite refreshment on a hot Greek day; fresh-squeezed orange juice. We spent a few more hours swimming, and napping, taking in fully the Greek practice of siesta time, before beginning our trek back to the harbor for lunch. 

Finally, we headed back to the harbor, eager for a free lunch and full tummies. We ended up eating at this traditional Greek restaurant that served traditional Greek food in traditional family style which, if you haven't already figured it out from past posts, is my absolute favorite kind of food/dining. After the numerous shared plates of fried cheese, spinach pies and Greek salad, we were given an option of lasagna or Aubergine, an eggplant dish. I ordered the lasagna for myself, not entirely sure of my approval for eggplant and was pleased to see that it was a different sort of lasagna than I'm used to. All of the food was delicious, and despite my deep disgust for watermelon (which was for dessert), I managed to choke down a few bites at the end of the meal so as not to appear unappreciative or rude to the restaurant staff. 

After lunch, it was back out on the town for shopping. And let me tell you, these shops will not let you forget that Hydra relies so heavily on tourism. In all of our travels so far, I haven't seen anything as ridiculously priced as the shops in Hydra. I ended up not buying anything due to budget and a decent sense of self-preservation. As the heat rose, shopping became too taxing, so we found a nice shop on the harbor, ordered cold drinks and relaxed until we had to meet up again to go home. 

When we met up back at the dock to wait on the ferry we were all exhausted (having gotten up at 5 am) and much to our dismay, the ferry was late...very late. We are constantly reminded about "Greek time" here and how being on time isn't really a common occurrence, however, the ferry being 30 minutes late put even Greek time to shame. Finally, we saw the red and white of the hydrofoil in the distance and eagerly shoved our way through the mob of people  waiting to get on (there is no such thing as a line in Greece). We got comfortable once again and began our transit back to Piraeus, the port in Athens. Although we were scheduled to get back around ten, we ended up getting back to the dorms closer to 11 o'clock. The hydrofoil we were on broke down in transit and couldn't get up to full speed. After about twenty minutes, they got it fixed and we were on our way. 

The clock tower overlooking the harbor.

Despite the long day, Hydra was really nice and relaxing. Although we had to get up super early and didn't get back until late at night (and I had a midterm the next day), it wasn't exhausting. Hydra is a beautiful little island and has such a cool history and culture. To anyone who is visiting or plans to visit Greece, definitely add Hydra to your list of visits. It's totally worth it.