Ise of Hydra - 20-24 October

 I’m writing this on the ferry back to Athens and feeling a little sad about leaving Hydra.

Arriving at the Hydra dock, the first thing I notice are the donkeys and mules, ready to carry all kinds of produce and supplies up the narrow streets of the island. 

There are almost no motorised vehicles or bikes on the island so these animals do almost all the transportation, including building supplies and grocery items.

Our accommodation, the family-run Hotel Angelica, was a 10 minute walk up a medium inclined cobbled street. We were met by Andrea.  I was a little disappointed with the room, particularly with the view. !

As it was a weekend, we had to wait two days to be moved to a room with a terrace. Much, much better

Both of us fell in love with Hydra and from what the locals told us, the weather was unusually warm – blue skies and 23 degrees. We chose Hydra as we were looking for somewhere where we could just relax and Hydra delivered in spades. Without realising it we timed our stay very well as a large percentage of hotels, restaurants and shops close down at the end of October.

We met a lovely couple from San Francisco and Lake Taho at the Athens Ferry terminal who were staying at the same hotel. Such an interesting couple who have done an extraordinary amount of travel (but not Australia!). They were due to go on a tour of Egypt but, on strong family advice, decided on a Greek Isle instead!

On Saturday, we caught a boat to an ‘organised beach’ called Plaka Beach. For Euro 10 each we were provided with a lounge chair, umbrella and bar service. Our waiter reminded both of us of our dear friend from Barcelona, Albert. So much personality!  

As the beach is rocky with no sand, I worked out that the best way to get out of the water was on my bum. Much better on the feet.

We walked back to Hydra via the water, taking about an hour. 

Not surprisingly, the view was pretty damn good!

We also spotted a  swimming area with a bar above it. 

We returned the following day rotating swims, refreshments & reading until sunset. So very peaceful. We're reconsidering an overnight cruise on Halong Bay on our Hanoi stopover as we think we've seen such beauty without all the cruise ships.  We'll see. 

On our penultimate day we discovered the best coffee since leaving Australia at a little bar in a back street.  Real milk and real strong - great combination.

We’ve had a number of lovely, fresh meals. I don’t think I’d be exaggerating if I said we’ve had grilled sea bass for dinner six out of the seven days we’ve spent in Greece. Oh wait, I tell a lie – one night it was grilled bream. The exception was dinner last night at a beautiful restaurant called Verandah which overlooked Hydra. It was a wonderful way to spend our last night on the island.

Exceptional food, service and view. Peter had roast chicken breast with veggies & gravy and I had Orzo with saffron, prawns & mussels. 

We ended the night with a complimentary local liquor, served in a quaint little bottle. 

 On the subject of food, After two weeks I am about to run out of my 7 grain bread I packed in Armidale. It's stayed fresh in the freezer and I simply toast it in the hotel’s breakfast room & I’m a happy little duck. Also, I'm also about to run out my mixed nuts - Ha, Ha. 

We stayed in a little hotel near Athens airport. It provided free transfers to & from airport (we caught Metro from Ferry terminal & were collected by the motel's shuttle). It worked like a dream, except that after my nice hot shower, Peter had a cold one. I felt a bit bad, have to admit. We flew Agean airlines & all went very smoothly. 

I'm sure you can imagine our excitement when boarding for Barcelona! 

Barcelona, here we come!