Day: 199-204 Location: Santorini, Cyclades, Southern Aegean Sea, Greece Weather: 25-30C
June 19-24, 2018
It was 3 days after our, uh, my, rental car mishap and we were still feeling the effects. We left our hotel in Delphi bright and early, by way of taxi. We had pre-booked our flight and needed to get to Athens in time to catch the last flight of the day, otherwise we’d be spending the night in the airport! After some very helpful advice from our hotel staff, we decided it was better to take an 80euro taxi ride 1.5hrs to a nearby town where we could catch a train back to the city. Our driver was lovely and helpful, and delivered us to a tiny, somewhat sketchy train station, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. But we made it! We rode the rails all day again (I think by now we’d spent more time in Greek train station than anywhere else in the country- literally, in the past 4 days, we had taken 29 different modes of transportation!) and made it in time for our flight. I was really looking forward to our time on the island.
We arrived late in the evening, and arranged for a shuttle service to our hotel. There was no way after everything we had been through in the past few days that I was stepping foot in public bus anytime soon. We had decided to stay in Fira, one of the more popular cities, and lucked out on a small hotel, under new ownership, just outside the main tourist area. The room was clean and the service was excellent. When our shower head broke at 10pm, the ruggedly handsome Greek owner was in our room pronto fixing it. Oopa! And things kept getting better: a knock on the door the next morning alerted us that our breakfast had arrived! The owner’s aunt, a lovely Greek speaking lady brought us a tray loaded with the best kind of treats: coffee and carbs! Every single morning, she would bring the tray, and set it down on our little bistro table for us to enjoy.
Now, we were ready to explore the island of Santorini! Located in the south Aegean Sea, Thira (as it is officially known) is home to approximately 16000 locals. Not bad for an island of 73 km2. Plenty of opportunities to find secluded places, right? Wrong! Every year, over 1.7million visitors invade the island. Most of them on Wednesdays, otherwise known as ‘Cruise Ship Day’. It’s crowded. Very crowded in fact. Luckily, we managed to explore the city of Fira before the hoards of tourists arrived.
Santorini has a lot to offer, from shopping quirky boutiques to sandy beaches to fresh seafood and everything in-between. We spent the first day leisurely strolling up and down the streets of Fira, exploring all the nooks and crannies of this white washed, blue roofed paradise. And of course, indulging in a gyros or two.
Fira is a city of white-washed houses built on the edge of the caldera, 400m from sea level and providing one of the most spectacular views on the island! The island is actually an active volcano, although a dormant one. After one catastrophic eruption, the caldera was created as a result of the crater being empty of magma and collapsing into the sea – thus given Santorini its distinct crescent shape.
Fira by day is an impressive sight: the pristine white stone houses gleaming in the sun, in stark contrast to the harsh volcanic landscape that surrounds it.
Fira by night is equally stunning, bright lights beckoning.
We had carefully planned our trip to maximize relaxation: first, the historic sight heavy Greek mainland and then, the laid back island life. And what better way to relax than a day spent at the beach?
Perivolos beach, located on the southern end of the island near the town of Perissa was our first destination. While we couldn’t rent a car, we could have rented ATVs to make our way around. While I was an experienced ‘4wheeler’ (thanks Dad!), we opted out as it seems this was the #1 way tourist were injured.
Instead, we opted for the good old public bus. We were warned that it could be chaotic and they were semi correct: you buy your ticket to your destination and then wait an undetermined amount of time for the bus to actually show up. Regardless, it got us where we needed to go. Part of the adventure, right? We settled on Mera Beach Bar to set up shop for the day. We were provided with beach loungers and umbrella as long as we purchased 10euros worth of drinks. Well, twist my arm then….The beach distinguishes for its sparkling azure blue waters and tranquil atmosphere. 
A highlight of our time on Santorini was for me, a visit to the small town of Pyrgos, a town that ressemble the Greek Islands of years past, before the tourism boom. As expected, the house were white, with brightly blue painted doors and windows. Beautiful!
During our town exploring the town, we met more donkeys than we did people: here, donkeys are still very much used to transport goods up and down the slopes of Pyrgos.
Walking the streets of this sleepy little town felt like you were stepping into the past, before the world and cruise ships discovered the wonders of Santorini. One felt like a true explorer, a savvy traveller stumbling upon a wonderful secret, kept just for us.
No visit to Santorini would be complete without stopping in the town of Oia, its picturesque windmills and blue domes recognizable on photographs around the world. We had saved it for the last day, planning an evening meal by the water, in order to take in one of those spectacular Greek sunsets we had heard about. Well, it’s a good thing we waited, because the town was busy. Like, incredibly, annoyingly, busy. Walking the streets was laborious and forget about trying to take a photo here with anyone in the background! Tourists invaded the town, fanny packs and selfie sticks swinging. We both quickly realized how fortuitous it was that we had elected not to base ourselves in Oia, instead opting for a new, yet to be reviewed family run hotel.
We also opted to be responsible tourists and walked the steep, donkey poop riddle path down to the waters of Ammoudie Bay. Along the way, we crossed paths with tired donkeys, hauling smiling tourist up the stone steps, seemingly struggling with every step – 300 of them to be exact While the famous Santorini beasts have long been a popular tourist activity, there is increase concern and controversy surrounding the use of these animals. We figured a little sweat (and nose pinching because did I mention there was poop everywhere?) was well worth the sacrifice in the end.
We had a great seafood supper here in Ammoudie Bay: grilled calamari, grilled mussels and Greek salad. The evening was cloudy, which meant the sunset was unremarkable, however it was the perfect way to end our time on this beautiful Aegean island.
The stone path consisting of over 300steps can be seen serpentining down to the water
What could be better than a nice cold glass of sangria? One that comes with this spectacular view of the caldera!
Hi Julie,
Beautiful blog and pics! Thank you very much for taking me to Santorini on this cold November morning!!!