Santorini

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Santorini



We woke up at 5 am in Athens to make our boat over to Santorini. We jumped in a cab and made our way to the port. We boarded our boat and we were off. Five hours later we made it to Santorini. We disembarked and fell in love. It was beautiful. The water so beautiful. The cliffs were breathtaking. The nearby islands were stunning.



We took a shuttle to the top of a very steep hill to the top of the hill. We were dropped off at our hotel and checked in. Our villa had two balconies- yes two! One facing the pool and the other the ocean. For fifty euros a night it doesn't get much better. The prices will skyrocket in a couple weeks when high season hits. After checking in we had no choice but to look for a laundromat. There are only so many times you can turn your underwear inside out- just kidding.



Luckily we had no trouble finding a laundromat and dropped off all of our clothes. We then decided to check out the town. But walking along what seemed to be the main street we did not find much. It was a bit of a ghost town. After exploring a bit more we found out that most of the shops and restaurant are built on the side of the cliff and when we found these small streets we found lots of people.



We rented a scooter and went for a drive around. Then had an amazing dinner. I honestly cant get over how amazing the food is. The food is so flavourful and they use many spices and so much garlic. This is definitely not the country of great breath but it is definitely worth it. We also visited Oia which is famous for it's white and blue buildings. Walking around here was nice but as both of us like people watching we decided to return to Fira to enjoy our dinner.



Waking up the next morning we went on a tour. We started at a beautiful active volcano named Nea Kameni just near the main island of Santorini. We hiked up to the top and were able to witness hot springs. These hot springs could be seen as they were releasing steam just out of openings in rocks. The red and black colours of the volcano were beautiful. They obviously have many pressure measuring tools around to make sure it is safe for everyone.



After our hike we got back on the boat and went to the hot springs. Now these aren't the type of hot springs we have back home. Our boat docked and we had to jump into cold water and swim about 100 meters over to a slightly warmer area that was filled with a sparkly mud. It was fun playing in the mud until we realized that the mud was dyeing our bathing suits a reddish color. It was fun none the less and we swam back to the boat and made our way over to Thirassia for lunch.



Thirassia was just as beautiful as the main island and we got to eat lunch right on the edge of the ocean and enjoy a drink. After lunch we headed back to Thira. On the boat I made a new friend. Her name was Tess and she was from the Netherlands. Although she was only six years old she taught me lots about both the Netherlands and Paros and Ios (the other islands her family went to before Santorini).



After disembarking at Thira we got to take a really fast cable car to the top of the island. We then took a quick dip in the pool or what I might call my shower for the day. Although our hotel was beautiful the shower was not the best and shut off on me mid-shampoo that morning. We had another great dinner in Thira on the side of the cliff and watched the beautiful red sunset. I ordered a beer with dinner and the waiter asked me if I wanted the small or the large. The large seemed like better bang for the buck so I ordered a large. When the beer came they placed it in front of Tyler as they could not believe a lady would order a 1L draft beer. I laughed at the size of it. We were even brought dessert wine as a thank you from the restaurant. I had never had dessert wine before and did not particularly care for it.



Our final day in Santorini we decided to rent a scooter once again. We went to visit all the beaches on the south side of the island. We visited Akrotiri beach which also seemed to be known as Red Beach. It was beautiful and had huge rocks. It did not seem like a beach but was beautiful. We then drove to Perivolos & Perissa Beach which are famous for being black sand beaches. They are black due to the volcanic eruptions many years ago. After collecting sand we went to visit Ancient Thira. We had no clue that Ancient Thira was a 40 minute walk up hill through rough terrain. After walking for ten minutes we had to turn around. And it was Tyler's turn to curse at me under his breath. I had not worn proper footwear for this trek. I had decided to wear my flip flops that morning and had left my runners behind.



So we made our way to Kamari beach. On our way to Kamari we passed by beautiful landscape and many wineries. We went to the beach and had lunch on the water. We then returned to Volcan WInery. Where we were able to take a tour in the 300 meters of caves they have underground. The tour was very informative and we learned lots about the ancient methods of wine making. After the tour we tasted four wines and although I really enjoyed the red wine it was not practical to buy any as we would have to throw it in our backpacks.



After the winery we returned to Thira and enjoyed a delicious crepe with strawberries and bananas. Like I mentioned before- definitely not losing any weight in Greece. Oh well.



Now we are taking a boat to Heraklion, Crete. We will rent a car when we disembark and head to Chania for two nights. Then we will spend one night in Rethymo before heading on to Rhodes. Only one week left in Paradise.



Until next time



Jill



More pics below

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Santorini
One of our favorite places on earth. Your photos are so wonderful. Thank you for sharing.