Donkeys, Stray Cats, and More Rain (Day 59 - GToE)

You might remember my mentioning that Istanbul has quite the stray cat and dog problem. Turns out, so does Athens. Lots and lots of dogs and cats are running loose all over Athens. Again, makes me sad and it's a strike against the city. 

Today, I went to explore one of the Greek islands. My first two choices would have been either Santorini or Mykonos, but both are pretty far and need a few days to explore. I had only one day, so I chose an island approximately 90 minutes from the Athens port of Piraeus via high speed hydrofoil: Hydra (pronounced: EE-drah).

With a population of approximately 2,000 inhabitants, Hydra is greatly dependent on tourism. All summer long, this tiny island hosts a bevy of private yachts and summering tourists. In the winter, it's a pretty, but desolate place. Hydra has a long and proud history of maritime accomplishments, including some critical naval victories during the War of Independence in 1821. Today, Hydra is mostly known for three things: jewelry (the 2004 Olympic medal designer is from Hydra), lots of stray cats (the Hydriots are proud of this), and hardworking donkeys (the island is a car-free zone).  Okay, it's not entirely car free, there are a couple of small trash trucks and an ambulance. All other forms of motorized transportation are illegal, which makes Hydra a very tranquil place to visit. The only noise you hear is the occasional braying of a donkey.

This morning, I awoke to sunny, blue skies. Happy to see the sun, I headed to the metro which took me in 20 minutes to Piraeus and the high speed hydrofoil, which left port at 9:00am. The boat first stopped at the island Poros to drop off some passengers and supplies, before heading to Hydra. I disembarked around 10:40am and beheld the pretty main town of Hydra...also called Hydra (because that's not confusing at all). I decided to follow the self guided walk in my Rick Steves guidebook and strolled around this city. I saw lots and lots of donkeys and was asked if I wanted to take a donkey ride for 10 euros. I passed. There was a pretty little Greek Orthodox church which was surprisingly ornate for such a small town. I checked out Rafalias Pharmacy which was established in 1890 and is considered an institution in town. Vangelis Rafalias, the owner, has kept it just as his grandfather did. It was like jumping 100 years into the past. Mostly, I just wandered around getting lost and petting lots of cats for about 90 minutes and then it happened...the heavens opened up and down came the rain. 

I immediately headed for the Hellenic Seaways office and switched my boat ticket from the 6pm boat to the 12:15pm boat. The boat was running a little behind schedule and didn't get to Hydra until about 12:40. Then on the way back to Athens, it has some mechanical issues and could not run on high speed so I didn't get back to Athens until 3:00pm. Ugh! After that I made my way back to the neighborhood where I'm staying for a late lunch before returning to my hotel. 

Let me talk a little about the stray cat issue. Today, as I was wandering around Hydra, I would stop and pet some of these cats and what I saw were cats desperate for love and many in need of a good brushing/cleaning. One cat (photo) had fur that was terribly matted. I wanted to take it home to give it a good brushing and a loving home. This poor kitty wanted so much love and attention that I ended up petting the poor thing for 15 minutes and probably could have continued for the rest of the day! I'm sorry, but there's a reason why they are called "house cats". No one will ever be able to convince me that these animals are happy wandering around without a permanent home and having to scavenger for food.

As for the rest of today, I will spend it making sure I'm all packed up and all electronic devices are fully charged before checking out of the hotel tomorrow morning. Also, I'll probably either read or watch a movie. Check out all the photos from Hydra on my GToE photo site.