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Published: September 21st 2008
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Days 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 - Santorini
So, after leaving Ios due to fog, we pulled into Santorini to see fog covering the cliffs. It was an amazing rolling fog on the cliffs. London fog had nothing on Santorini fog! Luckily we were there for 5 days so we figured it would clear up. It did, slowly revealing the amazing caldera. Each day it got clearer so we saw more and more, until it was clear and we had some great sunsets. Since we couldn't see a thing the first night, we just walked into the city and got a greek taverna meal (Tim had buttered noodles. Buttered noodles...his favorite!) The next morning, hoping to see blue sky and not getting it, we decided to rent ATVs again and go around to the different beaches. Took about 30 minutes to get from beach to beach and we made our way to Kamari beach (black pebbles) to the black sand beach, and then to the red beach. Along the way we stopped at the ancient town of Thira (more stairs to climb!). The weather was sunny along the beaches, so we managed to keep our tans going (Vic's
freckles). It being an NFL Sunday, we had chicken wings (for lunch we stopped and got roast chicken), now all we needed was to find the redskins game. That night after dinner (we had either pasta, fish or greek tavern food- that's what the menu consists of everywhere) we found a bar called Murphy's! They advertised NFL football so we checked it out. Turns out they were showing Oakland versus Kansas City on a United Arab Emigrates chanel. Bizarre. Split screen with a soccer game, we were painfully aware of how slow American football is and how many commercials there are! No Redskins game. That was ok, as we know Walker and crew were probably at the game in Raljon.
The next day we moved on to Oia (we had originally only planned 3 days in Santorini, but with the fog in Ios we came early, and spent the first two nights in FIra). We got a sweet upgrade since our air conditioning in the studio we had rented was broken, two bedrooms, living room and small kitchen. Sitting on the couch Tim could watch the cruise ships coming in and out of the caldera and watch BBC World
at the same time. If only we could've gotten wi-fi would have been a dream come true. That day we got an email from Sarah that Drew (a bartender friend from DC) was in Santorini for his honeymoon. Small world. We walked to the end of Oia to see the "world famous sunset" eh- still a little cloudy. At dinner our waiter chatted us up about US politics. That seems to be a trend. Phrases like "what's wrong with your country?" and "but you voted for Bush for two terms!" coming up often. It was all in good humour though.
We woke up excited for our boat ride through the Caldera. AND it was a beautiful day-- no more clouds! Our boat ride wasn't til 2, so we putzed around our pool (overlooking the caldera), then went to grab some sandwiches for lunch. On the way, presto- run into Drew from DC. He had just dropped Laura off at the spa, what a nice husband. Of course Drew being who he is, has found the only bar in Oia and has befriended the bartender. We agree to meet them for drinks later that evening. The boat ride was amazing.
There are Murphy's everywhere!
This is in downtown Fira, Santorini We left from the southern part of the island, went by the red beach, and pulled into the white beach for a swim. You could only get to that beach by boat, so we were the only ones there. The boat ride had 10 people on it, plus the three crew, one of which Jeff Ulness (business friend of Tim) previously worked with in NYC. He now consults for 6 months in New Jersey, and is a tour guide / crew member on this catamaran for 6 months in Santorini. Nice life. Next we headed into the caldera for the warm springs. Since the volcano is a still live and churning under the sea, the waters are warm from the lava its spewing underneath. A little odd, a little scary, but neat. Then we pulled into a bay and they made dinner for us. Then, on to watch the famous sunset from the water- this was the best sunset of the trip. That night we met up with Drew and Laura for drinks, and some Oia nightlife. An hour later we're home as the nightlife is pretty non-existant here.
It was now Day 22 and we needed a Lazy
Kamari Beach
Black pebble beach Beach Day (LBD IV). This time to a black sand beach. We decided to rent a car, and as we go to get in, realize its a stick shift. Doh, that means I have to drive since Tim claims not to be able to drive a stick. So, I just pretended to be Greek and drive crazy. It worked and we arrived at the black sand beach. They do it right here. The chairs and umbrellas are cheap, and the chairs have these super comfortable pads on them. They also have beds for rent too. On the beach, with canopies. We just opted for the chairs and had a great LBD. On the way home we stopped at a Greek winery called Santo, for some wine tasting and another great sunset. The guys who run the sailing trip from the day before recommended a sushi place in Firostefani. Sushi? We decided to try it, and turns out the captain of the sailboat company owns it with his wife. No wonder they recommended it. But, it was all fresh fish from the day's catch, and it was great.
Thursday was our final day on the islands. We decided to go
with an overnight ferry back to Athens to catch our morning flight to Istanbul. The hotel let us have a 6 pm checkout. They were awesome- if you ever go to Santorini, stay at Atrina Houses. Beautiful place and great staff. We had another Lazy Pool Day, then headed down to the port for the overnight ferry. Ferry wasn't sooo bad- I was nervous, but after two dramamine and two nyquil, I had no problem falling asleep. Tim has no problem falling asleep anywhere, so he was fine. Arrived in Athens at 6:45 am, and headed off to the airport to Istanbul!
Well lazy pool and beach days are now over for a while. On to the next part of our journey. We are certainly doing well...and hope the same for all our friends and family. Take care!
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Father Attfield
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End of world
Looks like the sea slopes from left to right there? How come it all doesn't run away? Tell us the secret. So there you are, drinking wine at the end of the world (looks like it!) while the rest of the world sinks into terminal financial chaos. Is it a coincidence that this happened just after Tim abandoned the money markets and left the country. Come back Tim! Your country needs you!