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Hydra is a haven from Olympic bustle

Car-free island seems unaffected by Athens

updated 8:42 a.m. ET Aug. 23, 2004

HYDRA, Greece - In crowded Athens, it’s hard to believe that there is a place in Greece not infected by Olympic fever. But only 90 minutes away, on the island of Hydra, you can step off a boat and forget that the world’s biggest sporting event is going on in the country’s capital.

Stepping off the boat in Hydra can be like stepping out of a time machine — cars are forbidden and the best way to get up the hill to see the views of the sparking turquoise sea is on the back of a donkey.

“We read about the island in the Israeli version of National Geographic and knew then that we wanted to see it,” said Mira Ziv, 44, visiting Greece from Israel with her husband and son. “What is there to do in Athens anyway? The Acropolis and that’s it.”

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White houses with red roofs and blue doors that match the sea line the rocky hill that juts up from the Mediterranean. The 150 or so tourists we traveled with on the boat seem to disappear as soon as they disembark and Hydra’s narrow streets are nearly empty throughout the scorching afternoon. Kids looking for a little relief from the heat jump from 30-foot stone walls into the sea, attempting to copy Olympic divers.

In the many jewelry and souvenir shops, overly eager shopkeepers jump up to greet what could very well be their only customers of the afternoon and show off water-color paintings of the Greek islands and copper statues of the original Olympic athletes. They also offer the same Greek urns that are available in tourist shops all over Athens.

The paucity of Olympic visitors to sail this way has disappointed Hydra’s business operators, who had hoped to profit from the island’s reputation as a quiet haven close to Athens.

“We had great expectations that many people would come this summer and they didn’t,” said Sophia Pavlidou, 39, who works in an art gallery and has lived on the island since 1992. “At least the weekends are a little busier, and we hope September and October will more crowded.”

The Olympic store — with not a customer inside — is the only reminder on the island of the competitions and celebrations taking place less than 40 sea miles away.

Indeed, the only places that seem to have any business in Hydra are the restaurants around the harbor, each offering traditional Greek food, fish, crepes, and a bit of relief from the blazing summer sun.

For those in the know, Hydra’s car-less streets, donkeys, and incomparable views of the sea are enough to draw even the busiest people away from the Games for a few hours.

“We don’t have a great deal of time away from Athens, but we thought we could at least spend the day out here,” said Manfred Guehrer, the father of Marieke Guehrer, a member of the Australian Olympic swimming team. “We’ve heard it’s the prettiest island we could get to. And, of course, it’s a place where we could get in some swimming.”

Postcards from Athens


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