argos, day 5- hydra

the two of us on the boat to hydra.



the beach that we found and were alone at.


since we decided against trying to get to santorini, the family here thought it would be a good idea to go to another local island, hydra. it is one of the saronic gulf islands, and is pleasant and tranquil. they dont allow any motorized vehicles on the island, but we saw a few (i think that exceptions are made for construction vehicles and sanitation). the main mode of transportation, then, is by donkey or by foot. it is very hilly, and the houses just seem to be stacked upon each other when seen from afar. when we got there, there was no beach in sight, but i knew that there had to be something. so we just explored though the houses, and narrow streets of the city, trying to get some good photgraphs of the local architecture. we didnt see many houses that one might think of when thinking of greek islands (which are mostly photographed in santorini), and we got a bit discouraged at first, especially since paola didnt have a short lense with which she could capture enough within the frame (her lense only allowed for close ups, being 135 mm).

so after walking through the houses, we decided to go back down to the port, where the main tourist center was (with restuarants and little shops). being an entirely new location for both of us, this didnt entirely appeal to us. so we wanted to explore a bit more. i knew that there had to be some sort of beach, so we decided to walk a bit further. after the port, goining west as we did, there was little on the road. paola was hot and tired, and didnt feel like walking in the sun, but i insisted, since there seemed to be nothing else to do. you see, even though it was an island, and we were surrounded by water, hydra (like most of greece) is ver rocky and mountainous. that beign the case, there was no decent place to jump into the water (rather, we could jump in, but the steep rocky terrain did not allow for us to get back out). it was my feeling that we would find a small area at which we would be able to get into the water and get back out comfortably. based on what we saw, paola doubted that this would be possible because the road was long, deserted, and hot (although it was not as hot as the previous days had been). i saw in the distance what looked like stairs built into the cliffs that lead from houses to the sea. i knew that there would be some way to get there, and sure enough, there was.

we took the steps all the way down, and they led to a small bay that was all by itself; we were the only ones there. we had a good time there, and it lifted our spirits about hydra. it also lifted paola’s spirits, and made her want to explore some more; perhaps we could find another private beach. so we walked some more in the same direction away from the main port, and came upon a public beach with a lot of people. that wasnt as fun, so we just jumped in to get wet and cool off, then went back because the ferry was scheduled to take us back at 1615 (by this time it was about 1445). i know that if we wanted to, though, we could have gone further and found some other neat stuff, but for that, we would have had to stay the night, which didnt seem appealing (despite the fact that staying to explore did sound appealing; afterall, just above the private beach, was the crater of the volcano which must have formed the island (greece is a hotspot for tectonic activity), and it was smoking (or else it was just some sort of natural crater, in which someone was having a bbq; had we the time, i would have gone to find out, but as of now, my guess is the volcano). on our way back, we saw another place where most of the people went swimming, on the opposite side of the port that we went. in any case, they werent really beaches, but rather concrete platforms placed on the rocks below to allow for access to the sea. it didnt seem as cool as what we had experienced, so we didnt feel like we missed out or went the wrong way.

right as we were going back to catch the ferry, paola stubbed her left big toe. i would guess that it got cut as bad as it could have been without needing hospital assistance. we then hobbled to the ferry, catching it just in time, and there she was able to put on some antiseptic gel to keep it clean and help it heal. when we got home, my aunt matula cleaned it with some bactine and wrapped it. it wasnt so bad at all and she is just fine, if limping. i figure the way that she has been walking around during this trip, we are lucky that it isnt worse. indeed, something was destined to happen, and it’s better that it is a small cut rather than a broken ankle or something.