Off Season in Paradise

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We should've mentioned earlier that Greece was -along with Australia- a focal point of planning our worldwide jaunt. From the beginning, we both longed to visit Greece, for both the history and the scenery.

This is where the island of Santorini comes in. Many people have spoken well of the Greek Isles, and there was never any doubt that we would end up on one of them. Couldn't have picked a better one than Santorini.

Along these lines, it is time to give credit to Mau and Meris for their decision to join us in Greece for the holidays. Their generosity and zeal for travelling paved the way for a great trip to Santorini - not to mention the rest of Greece.....Thanks!!!

We landed in the small airport on Santorini around 9pm and our host from the Ira hotel was waiting to wisk us away. Not long after checking in and introducing ourselves to our host 'Manu', we were shuttled back to the small downtown of Thira for dinner.

We opted for one of the few restaurants still open at night, and still open during the off-season.

Note: Although it was clear that Santorini must be swarmed with vistors during the summer, it was virtualy empty during our visit - Sparing the locals and the few other people there on holiday.

Thus, we were introduced to the 'Posidin' and our server Tino. We would revisit this restaurant no less than seven times during our four day visit!

The Posidin is a great reastaurant that offers anyhting and everything Greek. This night we enjoyed many Greek delights. We also drank a bit of wine and Mythos beer. Towards the end we were given a digestif that tasted like moonshine! 'See you soon Tino!'.

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Our hotel was a great little place just out of the small town of Thira. The only flaw was the heating system. Obviously, a place intended for summer visitors would put A/C first, and not heating. Thus the small heating unit was outmatched by the drafty construction of our wonderful rooms.

More so, the bathroooms were found on the entry level of our two story domiciles and they were the coldest place in the unit. Even if we were warm on the bedroom level, it took courage to get down to the W/C at night for fear of freezing.

Moving on, the next day the four of us met for breakfast and enjoyed the spectacular view over the cliffs and sea. Santorini was the site of a massive volcanic eruption a long time ago that left a crater - the Caldera- that became a deep trough in the sea where the island used to exist.

Julia's cough had been persisting for a little too long at this point and Julia's mom, Meris, made it a point to remedy this situation. Even on this desolate island, where most of the population had left for winter, Meris managed to find a doctor to see Julia.

While Julia and Meris went to see the doc, Mau and Holden took a long walk up the edge of the cliffs, by the seaside resorts, to the town of Imerovigli. The scenery was astounding there. Santorini is the Grecian island known for its white and blue earthen houses and its extreme hillside bluffs.

During the walk, Mau and Holden stopped by a small market to buy some essentials: Cheese; crackers; beer; and brandy. After all, the next day was Christmas and everything would be closed.

Upon returning to the compound Mau and Holden learned that Julia, low and behold, had been diagnosed with 'walking-pneumonia'!! Whoa!!

For as bad as that sounded, the doctor did prescribe the appropriate medications and gave Julia the go-ahead to continue the trip while following said regimen of antibiotics. A wake-up call no doubt, but we were told everything would be OK with a litle R&R.

After all the morning's activities we found ourselevs quite hungry, so we trekked backed towards town to eat. Guess where we ended up? That's right - Posidin.

Julia stayed home to rest, but after enjoying our lunch she was brought some hearty chicken soup to enjoy in bed. Mmmmmmmm! There, we found Julia watching the Italian(?) MTV station, 102.5.

That night, while Meris and Mau went to the other side of the island for dinner at a restaurant a cab driver had recommended, we sat in bed and played Gin Rummy to our hearts' delight - or, until Julia gave up; upset at losing badly, as was becoming the norm.

The next day was just like any other day in Santorini: sunny, beautiful, and very quiet. Except, it was Christmas!!

With Julia layed up in bed watching Italian MTV; Holden, Mau, and Meris took a walk along the cliffside paths into the city. What an amazing day!

After touring the empty paths and alleys of the cities - empty except for all of the stray dogs and cats that dominate the town - Holden split off and decided to hike down and see the old port.

Nowadays the port for the island is in a different spot, but the old port is still there. From above - way above - it looked very calm and picturesque. Why not check it out?

Holden didn't know what he was in for. The guide book mentioned the 600 stairs that lead to the port. 'OK, so its a bunch of stairs'. Well these stairs are a yard wide, unevenly cobbled, and slanted.

The way down was difficult, so it became obvious the way up would be whole lot harder.

With his legs like jelly, Holden explored the old port trying to regain the energy to ascend to the town. The area was very quiet, save for a flock of very fat ducks that looked like Geese! The seawater was cristal clear and the sun made the whole place idyllic.

Back to reality, it was time to climb up. Holden counted the broad stairs- one by one. By the time he got back to the hotel his sweaty grin said it all: 'I bit off more than I can chew!'. Moreover, there is a gondola to service the port that wasn't in operation that day, but would be in the coming days.

After cooling off, Holden joined the Barreto's for another beautiful walk into town to enjoy another beautiful meal at Posidin - You get the picture by now.

That night we all decided to spend time together in one of the rooms, play cards, and have some cheese and crackers - oh, can't forget the drinks!

About the cheese; we forget the name of it, but it turned out to be to much to handle. No wait! It was 'Emmentaler' or something like that - and it must have been rotten. Even for smelly cheese, this cheese was too smelly - repugnant even!

So, before, we settled in for our card game, holden diced up the cheese and went outside to play Santa Claus for all the stray cats and dogs that were surely hungry.

The name of the game was, 'Misere'. It's a card game played with four people that very much resembles 'Spades'. Four players wager on how many books of cards they can accumulate and then find their fate in how the cards play out. Pretty fun, and very infuriating when you can't make muster.

Holden won on the last hand by scoring all of the books in the hand. What a stroke of luck, and while our teacher, Mau, said congrats, Julia fumed aloud and cried foul.

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The following two days in Santorini followed a similar course.

The day after Christmas we all enjoyed another meal at Posidin. Among the dishes we came to love were: Spanikopita, Moussaka, Souflaki of Lamb, Gyros, and fish. The group favorite was Dolmadakia, which is ground meat and rice wrapped in grape leaves and covered with lemon sauce.

Before lunch, Mau and Meris had taken a cab to the sleepy town at the tip of the island, called Ia. They found a deserted community with all the characteristic architecture of the Greek islands. they made sure that the same cab would pick them up later, or else they would have had to walk the 5 miles back to the hotel.

After the late lunch we enjoyed a marvelous sunset. As far as sunsets go, those on Santorini are near the top. Words can't really describe, but with the clear cool air, the sun washed across the sea from the West and cast the island and its cliffsides in a magnificent glow. The pictures hardly do it justice.

The next day the group took the easy way down to the old port - the Teleferik. The gondola ride was cheap and easy, only you didn't burn any calories. A quick walk around and then back up for our last meal.

Saying goodbye to to Tino after lunch (of course we ate at Pos...), we wished him well on his future goal to visit the States - namely NYC.

We strolled back up the hill to our hotel, accompanied by another sunset and a pack of dogs. After packing, we checked out and Manu drove us to the airport.

Back to Athens and the hotel Ionis for another night, before embarking on our road trip around the mainland of Greece.

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