Ξένοι τους φίλους σας δεν έχουν ακόμη εκπληρώσει: Strangers are friends you have yet to meet

The day started at 7:30 this morning, so that we could drive to Poros and take a ferry from their port on to Hydra. Thank goodness I strayed from my usual Greek yogurt and honey and ate apricots instead because I’m not to sure my stomach could have handled anything else on that bus ride. Though we had a beautiful view of the coast from the mountain, the winding roads and I just do NOT mesh well. I was so relieved when we reached Poros, I could’ve kissed the ground. Instead I just got coffee. Haha an equivalent substitute, I suppose. Within ten minutes, the Flying Dolphin arrived to take us to the island. Why did they dub it the Flying Dolphin you might ask? Well, the boat actually has blue-painted equipment sort of like skis on it’s front, and this said equipment blends in with the ocean when you see it from afar, making it appear as though the boat is flying through the water with its nose up just like a dolphin. Now, while this may seem extremely boring to anyone reading this, I found it fascinating. Don’t ask me why. It may have just been my weak stomach and headache that was amplifying the awesomeness of our ferry, or it may have just been that the Flying Dolphin is truly awesome. We’ll never know. I digress. The second we stepped off the [awesome?] Flying Dolphin, Maddie and I spotted the gorgeous white and brightly colored buildings in contrast with the marina of calm, blue water and of course whipped out the cameras for a quick photo opp. Then, disaster struck, and Maddie’s floppy hat simply flopped on into the water. Luckily, though, a moment similar to that of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants between Lena and Costas occurred and a man used his fishing hook to retrieve her hat. I was obviously replaced in the photo opp:

As soon as we progressed past the dock, we laid eyes on a cluster of donkeys. Since Hydra does not allow motorized vehicles, they were the main mode of transportation (other than walking, of course). Incidentally, this also made them the most expensive mode of transportation… fancy that! We didn’t end up riding one, needless to say. After congregating by the smelly animals, David, Carolyn and Carly assigned us 5 portrait shots. In order to be respectful, this included us (and by us, I mean me because my group volunteered me every time) walking up to random strangers and telling them we are photography students who would like to take their picture for our assignment. No, they won’t be on Facebook. No, you don’t have to pose. Why? Umm you just seem interesting? As you can see, it had the potential to get super uncomfortable, super fast. I did get a few good pics and new friends out of it, though. I will try to give a little background info on each as I go:

(this woman is from Australia, has two twin daughters, and sells her friend Stefano's paintings which he creates on purely wood mediums. her necklace is of a shell that she found herself, and she especially likes how it looks like a heart)

(this is a man with a lot of hair who owns a jewelry and clothing store... that's about all I gathered from our short conversation)

(this is an old man with a lot of character, from what I observed. throughout his photo shoot, he tried out different poses for us, removed his shades and then his hat, shifted his cane from one hand to the other, etc., etc... he was a joy to work with!)

(this is a cat)

(this little boy's parents were so thrilled to have me take his picture! I think he was more confused than anything...)

(what a cute, posh, old couple in almost-matching attire... maddie swears that could be rachel zoe and her hubby when they're older)

(this is a girl who has style. from her circular shades to her statement necklace to her periwinkle nail polish to her yellow skinny jeans, she was pretty much just screaming "take my picture." of course, when we asked, she was happy to oblige... although there was a lot of nervous/awkward laughter at first.)

(this couple had matching ray bans which I myself own, so I asked if I could snap a pic... and since he had so much hair, I snapped a solo shot of him as well)

(with a beard like Santa Clause's, how could I not take his picture?! thankfully, this sailor was happy to be our model for a few minutes.)

(this woman was sitting at a table, sipping on cappuccinos with her boyfriend/fiance/husband when we walked up and they were possibly the cutest couple I've ever seen, with their matching ray bans and adorable british accents. when I asked if we could take pictures of them, the boyfriend/fiance/husband said "yes, but only if they don't end up on the internet." well, I sure hope they're not saying this under the instruction of witness protection agency or anything because they were so cute that I just had to include a few pics!)

Lunch was short and sweet… literally. I had the best pistachio milkshake ever… which you can see Maddie and Erin also enjoyed. It was an all-around fave.

After lunch, while everyone was slipping on their swimsuits, my bandage around my knee confined me to a covered patio where I sat and read. Rough life right? Haha

Throughout the day, I had multiple visitors… most notably, Callie. At one point, a spider started crawling up her arm so she jumped up screaming, looking like she was doing the hokey pokey quite enthusiastically while the two boys at the bar laughed. In her defense, it was a large spider:

Well, that pretty much sums up today, chillness and all. Yasas y’all!