The snow continues to cover Stockholm and the temperature struggles to rise over freezing, so I thought it was time to revisit a trip I just took a few months ago to the sun – Hydra, one of the Greek islands closest to Athens. 

The trip took about an hour and a half on the back of the Flying Dolphin for about 25 Euros.  I’ll be honest, a bit more planning and research could have resulted in a much cheaper ticket.  It usually does.  But nothing was going to stop me from getting to that island.

Hydra is said to be free from all motorized vehicles except for a couple of trucks used to transport building materials and other heavy materials.  The rest?  Donkeys.  Getting off the boat you come face to face with donkeys, all of which are waiting to take tourists around the island. 

After the extra money spent on the boat ride, I decided to forego a donkey ride.  Instead, I wandered around the island.  And I couldn’t have been more pleased with my choice.  The place was beautiful.  A sleepy little island town.  Walking deeper into the island I realized that the donkeys weren’t just a tourist trap.  Even the locals were using them. 

As the midday sun warmed up, it was time for a quick lunch followed by a swim. An hour after eating of course.  A quick lunch at a cheap gyro place near the harbor was perfect.  After which I made my way back towards the water.  There wasn’t much to be said for a beach, but plenty of rocky outcrops allowed for a good towel-laying area and plenty of places to jump into the clear Greek waters. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the skinny streets and just taking in the island.  Nowhere to go, nowhere to be.  And life was good on the Greek island of Hydra.