Europe

[Visited: September 2003]

For those who want to escape the heat and congestion of Athens, there are several islands in the neighbourhood to breath a different air. Of those, I chose Hydra. Although there are regular boats, they take some three hours, and since I had only one day, I decided to take the fast boat. After little more than an hour, I set foot on the quay of a picturesque village in a little bay. There is no transportation on the island, other than donkeys, but I decided to walk. The waterfront of the village is very touristy, but with a little effort, it is easy to escape this madhouse.
Walking around in the village, climbing up little alleys, turning corners, going through archways, I discovered many isolated attractive places. Some because of their simple, yet irresistible beauty in shapes and colours, others because of the view they offered over the village, the surrounding hills, and the sea. Leaving the village, I came across Agios Ioannis church, walked on along the sea. I marvelled at the transparent sea, the rustic blue and white mansions, the bright light reflected on the houses, sea, bare hills.
The path turned inland, climbing through woods. Just as I was feeling thirsty, I found a small well an gratefully took out a bottle of cold water. After Episkopi, a small settlement on the other side of the island, I turned left, but at one moment just didn't see the path anymore. After some searching and with some luck, I found the small path again - called monopatia in Greek because it only allows one person at a time to pass. Climbing and descending on the mountains brought me back to the other side of the island, back to the town, and back to the boat to Athens.

Around the World in 80 Clicks

Personal travel impressions both in words and images from Hydra (Greece). Clicking on the pictures enlarges them and enables you to send the picture as a free e-card or download it for personal use, for instance, on your weblog. Or click on the map above to visit more places close to Hydra.
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Hydra > Greece > Europe

[Visited: September 2003]

Around the World in 80 Clicks