The Greek Islands

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We had nine days to spend in the islands. Not enough time for too much hopping around, so we chose Paros and Santorini--supposedly the most beautiful island. Three days in Paros and five in Santorini, but the long ferry rides to get around. I thought I would get sea sick, but I took my ginger tablets and and boats are so big that the only thing you could really get sick from is all the cigarette smoke! Greek people are lovely, but not when they smoke EVERYWHERE without any regard for others 😊

We didn't book our hotels ahead, rather, we showed up and were hoarded with "touts" advertising their rooms. We got lucky on both islands and ended up bargaining for some nice rooms near the beaches. We had our own kitchenettes so we did a lot of our own cooking, shopped at the local markets, and drank the local wines every evening. Only 2 Euro for a bottle of wine...so we indulged a bit!

We rented a motorbike on each island for a day to explore, and we swam and sunbathed our hearts away. Our last days on the beach until we go back to New Zealand!

Santorini was our favorite, with its breathtaking views everywhere. The landscape of the islands is a bit dry and brown, but the blue water and perfect weather compensate. One of our favorite spots was at the bottom of the town of Oia, a small swimming hole (see photos below). A few other people were there, but we actually swam around a big rock 50 meters out from the land and found an old church with a tower to jump from. We only wish we could've taken photos because it was such a special place.

Be sure to go to the bottom of the page for photos of our sunset in Santorini. To sit in town you have to pay money to eat in a restaurant, but being the pros that we are at "budget" travelling, earlier in the day we had spotted a small hotel outside of town that had some built-in big steps on the side of the cliff. A couple cans of soda to drink, and we nearly had the place to ourselves for one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen (and I'm a HUGE sunset junkie!). Very cool.

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Photos

Early Morning
Catching the early morning ferry from Athen to the island of Paros

Hotel Livadia
Our hotel on Paros, right across from the beach. A little overwhelming to get off the ferry and be harrassed by so many locals trying to get you to stay at their hotel. We got lucky with this one.

The Wind Mill in the centre of town.
Amanda does this look familar?

White and Blue
You could get lost walking around the tiny streets.

On top of Paros
We rented a scooter for a day and cruised all around the island to different towns and beaches. GREAT time!

Backpacker style
Waiting for the ferry in Santorini. For those of you wondering how much gear we took...just one big and little pack each, and that was probably too much! Lets just say that those wimpy arms are stronger than they look :)

On the ferry to Santorini
The ferry rides were long, about 6-8 hours each, and and sun was so hot that we had to be inside. The views of other islands were gorgeous.

Santorini
The first views of Santorini. The main town, Fira, sits on the cauldron edge here.

Villa Aretousa
Our hotel, set 2 mins. away from Perissa Beach on the other side of the island. Our own little room with kitchenette, home sweet home.

Our little balcony
We ate on our little balcony most mornging and nights and had a perfect view of the sunsets. $20/night doesn't get better than this!

Perissa Beach
Volcanic black sand beaches were hot, but the water was clear and refreshing.

She's a Cool Rider
We also did the motorbike thing on Santorini, riding up and down the hills and to the different towns. Breathtaking views, this one is the edge of the cauldron (west side of the island)

Fira
Sitting on the cliff, with tiny streets that are pedestrian only along this side.

The swimming hole
Way below Oia is a little bay with resaurants, and if you walk around behind, you find this perfect spot for swimming. The water is clear and green and refreshing. Behind the big rock is an old church with a high platform to jump from.

A town called Oia
Pronounced, ee-ah, this cliffside village is stunning, all while and stone. Expensive restaurants, hotels, and boutiques make this a tourist haven, but it's definately worth the view.

Getting ready for a Santorini Sunset
We sat on some built-in ledges of the cliff just outside of Fira (behind).

Best sunset yet
This was taken at the end of our day on the bike. We had a coke and watched the sun go down while sitting on a little ledge on the cliff. It was actaully freezing cold when the sun went down