Hydra - A Love Story
It only took a few steps along Hydra’s stone paths to know I was somewhere special. By the end of the first day, I was completely in love.
This little island has no cars. No bikes either. In fact, nothing with wheels. Just your feet, the sea, and maybe a donkey or a horse to help carry your bags if you need it. Life here moves at a slower pace and that’s exactly what makes it so magical.
Hydra is small, hilly, and quiet, with most of the life gathered around its beautiful port.
Hydra shot on Canon EOS R6 50mm
There were so many things that made me fall for this island:
❤️ Cats everywhere and you can actually be friends with them!
❤️ You can swim almost anywhere, the whole island feels like a secret swimming spot.
❤️ The food is amazing. All.the.time.
❤️And the people? Warm, welcoming, and always smiling.
Hydra reminded me how good it feels to slow down. To walk with no destination and get lost in the narrow streets. To swim without checking the time. To eat with joy. To be fully present.
There is a lot to do on the island—and also nothing to do
Sleeping Cat shot on Canon EOS R6 50mm
And that’s the beauty of it. Here, you remember how fulfilling the simplest things in life can be. Things you only get to enjoy when time slows down and there’s no need to rush. I guess that’s the biggest struggle in our busy city lives.
That’s why we stayed for five days to really live the island to its core.
But you know what? It still wasn’t enough. I wanted to do so many more things, and I wanted to swim with the sunrise every single day.
A slow life that starts with a sunrise swim and a biiiiig breakfast
On the last two days, I got to join the early morning swim crew at Hydronetta Beach. Waking up with the sunrise, I wandered through the streets still cloaked in shadows, the island slowly waking up around me.
The sun rises directly over Hydronetta Beach, and on warm July days, it’s perfect. You can sit under the sun without getting too hot. If you’re lucky, there’s a gentle breeze, and you can simply sit and enjoy the quiet morning, or take a dip with the fishes.
And when I say “beach,” don’t picture sand or pebbles. Hydronetta Beach is made of platforms perched on rocks, you either step in from a ladder or jump straight into the water.
There’s only one sandy beach on the island, the Mandraki Beach, and yes… it’s the priciest one 🥲 The other beaches are rocky, but don’t worry, that makes the water crystal clear, and the fishes are always visible. But that means you’ll need swimming shoes hahah.
Our favorite, though, was Bisti Beach; a tiny hidden cove set in front of a pine forest. You can get there by water taxi for €17 round trip, but you need to be early; the beach is small and fills up fast.
As for breakfast, we were lucky. Mistral Hotel serves the best and biggest breakfasts. Every day there’s a different specialty on the menu, and the table is always overflowing with so many delicious options that you’ll stay full until lunch. Perfection 🤌🏻
You can’t go wrong with the food on this island
Light dinner at …and onion! shot on Canon EOS R6 50mm
Breakfast at Mistral was just the beginning, every meal on the island felt like a treat. Whether we went to a fancy place or a more casual spot, everything we ate was insanely delicious. My absolute favorite places were “…and onion!” for a relaxed lunch, and Techne for a fine dining experience as the sun set over the mountains.
You don’t need much to be happy — just sunset and wine
Since the island faces west, there are so many spots on the west side of the port to watch the sunset over the mountains—either with dinner or a glass of local wine in hand. This, for me, pretty much sums up the definition of happiness :)
Happiness🍷 shot on Canon EOS R6 50mm
There are two suns shining over Hydra
Apollo Wind Spinner by Jeff Koons shot on Canon EOS R6 50mm
One of them is the Aegean sun, warming life on the island. The other is Jeff Koons’ Apollo Wind Spinner, a bronze&steel sculpture glowing with a different kind of light, intertwined with mythology and art.
It sits on the roof of the old slaughterhouse of Hydra, which is now used as Deste Foundation’s art space. It was part of the exhibition of Jeff Koons back in 2022. The exhibition may have ended, but this “second sun” remains, becoming part of Hydra itself.
That makes me so happy, cause I was thrilled to see this beauty with my own eyes, accompanied with the art exhibition Apocalypse Now and Then by Andra Ursula as I was there. One of the statues in the exhibition caught the afternoon light so beautifully that I had to photograph it. A reminder of how art and sunlight can meet in perfect harmony✨
Granda Odalisque
by Andra Ursula
shot on Canon EOS R6 50mm
At the end it was love at first sight
Cats in a table shot on Canon EOS R6 50mm
Maybe that’s what Hydra does to you 🌝 it sneaks into your heart with cats, swims, sunsets, and endless breakfasts, and before you know it, you’re hopelessly in love.
I will definitely come back.
Lots of Love♥︎