Hydra is a tiny Greek Island with beautiful hillsides and a limestone paved port at the bottom. When we visited Hydra I was amazed at how small the Island was and not filled with as many tourists. It was a quiet town with a homey feeling and it was definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip. However after visiting I was left wondering how the island operates. Are there schools, is housing affordable and what is it like during the off season? Do people just live there during the summer and leave for the off season? Considering the island is so small it makes it difficult for them to obtain everyday essentials like electricity, transportation, ect. Transportation is limited at Hydra, there are no airports and the only way to get around is by donkey, mule, or water taxis. There are no cars that run on the island which was interesting to learn. I was able to ride a donkey with a few friends on our day trip, experiencing how the locals get around. Since everything is centered by the port it would seem excessive to have cars driving on the island. However I found out that having no cars run has led to a trash problem. There are only two trash trucks that take trash to be burned. The trash buildup is several months behind and the toxins from burning the trash are being released into the air. Since it can not be reached by car, everything is brought in my boat. Even their ice is brought in by boat which in reality running boats all the time is not sustainable. Along with this sewage water is being dumped into the ocean every night. Which freaks me out considering I was swimming all day in that water when we visited. All the power runs from an outside source which could result in a suffering shutdown for the whole island. There are no huge hotels and restaurants/bars are family run. This means that their economy is heavily reliant on tourism. However this leads me to wonder how they survive in the off seasons when tourism is low. Are they truly making enough during the summer to stay afloat? The breathtaking beaches and traditional feel to the island is distracting to how unsustainable the Island actually is.