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Quintessential Santorini spot
Best spot for taking posing for photos in Santorini. Viewing deck in OiaI arrived early in the morning when none of the shops were open yet. Stepping out of the bus I was so excited! Everything looked sooo beautiful! It was just like in the movies and all the travel magazines I've read. Walking along the pathways next to the cliff facing the ocean I had to stop a few times to take in everything. What a lovely morning with clear blue sky, the peaceful Aegean sea, the Cycladic architecture; and to have that all to myself. I felt like I was in a movie. Lost in Santorini. I literally was except without the cameras. It was still winter but it wasn't so bad. It's just like spring in Korea, about 12C. I was having problems locating my hotel even with Google Maps. There were three other hotels that had the same name apparently. I asked and people kept pointing me to the wrong hotel. I went up and down the cliff several times because one of the hotels that had the same name was there but I couldn't find the entrance. So I walked further up the island and up and down the main street but I still couldn't find it. I
went around in circles for over three hours! With my eight kilogram backpack! But still whenever I stopped I could still smile because I couldn't believe I was actually in Santorini! I thought I had to do this much later in life when I had more money. And I wasn't sure if that would ever happen. But it came much sooner than I had envisioned and it was every bit as beautiful as I expected. I finally found a man who was able to point me towards the right direction and I found my hotel. It's one of those rare moments when I'm travelling by myself and not staying in a hostel! The $35 a night place that I booked had to cancel and Agoda told me to book another place and they'll reimburse me up to $150. Score! I got a much better and bigger place for $80 per night. I though I'd splurge a bit since this is Santorini! And I would be staying in hostels for the most part of my trip so it would be nice to at least sleep in a proper hotel like a real adult even just for a few days.
Walked
around some more around Fira after checking in. A lot of the places were closed. It wasn't the season yet. But I didn't mind because it meant things were cheaper and there were a lot less people. I found a vegetarian/vegan diner where I bought most of my food while in the island. Would have been cheaper if I ate grocery food but I didn't want to feel poor, in Santorini. Food was cheap anyway. At least in that place where I ate at. Felafels were only about four Euro. And those were some of the best felafels I've had in my life! And they were vegan!
I read that Oia was the place to see that stunning sunset Santorini is known for. I took the bus
in afternoonn the next day. They said the walk was beautiful but I thought I'd do that maybe on the way back. The kids just got out of school so the bus was full of school kids and they were rowdy. I enjoyed that atmosphere. It reminded me that kids are kids wherever they are from. They were not kidding when they said Oia was more beautiful than Fira. It was the
same white houses but it felt less commercial than Fira. There were a lot more actual houses than stores and hotels. I could tell because of all the clothes lines. It was a feast for the eyes.
I got to talking to a Canadian woman and an Indian Malaysian who was so full of BS. I could tell he was making up stories so I ditched him. More like he ditched me but I was glad he did! Then I met another Filipino. A nurse working in California. I asked her if she could take my photo and I offered to take hers. The usual way of meeting other solo travelers. She seemed surprised when I told her that I live in the Philippines. She assumed I worked abroad just like her because I could afford Europe. Truth was I could barely afford it but I played it cool of course! Haha!
I was glad I found her there because Santorini isn't the best place to be travelling alone in. The island was full of couples on their honeymoon. You can find people kissing everywhere! It was disgusting! Haha! Oh and all those Korean women dressed to the
nines! They clearly came prepared. I wanted to dress up for Santorini too but it was just too inconvenient and I can't be bothered. I convinced Mitch to walk with me back to Fira. So we did. I thought we'd just follow the path along the cliff but after 30 minutes we couldn't find the way. So we followed Google Maps which pointed us to the main road which was not scenic at all. We must have been walking for about 1 hour already when a car stopped to offer us a ride. We were both tired and thankful that somebody had pity on us. On the drive back to Fira we realized it could have taken us three to four hours to get back to Fira on foot. I told her all my stories of getting lost and almost having to sleep out in the streets. She said "You should have told me that before trying to convince me to go with you!"
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Dancing Dave
David Hooper
How do you do it?
You have to one of the most photogenic guys on the planet, Harold. Our day together in Sydney I noticed your love of life shines out. Then you broke your leg playing soccer and life changed for you. This pic in Greece...my my. Too good not to have a title.