Hydra (Pronounced "Heedra")

When we arrived at the port of Hydra, we fell in love. This island, free of all cars (with the exception of the occasional trash truck), was wonderful. People took their little sail boats everywhere and it was calm and relaxed. This was the last island that we stayed at for "holiday" before my conference began on the island Spetses. The crazy thing about Hydra is that it is totally infested with cats. Most are well behaved and they don't seem to bother the greeks, but when you're eating at an outdoor cafe, they beg like dogs do for food. They rub up against your leg so that you know that they are there and they travel in packs of at least five. We weren't too keen on the cats, but it was part of Hydra. We mostly relaxed. We spent some time swimming in the beautiful water. There weren't any beaches, just concrete slabs with ladders going into the water. Not great for sun-bathing but for an afternoon dip, it was perfect!