Sue and I got up early, maybe 6 am, had a quick breakfast and set out to climb the mountains around Hydra town. We could see up in the peaks that there were some remote monasteries which we thought we would check out. Only problem... No streets in Hydra have names. So we looked at the only map we had, and took a guess which of the narrow, winding cobbled steps would lead to the path we wanted up into the mountains. By about 7am we had made it a good way up the mountain, and all paths came to an end. The sun had just started to hit us, we had a beautiful but now getting hot, view of the town. Sweat starting to drip. Drinking water which we had brought. And now too stubborn to go all the way back down and try again.
By this point we were directly overlooking the fortress that guards the entrance to the harbor, and the sun had risen over Hydra town. We heard the hand-pulled church bell ring as the sun touched the town, marking the sunrise. Ring, ring-ring, ring, ring-ring was the pattern, ringing for about a minute. Lets just keep going.
We end up climbing the rock and through the dried, crisped semi-prickers weeds. Finding that we could now clearly see the path we were meant to take, across the valley, with an intervening cliff blocking the way down. No place to go but down or up, and still too stubborn to do otherwise.
We finally reached the path about an hour later, after working our way around the backside of the mountain, which had burned in a wildfire. Legs blacked with scratches from the burned area. We did reach one monastery (closed) and one small chapel (gate open) where we rested in the shade of an olive tree sitting on the chapel steps and eating a boiled egg and cherries we had brought. I can see why one of monkish bent might like this. The view of two different harbors, nice breeze, cicadas singing, small garden and water collected in a cistern. Small cot in two-room house, white-painted with blue shutters and clay tiled roof. Small white chapel with blue-painted door and small bell hanging high. Simple life and simple worship. And not too many to climb that hill to disturb you.
We rested there and returned to town about 10am for a visit to the Hydra museum. See next post.
By this point we were directly overlooking the fortress that guards the entrance to the harbor, and the sun had risen over Hydra town. We heard the hand-pulled church bell ring as the sun touched the town, marking the sunrise. Ring, ring-ring, ring, ring-ring was the pattern, ringing for about a minute. Lets just keep going.
We end up climbing the rock and through the dried, crisped semi-prickers weeds. Finding that we could now clearly see the path we were meant to take, across the valley, with an intervening cliff blocking the way down. No place to go but down or up, and still too stubborn to do otherwise.
We finally reached the path about an hour later, after working our way around the backside of the mountain, which had burned in a wildfire. Legs blacked with scratches from the burned area. We did reach one monastery (closed) and one small chapel (gate open) where we rested in the shade of an olive tree sitting on the chapel steps and eating a boiled egg and cherries we had brought. I can see why one of monkish bent might like this. The view of two different harbors, nice breeze, cicadas singing, small garden and water collected in a cistern. Small cot in two-room house, white-painted with blue shutters and clay tiled roof. Small white chapel with blue-painted door and small bell hanging high. Simple life and simple worship. And not too many to climb that hill to disturb you.
We rested there and returned to town about 10am for a visit to the Hydra museum. See next post.
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