From Looking Like an Influencer to a "Squashie"

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I got up early for the morning sunrise as per usual, but more out of habit rather than there being any particular Perissa setting I wanted to photograph. There wasn't really anything to photograph, but to be fair it was pleasant, peaceful, there were no crowds, no rivalry for the best positions and actually just great to watch and enjoy it. Perissa is very different from Oia in ways that are good and bad.

Breakfast was a buffet in the hotel restaurant, so after four mornings of being able to just go out onto our terrace when breakfast arrived like slobs, wearing what we liked and in whatever state we liked, this morning we would need to be in some sort of semi-presentable condition before going down.

The buffet included one of my Greek favourite, Baklava. It's also a favourite when were in Turkey as it happens. And actually in the UK when we feel like treating ourselves. I'm not used to having it for breakfast though, but as it was there, I would be a waste not to.

After breakfast, my wife and I went for a walk alongside the beach, checked out a few shops and generally just mooched around for a while. We came across some things that would help to keep me busy for the next few days as I don’t do swimming pools:

1. We’d seen a tiny little church perched high in the hills to the south, but now we've discovered that there's a trail up there and, apparently, also to the ruins of the ancient city of Thera. It looks steep and like hard work, but there were several people who were doing it and they didn’t look too wrecked. It might be one to do early in the morning before it gets too hot though.

2. There was a travel office selling various bus tours. Most ended with the sunset at Oia. Whilst that is obviously the thing to do, we had been there and done that (see Our Destination Ready For The AI Apocalypse), but there was one that didn't and covered a lot of places in the south of the island. I booked it.

3. We saw the bus stop for the buses to Fira. A really good idea here is that the bus stops all have a QR code. You scan the code and you get the timetable for the buses.

I don’t do swimming pools, but I did for a little while today as needs must. My face and lower arms are quite tanned (actually a bit burnt) from when I've been out-and-about, but the rest of me is pasty white. It's really not a great look. According to our daughter it makes we a "squashie" after some pink and white sweets. Hopefully a little time by the pool might go some way to balance it out. To think that a few days ago I'd been mistaken for the good looking, well groomed influencer (see So I Can Pass For The Good Looking Social Media Influencer. I Wish!).

After a few minutes of that, I'd had enough and as it was not raining, unlike the last time we went to Fira (see Trending Blue Ponchos, You Heard It Here First), I thought it would be worth going back to Fira again, so I got showered and went to the bus stop to catch the bus, which was early. I got there and discovered that, sadly, the blue poncho social media trend had not lasted.

After a while of walking around to get some photographs, this time with a nice blue sky, I stopped for something to eat whilst I was waiting for the sunset. A sad lonely meal for one and a sad lonely beer for one. It gave me a bit of time to catch-up on the news from back home. Or it would have been if there had been anything vaguely important. Can someone please tell me how all this Philip Schofield gossip can possibly be such big news. If you're not British, so don't know what it's all about, don't worry about it. The behaviours of people who host daytime TV shows isn't news, unless it could vaguely have any relevance to our lives, which it hasn't. Leave him alone and report actual news.

We're getting a more informed view on world news from an English-speaking Turkish channel, which is the only one that seems to work on the hotel TV.

I got my sunset pictures of the St. John the Theologian Church, although those bloody cruise ships were still parked in the worst possible position. It's quite photogenic, particularly with a sunset behind it, but it is in a bad state of repair compared to all the other pristine white and blue churches dotted all around Santorini. There's graffiti and there were kids climbing on it - who I don't think were social media influencers after those unique roof-top shots.

Fira was starting to get loud and lively by the time I left to get back to the bus depot with some time to spare. It was a good job that I did, as I think the busses just leave when they're full and, like last time, it left about 10 minutes early. Greek Maybe Time works both ways.

I got back and met my wife and daughter who were just in the process of finishing their supper and then we walked back along the beach to our hotel.

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Photos

St. John the Theologian Church
The church in Fara.

Perissa Sunrise
Peaceful across the black sand beach.

Perissa Church Sunrise
The sunrise colours in the clouds coming over the mountains.

Baklava
I’m not sure it’s a balanced breakfast.

Hotel Pool
A bit of time before heading off to Fira.

White on Blue
No blue dome, but there's blue in the sky today.

Eyes
These are massive for merchandise in all the shops.

Fara Monastery
Walking through the archway.

Sad Meal For One
Whilst waiting for the sunset in Fira.

Building Roof
I'm not sure why this was here, but it made an interesting foreground for the brightly lit caldera.

Fira
The view looking back to Fira from the path to Firostephani.