June 16-18, 2011
Click below to enjoy our album of Santorini (it's about 80% done...we are working on it!)
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| Santorini |
Well, at this point we are sitting in the Santorini airport for our flight in Athens that will board in just a little while. We will be flying to Athens and then grabbing a plane to Istanbul. We have been on this lovely island for three days and it took me a little while, but I think I can finally say I am in vacation mode. I have that relaxed, laid back, que sera sera attitude and am really enjoying myself.
So…Santorini….it is a beautiful, enchanting island that has something to offer to just about everyone. I was worried it would be too ritzy…after all it is proclaimed as being this posh place of glamour…or at least I thought so in my head. What I found though, was that in reality, it was a down to earth vacation hotspot that could be glamorous if you wanted it to be…but could suit even the most casual beach bum.
We took a ferry from Heraklion, Crete to the main port in Santorini and were not quite sure how we would be making it to our hotel. We knew there was a bus to Fira, had looked up online car rental prices but had not booked anything, and knew we could take a taxi in a pinch. As we strolled the port and passed rental car office after rental car office and dubiously looked at the bus station…we caved to an aggressive sales pitcher who quoted us with a price that was significantly lower than anything I had found online. We asked the big questions….mileage, fuel, insurance, etc..and we gave in. We had talked about renting a car for one day to have mobility and freedom to check out other parts of the island…but we kinda figured we were paying for our entertainment for three days worth of activities (an amount we could easily drop on one half day excursion around the island).
It took a while to find our hotel…but we stopped and asked questions once and realized that our hotel was actually tucked back in a wonderful part of Fira and that we had been unable to find it because the location was actually…amazing. There are three main areas to stay on the island – Kamari (which is a beach resorty area), Fira (which is in the center, is on the sunset side, and overlooks the caldera), and Oia (which I knew the least about but had read was very pretty – but was least centrally located). I had chosed Fira, and we had splurged for a hotel on the cliffs, overlooking the majestic caldera (the volcano that blew a while back) and had a balcony that enabled us to have some of the best seats in the house for sunset.
The first day we enjoyed a lunch in the city center of Fira, right in the heart of tourist land – it all had a very beachy feel. Then we set out to go for a swim at one of the black sand beaches. The roads in Santorini are two lanes most of the time and one lane…some of the time…and they are full of people driving rentals, four wheelers, mopeds, large coach buses (public and resort transport) and…the occasional pack of donkeys, stray cats, dogs…you name it. Things are decently labeled…the island is only so big, actually 24 kilometers from one end to the other (give or take), so there are only so many roads. It reminded us a lot of driving in Ireland where you would just drive and hope that the next patch of signs affirmed where you were headed or told you where to go next…but that ultimately…you are going to get where you need to go.
We started off with a visit at Perlvolos Beach – a very pretty black sand beach, that the local sign had designated as “Chilli” beach – with chili peppers hinting that the stones were hot…and the name hinting that the water is icy (and it was!). I had never been to a black sand beach and was very intrigued at the concept – it is tied to the volcanic activity in the area and the beach was full of really fun rocks – all sorts of different colors mixed in with the volcanic rock. We swam for a bit and then headed on along the coast and checked out Vychado (another black sand beach) and then decided to try to make it to the Red Beach as well. Red Beach was extremely unique and became our favorite beach of the trip – one we actually frequented every day. To reach Red Beach you have to hike up a hill and over a ridge and then down a steep embankment to reach a small isolated beach. The cliffs are a stunning red rock that is steadily crumbling away (it actually had rocks breaking off and sliding down the cliffs while we were there)…the color palate is amazing…red cliffs, blue skies, green and blue water…it’s beautiful. The beach itself is a mix of red and black sand and red and black stones – predominantly red though, and the coast has a thick layer of fluffy, bouncy bleached out palm fronds that many people choose to sunbathe on. It is just a wonderfully secluded, peaceful and beautiful beach. There were plenty of people…but the crowds were quiet, peaceful ones. As I said, we liked it so much, we chose to visit it each day and enjoyed it more and more each time we returned.
On the way back to our hotel we actually stopped at a local island vineyard and tried some of their local wines – and must say, the white wines on Santorini are fantastic! (Even Daniel likes them…and that is saying a lot!) We chose two bottles to enjoy during our time in Santorini and headed back to our hotel to enjoy the “sunset show.” Because we were staying in one of the two towns in the island that face to the west, every night people from all over (I think from some of the cruise ships too maybe?) flock to the alleyways and restaurants along the cliffs…so as we sat on our balcony enjoying a glass of delicious local wine and watching a breathtaking sunset…there were people up above standing and watching the “sunset show”…only in our case, we kinda felt like we were part of the show. It was a lot of fun.
On day two we made our trek to Oia (pronounced “ee-ah”) and spent a really exciting few hours playing the “let’s taking awesome awesome pictures game” and raced up and down steps, around corners, through alleys, perched on ledges, all to try to get the best pictures possible. Oia is the town that the most picturesque photographs of Santorini come from, and ever since Daniel gave me my beloved camera for Christmas and we booked the trip here, I have dreamed of taking pictures in Santorini. And! We had SO much fun! In the end we were hot and sticky, but knew we had gotten what we came to Oia for…and were wonderfully surprised with how enchanting and beautiful the town is…it is decided that if we ever return to Santorini (which we truly hope to) we will be staying in Oia.
Hot and sticky, we headed to red beach for a swim, stopping at various lookouts along the way. We were again delighted by its peace and beauty. After that we headed to the lighthouse on the southernmost tip of Santorini and scaled the rocks for some daring photographs while soaking in the stunning views. It was again a wonderful day and we capped off our evening by indulging in the sunset show from our balcony again and enjoying some truly classic gyros.
On day three we decided to make one last fateful trip to red beach and again had a great time. We also did a lot of driving around to various villages, a supermarket run, and decided to enjoy our last big meal in Oia and found a lovely restaurant with a fantastic view. We did the shopping we wanted to do and capped off our evening with our grocery store yummies and the sunset show again….
Honestly, it may not sound like we packed our days full…but we really enjoyed ourselves. We kept whatever pace we felt like, we swam every day in wonderfully refreshing water, we soaked in hours and hours of breathtaking views from both our balcony and as we drove all around the island, I convinced Daniel that white wine really can be delicious, we ate Greek salads every possible chance we had – and loved loved loved them, we spent hours on our balcony looking out over the water eating breakfast and watching sunsets, and we found a very special place in our traveling hearts for Santorini. :)
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