On first impressions, car-free island life felt idyllic. In towns on other Greek islands, I'd found myself regularly pressed up against walls on pavement-less roads to let mopeds buzz by. In Hydra, by contrast, I could wander around at my own pace, gawping at pink bougainvillea cascading down whitewashed walls, citrus and pomegranate trees in gardens and pretty squares framed by red pantile-roofed buildings.
