Our time in Santorini so far

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We hope that everyone had a lovely Easter. It is Easter in Greece this weekend.

The ferry to Santorini took three hours. Steve slept solidly for most of that time (moving vehicles have a tendency to have that effect on him).

When we arrived at the port, we picked up our hire car and looked at the road that we were going to have to travel. Steep, winding, narrow and slightly intimidating! The drive through Santorini to Oia, where we were staying, was interesting. Part of Santorini seems a bit bleak. Paros did not have that feeling.

We were pleased to arrive in Oia where we were met by Maria and Visilli. Visilli carried our bags for us to our cave house. That man is strong and fit. He advised us that he climbs 2000 steps a day, we can well believe it.

When we arrived at the caves house, we were not disappointed. The view is breathtaking. The house is large and comfortable (although a little cold at night). It is very traditional. Old furniture, shelves and shower recess cut out of stone, beautiful stone door jams. We will be very comfortable here for the next 5 nights. We are very happy how our accommodation has been. It has been well worth the hours taken to research and find them.

We have quite a few steps to go up and down to get to the shops, but it is only a three minute walk to the strip of shops and cafes that make up the tourist part of Oia. The shops here are incredible. Beautiful art pieces, jewellery, handmade puppets (so intricate and lovely), silk scarves etc. They are all a good price too. This is one area where it is very easy and tempting to spend some serious money. Given that we have this in limited supply, it is a good deterrent.

Once again, carefree dogs lie along the strip and Steve has been befriending them all. They are generally so chilled out. Nothing like our two at home... We have some great pictures of them in some of their more relaxed poses.

We are still playing quite a bit of chess. The current tally is 11:3 (Jo is still winning). Steve has started to play against the computer. I have had my head stuck in the Twilight series. I have really been enjoying reading in the sunshine (and until the wee hours when I get fully immersed in them). I rarely allow myself to read when I am at work, as I can get somewhat obsessed and can read until 4am, if the story is enticing. It does not make for a productive day, so I avoid it. As we are on holidays, there are no such restrictions. Unfortunately I cannot get the next one in the series here (I should have purchased it in Paros when I had the chance).

Steve has been getting his head around the Greek language and is making good use of the language guide that Jenny lent us (although we may need to buy you a new one, as it is being well used and is likely to be dog-eared when we return). He is looking forward to continuing to learn with Jenny when we return. He is having interesting conversations with the shopkeepers and they are helping him with pronunciations.

We are listening to Greek radio and are really enjoying it, even though we have no idea what they are saying or singing about.

We are heading of a tour of the island tomorrow and going to see the volcano. It should be great.

We will update again when we are back in Athens (which will be on Friday).

Take care everyone

Love Jo and Steve

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Photos

Chilled out Skili (Dog)
The locals know how to relax

Church at Santorini
There are 350+ churches on Santorini. Wives waiting at home for their husbands to return home safely from the sea would pray for their safe passage and would promise to build a church if they returned unharmed. Many did. So the churches were built. Most are private.

Comments

[Iwanna]

From Yanna
Luv'd the whole story of your arriving and your feeling of the island so far. Yes, those shops r truely enticing, so hold onto your purse very very tightly. There are heaps of those around. By the way - was talking to my mum in Greece last night and she said to warn you of ppl stealing gear from tourists. So hold onto your bags. Don't place them on the ground and walk away or even look away. Steve - I'm looking forward to practicing my greek when you get home. Luv ya both heaps - hugs