At Least to Hydra

We had two weeks for our Athens home exchange, so we had planned to spend a week in Athens and the second week visiting some Greek Islands and driving to some ruins further north in Attica.  Danice's bronchial infection, though, made us reluctant to venture too far from home.  Finally prescriptions were filled and began to do their job, so we set off for Hydra on our final Monday morning.  A pleasant two hour ride on a fast hydrofoil ferry leaving at 9:00 AM from the Pireaus port.

Where we saw the most interesting modern architecture we had seen in Athens

Arriving in Hydra just in time for another Capuccino at the beautiful port while we got oriented.

Since no motor vehicle are allowed in Hydra, donkeys move goods and luggage to the upper old town.

In ancient times Hydra was abundant with fresh water (ergo the name) and forests, providing resources to the Greek mainland.  But eventually the waters ran dry and the forests were all cut to build ships and housing. Today water is brought in on tanker ships.  It is now a beautiful port for Aegean yachts, packed with tourists in the summer but nearly empty in early November.  A quiet charming town of about 4500 residents stretches up the hillside behind the port.

We chose a trail that follows the coastline west through small villages inhabited by fishermen and yachts people in high season.

 It was about 75 F, solid blue skies and perhaps a bit hot in the sun, but we walked along happily for almost 2 hours, noted only by a vigilant goat

and a few friendly cats.

 Around 1:00 PM we were getting very hungry and hoping the next village's Taverna was still open this late in the season.

Oh happy sight!!  As we approached,  the Taverna manager was there to greet us with a hearty handshake and offer us a table on a shaded terrace with a spectacular view.

We were his only customers that day.  He recited the menu and we ordered everything that sounded good, no questions asked.  Eggplant salad (sparkling recipe), octopus salad (good), home grown Beet root with greens (great), which we consumed with joyful abandon while awaiting the grilled fish.

It took him about 90 minutes to build his fire and produce his charcoal on which  he could grill the fish.  A delicious lemony oil on top made it "To die for".  About five kittens had been circling our table for two hours, so Danice having no vested interest in teaching the felines good etiquette, began sharing the remainders of her fish skin, bones and  fleshy tid-bits.  There were a few unpleasant squalls initially, but once they all got a good portion they happily retreated to lick themselves in the sunshine. We thought the remains of the lunch made for an interesting picture.

Heading back toward the main town of Hydra Port, we stopped at a rocky beach where a few others were swimming to wade into the Aegean. Not too warm, not too cool, just refreshing.

Back into town in time to climb the stairs and cobbled streets to see the older parts of town.  There were some nice opportunities for pics

Did we mention that Paul is a door-way kind of guy... he loves them.

We came back down to the port just as the sun was receding over the hills.

We drank Capuccino or Espresso Freddo and enjoyed the warm evening.

The Ferry was scheduled to leave at 5:50 PM, but no one seemed surprised when it showed up around 6:30 PM.  Tired but happy, we clamored aboard, turned on our audio books, and enjoyed the crossing back to Athens.