Hydra: exploring

On Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to greet our first full day in Hydra! Arriving after dark the night before, we were eager to see what the town looked like in the daylight and enjoy some of the beautiful views we read were so ubiquitous on the island.

Before heading out, we fueled up on the amazing breakfast offered by Mistral Hotel. The breakfast is included for all guests and was home-cooked and served each morning. Breakfast was served in the outdoor courtyard, and we received quite a spread.

As soon, as we were seated we were brought small glasses of pea soup, shortly followed by bread, fruit, coffee, juice, cereal, breakfast pudding, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes/cheese, sweet bread, a noodle/cheese bake, and cheese sandwiches:

WOW! We did not come anywhere close to finishing all the food. Once fully sated, we headed out to get a better look around Hydra:

No cars are allowed on Hydra, so everything is very close and walkable. The walkways are primarily cobblestone and the houses are almost all white stucco with ceramic roof tiles:

Because cars aren’t allowed, mules and donkeys are used to transport supplies, and we saw lots of food loaded onto flat crates and placed on wheels for transport:

The town center is the port where there seemed to be a constant flow of business and pleasure boats and ferries, and the dock was lined with shops, restaurants, and cafes:

The water was amazingly clear:

After checking out the town center and marveling at how adorable the island was, we got started on our primary activity for the day: a hike up Mt. Eros. Before the trip, Noah looked up some information about hiking during the vacation, and we thought this would be the perfect activity to fill a day on an island. The information Noah found said that hiking Mt. Eros would lead to a gorgeous view of all of Hydra (and more!). The trail would also bring us past two monasteries.

Excited and sunscreened…ready to make the climb: