Sailing to Spetses and Hydra

When our friends from HowFarFromHome came with a visit to Live-Bio, we thought taking them sailing to Spetses and Hydra islands would sound appealing to them, especially after having spent a few months in Scandinavia where warm, sunny days did not happen too often.

En route to Porto Cheli

We had 5 days and the endless blue of the Aegean sea ahead of us. We bought food, water and beer supplies for the trip, took pillows and linen to sleep on and off we went. The captain, Periklis, took our sailing boat (Naziara is her name) first thing in the morning while the 3 of us, Chanel, Steve and myself, were supposed to take a drive and meet him in Porto Cheli, a seaside town on the Peloponnese, about 1 hour drive from Live-Bio. We decided to have our car there for any sort of emergency and if we had to come back from our sailing trip earlier for whatever reason. It wasn’t needed in the end 🙂

The drive to Porto Cheli is quite a treat actually. We followed a curvy road going up and down the hills, always having the sea on our left to admire. We got to Porto Cheli late in the afternoon, joined the captain on board of Naziara and sailed to a nearby, secluded bay where we would spend the night. When we were throwing our anchor, we realised how quiet and serene that bay was. There was only 1 house up on the hill and a few other sailing boats that chose to hide away in this tranquil location. After a quick and refreshing swim in the sapphire blue water, we were ready to end the day. Chanel and Steve decided to sleep outside, listening to the sound of cicadas, breathing in the fresh sea scented air and counting the starts before eventually falling asleep.

Sailing to Spetses and Hydra

Next day we woke up early, strengthened our bodies with some fresh fruit, yogurt and muesli and set our sails to Spetses. Steve was getting some training from the captain. He was a very quick learner and effectively became our second skipper 🙂

Spetses

Before reaching the harbour of Spetses we decided to discover some of the island’s bays and beaches only accessible by boat. We swam, ate our lunch, did our daily portion of siesta and in the afternoon we docked Naziara in the old harbour of the island. And then, exploring time!

Spetses town lays between 2 harbours with the seaside promenade closed to the cars and scooters from 6pm onwards – perfect time for a walk finishing off with sunset watching. The island belongs to one of the wealthiest in Greece. There are plenty, often centuries old mansions to admire, numerous little boutiques with unique jewellery, fashion, art and tons of coffee shops to take your frappe (Greek iced coffee). We chose to do some “people watching” from a local bar, which turned out had a fantastic selection of craft beers! After having sampled a few positions from the menu, we meandered back towards the old harbour. Of course we couldn’t go to sleep without dinner! We stumbled upon a local souvlaki place (a must have meal while in Greece!). A few minutes later our tummies were satisfied and we were ready for bed.

3rd day we spent still around Spetses, starting with breakfast at a local bakery and coffee on the square of the new harbour. We jumped back on Naziara to look for more secluded bays and beaches where we could swim and relax for the rest of the day. At the end we decided to go back to our perfect, tranquil bay near Porto Cheli for yet another peaceful evening. This time we were in the mood for some mischief 🙂 We opened some wine and decided to play some games, the old school ones! We created our own “30 seconds” game, played “pictionary”, laughed like crazy and when the sun went down, we watched the stars before falling asleep.

Hydra

Day 4 was our Hydra day. About 4 hours sailing from Spetses. Those of you who have been to Hydra will know that its harbour is very tricky, apparently the hardest harbour to dock in Greece. Our experienced captain knew what he was doing when he insisted we arrive in Hydra early so we can find space for Naziara. It was tough, but we did it. Hydra welcomed us with its unique, romantic, almost fairy tale like atmosphere. The island of picturesque, little streets and houses, donkeys and the best sourdough we’ve ever eaten! Yes, the local bakery, right by the Pirate Bar, makes the most amazing bread. Absolutely compulsory to try it while you are there! Tastes even better with good quality olive oil.

The island of Hydra is also famous for sunset watching. The best place is on the far right end of the harbour (if you are facing the sea), right where the cannons are. What you can do is arrive there a bit earlier, take your spot and just observe the movement of the harbour. Take your time, relax, watch the sky being painted with a dozen colours by the setting sun. Truly unique experience.

And finally, there are cats! So many of them around the whole island! They all seem to be very well looked after, even though most of them do not have a permanent home. The local community takes good care of them. Cats on Hydra lead a very happy life. We even heard a story of  some people putting less healthy looking cats from other islands on a ferry to Hydra, just so they can have a taste of this cats’ paradise! Priceless 🙂

Going back home, to Live-Bio

The morning of day 5 we set our sails (straight after breakfast at our favourite bakery!) and started to head back home. En route we stopped at an uninhabited island of Dokos (actually there is 1 person living there, an old fisherman who doesn’t like to be disturbed). The last swim of the trip and we were ready to get back.

Naziara, together with its’ crew, got back home safely, richer with new memories and stories to tell. Are you ready for your next sailing trip with us? Yes? Now stop starring at your screen and book a flight to Greece! See you at Live-Bio 🙂