Hello Hydra, Greece

Where is Hydra, Greece, and what’s so wonderful about it? Take five minutes now and escape our conflict-fraught 2022, and go back with Hoyt and me to 2013, when we got to spend a few days on an island where no cars are allowed. That alone made it great to me. We travelled to that sun-drenched, cozy island for an extra-bonus-getaway prior to Hoyt’s giving a presentation at the Athens World Congress of Philosophy—Athens: think “birthplace of Western Civilization,” and philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Epicurus. Then scroll down to enjoy a full-blown slideshow of Hydra sights.

♥  Sidenote: check out my favorite new book, which is set on Hydra, Travels with Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life. The author, Daniel Klein, visited Hydra as a young man; in the book he returns to read and relax and ruminate on “the meaning of life.” You may be surprised to find comforting and playful wisdom from the Greek philosopher, Epicurus, regarding the stage of life known as “old age.” I did. A few months ago, I celebrated my 70th birthday. I love Klein’s book!

Hello, Hydra!

Hydra (pronounced eedra) means “water,” and as my mother used to quote from Coleridge’s poem, Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, on Hydra there was “water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.” Long ago, Hydra had a flowing spring that fed the island’s inhabitants and kept the vegetation green. Today the spring is dried up and bottled water is transported on supply boats from the mainland.

What bathes the long, narrow island now is dramatic changing light washing over cube-shaped houses, Byzantine churches, hilltop monasteries, and the shops and restaurants along the hemline of the harbor. The scenery took our breath away. We felt a world away, too, thanks to our apartment manager’s eatery suggestions and our getting lost in the maze of streets winding around the steep, rocky harbor.

Getting there

Hydra lies about 45 miles off the mainland coastline of the Greek peninsula in the Saronic Gulf. After a few days in Athens, we took a taxi to the port of Piraeus and motored to Hydra on a commercial catamaran called Flying Cat 6. My only experience with catamarans had been in the Galapagos Islands in 2006. For that trip, to prevent seasickness, we wore those little elastic wristbands with the beads embedded in them that sit on pressure points in your wrists. These bands are supposed to prevent nausea, and they worked for us. Soooo, for the boat ride to Hydra, we wore them AND for extra fortification, I took one Dramamine pill. At my suggestion, so did Hoyt. The problem was I had left the medical information about the pill in my suitcase. When Hoyt asked what side-effects might be in our near future I said, “Oh nothing. It’s just Dramamine. I took it as a kid and was fine.”

Well…we were not fine. After the two-hour ride to Hydra, Hoyt was sleepy, but I was so drugged I could barely stand up. Thankfully, Hoyt got our suitcases and me off the boat, and I staggered onto the dock. Hydra overwhelmed me–pleasantly. The bustling harbor, whitewashed houses, winding streets, and cooking smells from busy cafes along the shoreline were so wonderful I fought hard to stay awake. Despite the many tourists coming and going on boats every day, we had a lovely three-day excursion.

Donkey taxis

Watch out for donkey doo-doo. On the waterfront, dozens of donkeys line up to carry tourists and baggage up steep inclines to their hotels. Besides your own two feet, these creatures are the only transport on Hydra (except for mini garbage trucks and maintenance vehicles which do not take passengers). When you listen closely enough you can hear the unusual silence. Even though at that time of year, the island is filled with tourists and locals going about their business, we soon unwound from noisy Athens and relaxed.

When planning the trip, Hoyt reserved our donkey taxi—he loves the fact that he “reserved a donkey.” The driver had shown up at the dock with our name printed on a white sheet of paper, waving it at the people disgorging from Flying Cat 6. He had two donkeys: one for luggage; the other for us. I was wearing a skirt that day, and Hoyt worried his back might get thrown out, so we declined the ride. Besides, those darn donkeys stank to high heaven, but it didn’t take long to discover why someone would take a donkey ride up the hill.

Hydra’s harbor view

We climbed 187 steps (I counted them) up the side of the hill to an apartment overlooking the harbor. When we reached our place, the stunning view from the terrace was worth every rocky step. The charming harbor spread like a fan below us, full of boats of all sizes tied at the docks and coming and going to the mainland.

Glass bottom boats sped around the perimeter of the island to smaller villages where divers and snorkelers like to go. We loved watching the daily activity from our lazy perch at sunrise and sunset. At breakfast, first we heard gentle bells ringing, then we saw the sheep that wore them. Their white wooly bodies stood out along the high rocky ridge behind us. We heard those taxi donkeys braying as they lugged people and daily grocery orders up the hillsides. Church bells below us rang the hours daily. Temperatures were in the 90s that week, and the air conditioning in our apartment was weak, but despite the heat, we savored those days on the quaint, history-ridden, auto-free island. No exhaust fumes. No motor noise. Heaven.

Under Hydra’s lemon trees

Our restaurant surprise was Kryfo Limani, which means “secret port.” Our apartment manager recommended it, and we later found it mentioned in Lonely Planet. It’s tucked away from the maddening tourist cafes that cram the waterfront. In peace and quiet, we enjoyed fresh authentic Greek food, like fried zucchini patties, stuffed grape leaves, gentle wines. The cozy atmosphere nourished us under a large shady lemon tree. Love that Mediterranean diet! Read about the eatery here.

The Arts in Hydra

Another surprise in Hydra was discovering the arts there, especially one great painter. The cover of a small journal I bought on the island has a print of the dazzling oil painting, Hydra, by Periklis Byzantios, 1959. It depicts golden sunlight blanketing the whitewashed cubist houses on the hill. The painting, along with other of Byzantios’ fine works and a black and white film about his life, was tucked in the cool stone basement of the Lazaros Koundouriotis mansion, part of the Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece (its the dark orange-colored house in the slideshow). Koundouriotis was a wealthy ship owner and a major financier and leader in the War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire, 1821-32. Read about it here.

Some of Byzantios’s artist friends included Sophia Loren, who starred in the film, Boy on a Dolphin, shot in Hydra 1957. In the slideshow below, see photo of Charlene and the “Boy on a Dolphin” sculpture.

Last but NOT least, the famous Canadian-born songwriter, musician, poet, novelist, and visual artist, Leonard Cohen (1934-2016), bought a house on Hydra and lived there a few years. The house is still there, owned by his family. For a wonderful website about his life on Hydra, click here.

Church art

What I most liked about the Byzantine church we visited was the green and gold mosaic art on the outside (see photo in slideshow). There are other religious sites on the island, too, but since the monastery called Moni Profiti Ilias, and the convent, Moni Efpraxias, are set so high on the hills, getting to them requiried at least a one-hour walk under the blazing Greek sun, so we skipped visiting them.

The Historical Archives Museum of Hydra

This museum is mainly about the island’s role in the War of Independence. It was just down the hill from our place, facing the entrance to the harbor. The strangest item I saw was a gadget/weapon like a Swiss army knife but instead of scissors and tweezers, along with a knife it had a set of brass knuckles and a pistol! Amazing what craftsmen can figure out for self-defense! Gave me the creeps.

Regrets about Hydra

Hoyt – Not riding the donkey up the hill. Not eating a certain donut advertised as a specialty in one of the many fabulous bakeries.

Charlene – Not having more than one ice cream on a stick dipped in white chocolate. Not meeting Leonard Cohen, who was still living then but was out of town at the time.

If you haven’t noticed yet, we loved this island and its friendly folks. If we get the chance, maybe we’ll return for a second dose. (Please forgive the bad poetry.)

Thanks for reading!

Your writer on the wing,

Charlene

Click the first photo to begin the slideshow.

Waiting for catamaran transport

Leaving Hydra

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