Day 21 and 22 - 23rd and 24th June 2013 - Santorini

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Sunday

We wake at 7am to go and catch our ferry to Santorini. I say wake, what with the fireworks, bouzouki etc there was not a lot of sleeping. We feel like we have just done a night shift. We quietly open the door thinking we will be the only people in the village awake. We find Anna and her daughter Maria waiting for us to get up to see us off. Perhaps they never went to bed. Maria gives us a handmade souvenir of Milos and it was all hugs and kisses all around. It must have been the dancing. (PERHAPS THEY WERE GLAD TO SEE THE BACK OF US.) They asked us to tell all our friends,so if you ever find yourselves in Milos and are looking for a simple but fully equipped room in Paleochori then follow the signs to Anna's Rooms or ask us for the email address. We really enjoyed our 4 nights here.

The next hurdle was the hire car return. We got to the port just after 8am. Our ferry was at 9.30am. I was told we had to get there early as we might have to do insurance forms. It opened at 9am. I left Carol at the port with the bags and waited. The owner saw the minor blemish, said no problem and I thought about the extra hour sleep I could have had. (HE WAS LUCKY THE GUY HAD OBVIOUSLY BEEN TO A PARTY LIKE US AND WAS STILL BLEARY EYED.)

Our ferry Seajet 2 was on time and packed. Santorini promises to be a culture shock after the last 3 islands. The boat travels very fast . One of our Italian next door neighbours told Carol that he had been on this boat and most of the passengers were being sick. This obviously didn't bother Carol - much! It turns out today is very calm and so there are no problems, except when it docks it swings violently from side to side.

The dockside in Santorini was completely chaotic. So many people. We do a deal with a dockside car hire firm (TIM WAS KIDNAPPED BY A CAR HIRE TOUT WHO WOULDN'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER.) who then give us a ride into Fira (or Thira if you prefer) to pick up a one week old Toyota Yaris. (NOT SUCH A BAD DEAL AFTER ALL PARTICULARLY AS WE HAD PAID FOR A 800CC MATIZ) They obviously have not heard of my reputation. You immediately see the caldera views for which Santorini is famous and the reason we are here. The road out of the port is a hair raising series of hairpin bends up a cliff. Carol is very quiet. (WHEN THE BONNET OF THE VAN OVERHANGS THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF AS YOU TURN A CORNER ITS NOT A GOOD FEELING. BEST TO KEEP YOUR EYES CLOSED AND PRAY.)

Fira main road at midday was a madhouse. This is a town to visit early. Then it is over to Kamari on the flat (safe) side of the island. No sliding over the cliff during and earthquake from here. (NOW WHO'S THE SCAREDY CAT! ALL TIM HAS SPOKEN ABOUT IS THE IMMINENT THREAT OF AN EARTHQUAKE OR VOLCANIC ERUPTION AND THAT IF IT HAPPENS ANYONE LIVING ON THE PRECIPICE CALLED FIRA WOULD FALL TO THEIR DEATH.) Our accommodation is the Castro Hotel, complete with swimming pool. We had booked a place with a swimming pool as the beaches on Santorini are notoriously poor.

The hotel is perfect for us and run by a friendly family. We settle in and then go off exploring in the car. First we visit Pirgos and make the walk up the hill. They never seem to have set up settlements on a plain. The views were brilliant though, with lots of white lanes and houses. (AND CATS AND DOGS.)Then it was off to Akrotiri, but Carols map reading was a bit off (I BEG YOUR PARDON IF THE GREEKS SIGN POSTED THE ROADS BETTER THEN IT WOULD HELP)and we ended up going up a worryingly narrow road to a military base on the top of a hill. Again good views and we managed to get some photos without getting arrested, even though I kept pointing at Carol every time she raised her camera, hoping they had CCTV. (I CHOSE NOT TO SEE THE NO PHOTOGRAPHY SIGN. I FIGURED THAT SO LONG AS I WAS POINTING THE CAMERA AWAY FROM THE ARMY BASE THEN THAT WAS OK.)

Once we eventually reached Akrotiri it was another pleasant if slightly more authentic town with, you guessed it, a Castro on a hill. We walked up. At the top we found a bagpipe museum that had just closed. Probably just as well.

Back at the hotel we make use of the pool and then we make the advertised 250 meter walk to the beach and find it is nearer half a mile.(MORE LIKE A MILE) Those that have been following the blog will know that a pattern is forming here. The beach area of Kamari is a sea of sunbeds. I guess the rough volcanic pebble beach would not be too comfortable. The beds are 5 Euro a day. The front is packed with eating establishments and has a resort feel to it. After 3 weeks of Greek food we have an anarchic moment and order a pizza.

Tonight there is a so called super moon, a large full moon, which shimmered brightly over the sea. (I TAKE LOADS OF PHOTOS OF THE MOON WHICH WAS BIG AND ORANGE AND REFLECTED WELL IN THE SEA. I MANAGED TO TAKE A PICTURE OF AN AIRPLANE COMING DOWN TO LAND ACROSS THE BEACH BETWEEN THE MOON AND ITS REFLECTION A STUNNING PICTURE IF I MAY SAY SO.)

Monday

This hotel offers bed and breakfast in the price so I have the luxury of not having to traipse off to the bakery while we are here. (THE EXERCISE WAS GOOD FOR TIM.)

Today we are going to look for the Caldera edge views at Fira and Oia. We start early as our guide book says these places get crowded as the day progresses.

Fira is perched on the cliff. (THE EDGE OF THE CRATER OF THE ERUPTED VOLCANO) Carol is very brave here and is even tempted to look over the edge at the donkeys bringing up passengers from the old port, now used by cruise ships. There are nearly 500 steps down to the quay. That means nearly 500 back up too. Carol wants to go. I put my foot down. Even the offer of the cable car back up wont tempt me. I am convinced that our knees would simply have exploded. And we would have got donkey poo on our shoes. (THE POO DID STINK.)

Whilst in Fira we book our next ferry ride to Crete. The boat is well booked already so we have to pay nearly 120 Euro for business class tickets. I will want a private butler at those prices.

The views are the ones you see in the brochures. Quite breathtaking. By the time we leave Fira the crowds are building and we wonder what we will find at Oia. As it turns out, we beat most of the crowds there too.

If Fira was dramatic, Oia is pure picture postcard. This is apparently the place to come and see the sunset, but we are put off by the guide book description of the thousands of people pouring out of coaches for the intimate experience. After a good look around we find we have already taken 100 photos today, it really is that sort of place. We buy some lunch at a bakery, find a shady spot (not easy) and amuse ourselves feeding the ants bread. (THEY WERE VERY STRONG ANTS CARRYING BITS OF BREAD 5 TIMES THEIR WEIGHT AND THE BIGGER BITS OF BREAD THEY SURROUNDED AND CARRIED BETWEEN THEM. THERE WERE TWO LAZY ANTS THOUGH WHO SAT ON TOP OF THE BREAD AND HITCHED A RIDE. I WONDERED IF ONE MIGHT BE CALLED TIM.)

As we were eating coach after coach was arriving so we decided it was time to leave for an afternoon by the pool. We were the only ones there. (WE ARE DISTURBED ONLY BY THE RUMBLE OF A TRUCK PASSING BY TO WHICH TIM RAISED AN EYEBROW AND COMMENTS "I THOUGHT THAT WAS AN AIRPLANE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD." THEN ANOTHER TWO CAME BY.) Carol did think a moped was a helicopter.

For our evening meal we went to a taverna on a side street we had seen walking back to the hotel yesterday. This was more authentically Greek although Carol's moussaka seemed to have been take straight from the centre of the volcano. We watched Barcelona play football on an old TV.

Tomorrow we leave Santorini and set off on our final ferry journey to Crete.

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