Santorini, Greece - part 1

Our third ferry of the week on Blue Star Ferries took us to Santorini mid-afternoon on Wednesday. By this time we knew the ropes, and we managed to be the first people stepping off the ferry, securing a good seat on the first bus heading from the port up the hill to Fira. It was the best 2 Euros I've ever spent. Santorini is pretty much craggy rocks/mountains jutting up from the water, with a few (surprising) beaches dotted around the island. The main town of Fira is on the top of the island, and a good 20 minute bus ride up a switchback hill.


We were hot though, and getting hungry, and tired...and once in Fira it took us awhile to find our hotel, Villa Elkaza. By the time we got there, I literally dropped my bag and crashed on the bed for my siesta. I'm getting quite accustomed to them now! The owner, Liberty, had left us a note and unlocked our room for us because she had to run an errand, so we got settled, enjoyed our ocean view from our balcony and took our naps all by 7pm.

Brea and I met up with Kylie around 8:30pm for an earlyish dinner, which was perfect timing to watch the famous sunset over the caldera edge. We took quite a few pictures during the sunset and then promptly ordered our dinner of greek salad, souvlaki and greek honey and yogurt for dessert. Dinner lasted several hours, which worked out perfectly for meeting up with an Albanian guy Kylie befriended at her hotel earlier in the day. He works at the hotel for 8 months of the year, so he knows Santorini pretty well and he took us to a bar called Casablanca Soul in Fira. It actually had a fantastic DJ, but unfortunately not very many people. We still had a good time, took some cute and silly pictures and were home by 2am.

We had a prompt start this morning at 11am (haha) to get a bus to the black sand beach on the south side of the island called Perissa beach. We secured an umbrella hut thingy with three beach loungers and pretty much camped out there all day. In total, we were there 8 hours, but that included our two hour lunch and Brea and my little excursion via taxi boat to another beach, Kamari beach, to scope it out for the next day.

All day from our lounge chairs, we had been watching this taxi boat arrive and depart at least every hour to/from Kamari. It was what marked the day. (i.e. "You want to get lunch?" "Let's wait until after the next taxi boat comes and goes") Eventually we though, hey, we like boats, let's go see if Kamari will be worth a day trip tomorrow? I bought a few Amstels from a local vendor who kindly opened and halfway resealed them for us for the ride. We climbed aboard and barely got a seat on the bow of the speedboat that holds maybe 30 people on the periphery bench seats.

As the boat was pulling away from the shore and we paid for our ticket, I asked for two return tickets. She said it was the last boat of the day (are you serious?! why do we have bad luck with these boats? We only seem to get someplace one way and it was only 5 o'clock this time). We contemplated getting out but heck, we were all excited for our little cruise (beer in hand, lounging on the bow) so we decided to risk it and figure out a way back. One way to Kamari - here we come!

The boat ride only took 15 minutes, but it was enjoyable. Brea and I couldn't stop giggling the whole time about our inability to get a round trip boat taxi and our little adventure we were on. I had no clothes on (just a bikini and flip flops) although I did have my purse with phone, wallet and camera. So we enjoyed the ride, walked around Kamari (I contemplated buying something to wear, but didn't in end). Eventually we wandered into an Irish bar where the owner not only let us sit there under their misters drinking our own Amstel light, but called us a taxi. Sweet!

The taxi ride was a decent 20 minutes, and just as many Euros, but that's ok. We didn't want Kylie to worry and it was getting towards 6pm. After a gyro pita and nestea, we boarded the bus back to Fira, and here I am wondering how I have managed without my siesta so far (yawn). We'll meet up with Kylie again around 10pm to eat, but man, I want an early (say, 12am) night.

Tomorrow we pick up the rental car. This will be interesting for several reasons. 1. I forgot my driver's licence; 2. Driving a manual car was going to be scary enough for me, but after seeing Santorini, I wouldn't have been able to do it on these hills; 3. It's pre-paid so we use it or lose it, which now means Kylie and Brea will have to drive. This car will be the kind of car that 8 clowns could crawl out of, but instead it will be 3 girls and 3 just as large bags. Should be an adventure of it's own! We are planning on checking out of our hotel and driving it to Kamari beach for the day, and then back up to the North side of the island for our two nights in Oia.

That's the update! My tan is progressing nicely, and I haven't even checked my work email once the entire trip. I'm really looking forward to next year....