THE THEATRE OF HYDRA

Hydra

Our arrival in Hydra was a relief. Glad to get off the boat onto this lovely little island. 

The donkeys of Hydra

It's a little like a theatre. The small harbour sits in the middle of a very round bay. The land looks like the stalls and the water is the stage. And what a busy stage it is - boats scampering in and out, water taxis called seabirds flittering around, donkeys in various shades of donkey brown lumbering slowly with their load of bags and shops goods, tourists with sun hats perched, cats sitting to attention in front of the fishing boats hoping for a morsel, shop keepers on watch for anyone interested in their goods and the cafe sitters watching it all from the stalls. 

Beautiful port of Hydra

Fishermen selling fish with a cat waiting …...

A porter met us - I was disappointed we didn't get a donkey with our porter but we had a man with a cart. Remember there are no vehicles on Hydra! 

We walked  away from the harbour through narrow streets which opened after a short distance to a wide tree-lined paved street (no cars). and with every step I was hoping it wouldn't be too far or steep. Chris has hurt his hip and is walking rather gingerly. I had booked a guest house which had great reviews. It's set back a little and overlooks the harbour. It turned out to be an easy 5 min walk back which in fact almost takes you to the edge of this pretty town. Then the houses go climbing up the surrounding hills. It's quite dramatic. 

The guest house is lovely. The stone used, a beautiful golden honey colour, is larger and has a lot of concrete around it. Our house had some steps up which gave us the view back to the water. The rooms are lovely and I'm on the same terrace as the Wilsons. 

We unpacked and headed back to the harbour for a drink. We joined the front stall sitters and enjoyed our first viewing of the theatre of Hydra. But not before having a quick look at some of the little shops dotted along the front opposite the water. The first one had some lovely things and many discounts. It's every close to the end of the season and all prices are dropped. I suspect they are elevated before being dropped. Jill and I did our usual - "I'll try this - you try that and we'll swap."  Jill had her eye on a very smart navy and white, light cotton jumper (see photo as to who bought it!  And then wore it out of the shop due to cool breezes)    

Aperitif in our new jumpers

After our aperitif we headed to a little restaurant recommended by Rick Steve.

It was run by a husband and wife team who were just hilarious. He had spent the day in Athens and left most the work to her. They quickly pointed out what they had that was fresh and we ordered. He then came out of the kitchen disappeared for while and returned with meat on a plate. He buys as he goes from the very nice butcher nearby.  Very good food.  I'm getting to love the Greek starters. Each night we share one or two and tonight we shared stuffed peppers and zucchini balls. Delicious. 

And so to bed. Lovely comfy room and quiet area. 

 Until. ........

THE NEXT MORNING: 

Noise:  dogs barking, roosters crowing, someone sawing, children talking on their way to school located near the guest house. Even with earplugs in the noise was amazing. No sleeping in past 7am. 

I caught up on my photo sorting and we had a little fruit breakfast in our rooms before heading to the harbour for coffee and a little pastry. 

Then a little more browsing the shops, taking photos (this is a photographers paradise) and then a walk along the path leading away from town to the next bay. What a gorgeous walk it was. The sea is still a little rough so no one was swimming but at spots along the walk you could see where swimmers could climb down to the rocks and use some of the metal steps installed to make getting in and out of the water a little easier. Would love to have a swim but not as nice in the wind. 

We pottered around and had a light lunch  on a verandah overlooking the little bay. We watched the little seabird taxis fly into the harbour delivering mostly locals saving them the walk around the coast. They look so cute we decided to catch one back. What a hoot. They fly along, bumping and splashing and providing a great ride back into the main harbour of Hydra. 

Flying seabird taxi

After more aimless wandering we headed back to our guest house to relax. 

I did some washing and then sat reading under an umbrella on the small stone terrace. Such a lovely spot and so quiet this afternoon in contrast to this morning. 

An aperitif was calling so Jill and I left Chris and headed to the Pirate Bar for our cocktail. We followed this with a simple dinner at a local taverna. 

And so to bed. 

Oh and I got hot water this afternoon after my COLD shower this morning because the hot water button in my room was turned off!  And the host forgot to turn it on