The Greek island of Hydra… Where the most reliable, trustworthy and convincing travel guide writer of them all, Rick Steve, advises visitors to, ‘Set your clocks to “Island Time”, to throw your itinerary in the sea and to have a holiday within a holiday.’ How right he was because this is an island where no motorised vehicles or bicycles are allowed, instead the locals getting about by donkey or by boat around the coastline.
You do wonder where you have booked to go when not a soul has heard of this island amongst the Insta-friendly Santorini and Mykonos. But Hydra does indeed exist in all its floating glory in the Saronic Gulf and had an appeal right back to the 60s when the island’s most famous inhabitant, Leonard Cohen, lived here and penned some of his most famous ballads including Bird On A Wire which was inspired by the authorities installing telephone wires. They have named a street after him – where his house now owned by his family still stands – and even the man in the corner shop down the road has a story or two to tell.
Get here by ferry – the outbound was rather choppy and such was the size of the vessel that there was a feeling of diving under any second – from the main Athens port hub of Piraeus. Ah, Athens… The wait for the ferry consisted of a beer most likely knowingly overpriced given the need to re-hydrate after negotiating what is the eighth-biggest container port in Europe whilst fending off the street sellers that invade the Old Continent with their rainbow-coloured wares including sunglasses, selfie sticks and other clattering plastic goods.
Leave all of that and the rest of the daily grind behind you as you set foot onto terra firma and are greeted by donkeys and a harbour oozing charm under the azure skies with cats relaxing in the giftshop doorways and hotel porters ready to carry your bags from boat to your board in their rickety, two-wheeled trolleys mostly uphill. Fit as fiddlers in Zorba’s backing band.
There was a curiosity pre-trip about the Greek salad; a mere myth of epic Greek mythological proportions or a genuine dish away from the streets of Palmers Green. Genuine indeed and where better for a first taste than at the oldest restaurant on the island, Douskos. Managed by the Douskos family for nearly 200 years, the open-air courtyard and its alpha male waiters served up stunning Moussaka followed by a free serving of watermelon. Not sure whether this would appear on the bill or not, the offering of a free course would be a recurring theme throughout the visit.
Beaches and cobbled streets is what this island is all about… Either follow the coastal path to the golden sands of Avlaki, Kamini, Vlychos and Plakes or take the various boats that chug you along from the harbour. That first splash in the blue sea was all the more worthwhile after opting for the coastal path and the gravelly trails in a new pair of flip-flops under the beating, daytime sun.
Take in the morning buzz with a visit to the harbour and witness the daily catch coming in and see how they operate here with the daily deliveries from the mainland being loaded on the backs of the mighty mules before lunching on another bed of green topped with a giant slab of feta and washed down with that most potent of sun-infused daytime refreshment otherwise known as Ouzo before stumbling up through the cobbles and getting lost in the nooks and crannies only to turn a corner and find yourself back where you started. This is one of those places.
The verdict
There was no doubt that this first holiday of the year in September was going to go down well. Yes, you will hear the twangs of the land of Uncle Sam and the odd family of Brits abroad, but also the miaows of the four-legged feline fancies of Hydra and the majestic mules swooshing away the flies honing in on their hind legs. This is why Hydra transports you to another world before heading back to the urban jungle of Athens. Ah, Athens…
If you like this then try: Anywhere in the middle of nowhere under the sun with traffic-free roads surrounded by blue seas waiting for Neptune to rise at any moment. I guess that’s Hydra, then. Maybe just miss the boat back and stay…
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