Day 53-> Island in the Sun

The Greek Islands.

Just a few miles off the mainland is an hour boat ride from the port of Piraeus, are what begins the series of Greek Islands. One of the most infamous is the island of Hydra.

Hydra is an hour's ride by boat through choppy waters (close eyes turn up iPod and fall asleep before things get too rough).

Hydra is unique to say the least. Motorcars are not allowed on the island (there are 2 here: a trash truck and a maintenance truck owned by the government). All other transportation is by foot or donkey. Yes, donkey.

Something else about Hydra is there is not much to do here. This is an ideal vacation relaxation city. There is one museum, that is passable to say the least. There are a handful of overpriced shops and some breathtaking views and restaurants.

This is one of those places that is in the vacation brochures. This is one of those places that has houses on the side of the hill with clay tile roofs. This is one of those places.

This was what I needed. Ive needed relaxation. Yes, go ahead and say it. "you're in Europe, you are on vacation, etc. etc." but I needed it. I needed a day that didn't involve extreme site seeing, museums, and crowds. This is what I needed. This is one of those places where the term island time comes to life.

My food adventures on the island brought me to a quaint bakery where a little old lady was running and through her broken English, and my lack of Greek managed to get a cookie that resembled wedding cookies, made with fruit dusted in powdered sugar and baklava. Usually, traditional dishes are a bit more conservative than their American interpretation. This is an exception. The baklava was around 3 inches tall of ooey gooey crispness. For dinner I had fish that was served head and skin on along sliced cucumber and tomato.

I walked around the island a bit more and took in a beautiful sunset before heading back to Athens to grab a late night snack of a Gyro.


Sometimes leaving behind modern convinces, you can find a part of life you never knew was missing.

Until-

Matt