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We had enjoyed Mykonos more than we had expected too so though we were sad to say good bye, beautiful Santorini was waiting for us. First, we did yoga on our balcony with our focal point being the Med Sea. Then, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast with Greek yogurt and honey that was out of this world in the glass encased room with views of the sea. With some hours to spare, we walked the old town and stumbled upon sites off the tourist path like an elementary school. Can you imagine going to school in paradise? Several hours later and feeling as if we had walked the entire island, we stopped near the harbor from where we were departing for a quick lunch. This is where we had the best olive oil ever. The olive oil comes from Crete and the restaurant had a family farm there. After lunch, we went to the old pier to catch a 15:00 Hydrofoil to the island of Santorini-a 3 hour pleasant ride on a huge ship intended to transport tourists from island to island. It was 45 minutes late due to high winds (not unusual for them). We were on shore around 18:00.
Again, we could hardly contain our excitement. We took 2 buses to the Oia which is the well known, picturesque part of Santorini. The terrain was different than Mykonos-definitely more rocky and hilly. Santorini was rebuilt by the residents in the 1970's after a recent earthquake. The buildings were all built of lime and were painted white for 3 reasons- 1. white reflects lights which is critical in a place where is so sunny so much of the year 2. The lime naturally keeps the place warm int he winter and cool in the summer and 3. The white buildings with blue tops demonstrated the patriotism of the Greeks who were ruled by the Turks at the time. Once we reached Oia, we walked to the main street of Oia and were soon greeted by the owner of the cave houses where we were staying. We were escorted to our cave house, descending gorgeous stairs lined with fresh flowers overlooking the sea. The cave house was spectacular-so Greek so beautiful-our accommodation splurge of the trip!! They property also had cliffside outdoor pool and hot tub and Oia was everything we had imagined and seen in photographs of Santorini.
We
had been hearing about the Santorini sunset so we hurried out to catch it. We found a ledge near a church and climbed onto that to watch it. As we got closer to time of sun set, more people joined us and for the duration we all watched in silence. It was definitely a breathtaking site over the sea and mountains. We returned to our room to change and go out for dinner with warm clothing in hand as the island is cold at night. After some menu shopping, we selected a restaurant called Floga which was cliffside as many were. Dinner was amazing and included appetizers with pomegranate and rasberry chutneys! The main plates were just as delicious and the multi level flavors we experienced were outstanding! During dinner, we met another couple there from Texas on their 25th anniversary who were originally were from Pennsylvania and had noticed Jordan's Penn State jacket (which had since become a conversation starter on several occasions). After dinner, we had a chance to talk to the owners who were very friendly and gave us some background on the island and their new restaurant. Their family had owned the property, which used to
be a bakery, prior to the earthquake and the couple chose to "renew"which was an expensive yet common decision other Santorians had made. They showed us the original stove that made 600 loaves of bread (all hand made) a day! Oia was nearly empty in the winter similar to Gimmelwald and other tourist hot spots we had visited so the owners explained that winter time was vacation time for them and many Greeks go to New Zealand and SE Asia. But, for now, 12 hour days were common until tourist season was over. It was great to meet the local and learn more about life in Santorini. It was getting colder and we walked Oia for some time but made our way back to the cave house at midnight as the streets were empty and the only sound were of the waves.
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