It's around 9am on Friday and we're motoring through calm waters to the island of Spetses, 18 miles SW of Madraki Bay on Hydra where we've been for the past 48 hours.

Hydra is an extremely popular island as evidenced by the fact that boats were literally stacked three and four deep in the main harbor. If you can't picture that, imagine four boats with anchors out and sterns tied to the quay. Now add three more boats with sterns tied to the bows in the spaces between the first four boats. Then add a couple more tied the same way to the second group of three. It's a bit like a pyramid of boats all tangled together with lines like spaghetti and with people hopping from boat to boat to get to and from shore. In short, fun to watch but definitely not the kind of place we wanted Interlude anywhere near. Which is why we spent the last two nights anchored peacefully at Madraki Bay, ¾ miles away from the main town of Hydra. With water taxi service from the bay to Hydra Town, we had easy access to town when we went in both evenings for dinner.

Hydra is unique in that it doesn't allow motorized vehicles on the island. So the only means of transportation are by foot, bicycle, donkey or water taxi. With Hydra Town built up around the steep hillside that almost encircles the small main harbor, the logistics of getting tourists and their luggage to hotels or getting food, water, ice and other supplies distributed without motorized vehicles are actually quite impressive.

Hydra Town was definitely the most upscale place we've visited since leaving Porto Montenegro Marina in mid-July. The ubiquitous Greek shops selling trinkets and trash to tourists were replaced in Hydra by boutiques, galleries and shops selling pricier fare. They even have a Four Seasons Hotel tucked away somewhere just outside of town. But since we aren't really shoppers when we travel, we left with our wallets and purses intact.

After visiting Spetses for a bit, we'll be heading to Athens early next week. We had intended to avoid Athens in August, but we have some repair work and boat cleaning to be done and after nearly 6 weeks onboard, it's also time for a few nights in a hotel. I'm looking forward to enjoying a long hot shower and being able to sleep through an entire evening without having to worry whether our anchor might be slipping. Tyler is in search of good food from someplace other than Greece (preferably Asian). Chris is anxious to see the ancient sites and all three of us are ready for a haircut! But first, the island of Spetses awaits us and we'll fill you in on what we find in the next update.