We spent the day today at Hydra. Immediately when we stepped off the ferry I thought it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! I absolutely loved the vibe of the island and almost wish I spent a weekend there instead of Mykonos. Although Mykonos was a blast, I thought Hydra had more of an authentic Greek feel as an island and Mykonos was more touristy. I was intrigued to learn a lot of the island’s revenue comes from tourism and how everything, even water, is imported into the island. I can see how people would fall in love with Hydra but it was also interesting to learn that the locals do not necessarily love the tourist who comes in to then buy a second home in Hydra. The article mentions how even the richest on the island shop at the locally run grocery store like everyone else. Flashes of wealth are uncommon on the island. I loved that Hydra had little to no cars and think it added to the character of the island as well as the sustainability of the island. In the article, it states how besides the 2 garbage trucks (which we saw) they only use water taxis, mules, or donkeys for travel. We started our day riding donkeys around the cobblestone streets of Hydra and getting to see more of the inner town. My donkey’s name was Cecile!
Post donkey riding, we met up with some other members of the group to swim and tan. The water was absolutely beautiful and I loved diving in off the ladder. We then walked around to look for the cliff-jumping spot but could not find it :(. We wanted to DIY a cliff jump but Kiera said “No way!” which is definitely smart and was the right move so we walked back to our normal swim spot. Here is me and Audrey floating.
After we swam, we met up with the group for lunch. The Greek salad and the Sprite were the perfect refreshers after a day of swimming. The view from the restaurant was beautiful. For lunch, I decided on tomato pasta with a goat and feta cheese mix on top. It was delicious.
After this, we walked around all the shops. I bought an orange hair clip that looks like an orange! We then walked around all the shops, and a lot of the products were locally made. This was nice to see when I went into one store, the owner was very proud to tell me all the clothing was hand-made by a woman in Athens. Seeing this kind of tied the International Marketing course we just took with Supply Chain Management we are taking now! She was very proud of the shop local initiative we saw in International Marketing, and the sustainability of the products due to them being made locally from local materials.