Santorini is beautiful! Simply put, one of the most beautiful places on earth! We are here just a little early for the main season so it isn't as crowded with tourists as the summer months, however there were plenty of them regardless. We stayed at Villa Danay, an absolutely wonderful little hotel/villa just outside of Fira, the main town. The island isn't large, with Oia (pronounced "ee-yah") at the north and Akrotiri in the south. The bus route is quite simple, although we never quite got the hang of it.....stories to follow!
Day 1:
Our first day we checked into our villa and met the owner Evi, who was this beautiful Greek woman with a dynamic personality and an extremely melodic voice. Her English was very good....although we have been doing our best to speak as much Greek as we can (Gramma and Adam are really sounding like naturals). Evi got up every morning and made us a homemade breakfast with homemade Greek yogurt, fruit, toast, feta cheese rolls, breakfast pizza, waffles, omelettes, and of course coffee and tea. She was absolutely a delight and, as the pictures show, the location and atmosphere were superb!
Adam and I went on a run on the caldera the first evening and decided that 1) the rough cobble stone was a bit more than our feet could handle, 2) the wind on the caldera was strong enough to knock us into the wall, and 3) dodging tourists wasn't our idea of a good run! So......we mostly hiked and walked on the island!
Day 2:
The next day we planned to visit the ancient site at Akrotiri, but the wind was so bad we decided it would be better to visit the museums instead. We visited the prehistoric museum with artifacts from ancient Akrotiri including the famous frescos of the House of the Ladies. We also toured the oldest wine museum on the island, established in 1660. We enjoyed a lovely wine tasting at the museum. This day Gramma, Adam, and myself went off, just the three of us, to explore the island. We found some great wineries and, unexpectedly, some great wines! The way the vines are grown is extremely interesting. They are grown in a circle (twisted around themselves) on the ground because the wind on the island can be extremely fierce.....we experienced this our first 2 days on the island. In fact, Gramma was literally almost blown over on our way to the museum. Never underestimate the caldera wind!
So, after a wonderful day of wine tasting, people watching, walking, and art viewing......we went to the "bus stop" to catch a bus back to Fira. Well.....turns out the bus schedule is really more of a suggestion. So we ended up walking over 5 km back to Fira! We somehow always end up doing this when the 3 of us are together! The conversation goes something like this: "It doesn't look like it is that far....it only took us a few minutes on the bus.......let's just walk!"
Day 3:
Day 3 we planned to visit the ruins at Akrotiri. Again...on the bus! So, we get up, have breakfast, actually make the bus and see a sign on the gates saying: CLOSED! GREAT! So we kill time at the beach....rough.....and head back to Fira on another bus which drops us off at Santo Wines for a wine tasting. The three of us share an 18 flight wine tasting overlooking the caldera. It was beautiful!!!!!!!! We had an amazing time and made our way to the....yes you guessed it, the "bus stop!" So....we wait......and wait....and wait ......no bus. We finally see a bus going the other way and he yells out the window for us to go to the other side of the road. We follow instructions and wait...and wait....and wait. The same bus comes again and says to wait.....so we wait...and wait....and wait. I also might mention that the wind was fiercely strong and it was getting cool! Not pleasant waiting weather to say the least. So....we finally see our bus and it stops...not at the sign for "bus stop" but around the corner and then goes right on by us! I am typically a patient person, but we had all had about enough of this WAITING knowing the next bus probably wouldn't come for over an hour and we were in the middle of nowhere Santorini in the cold and wind. We walk to the nearest gas station, called a taxi and as he was pulling up the bus stops at the sign, looks for us and goes on by! We did finally make it back to Fira.....how we ever got back to Fira.....no one can say.
Day 4:
Day 4 we got to see Ancient Thira and Akrotiri. Thira closed at 3pm so we had breakfast and headed up to ...yes...the bus station. Come to find out there is a discrepancy as to which town you go to to get to Ancient Thira. Ancient Thira is suspected to have been built around 4000 BC on literally a mountain top. One man says we go to Kamari, another to Perissa...so the bus driver says Perissa. Ok! We are going to Perissa! Bad news......the bus to go just left 2 minutes ago and the next isn't for like an hour and a half. Not good news for our timeline. So.....Gramma heads up to ask how much a taxi will cost and while she is gone the Perissa bus arrives....not on schedule of course. So Adam confirms and I run to get Gramma up the street....we make it back as it is pulling away...we wave our arms like true tourists getting ready to miss yet another bus and they STOP! As they are yelling in Greek to get on we are thanking them profusely in our broken Greek....that was close!
We arrive at Parissa to find out that yes we can get to Thira from there BUT...it is hiking only and the bus transport is from Karmari!!!!! Grrrrrrrr! So Gramma stays behind choosing not to traverse the side of the mountain on the hottest day we've had on the trip. Adam and I lather on sunscreen and head up the mountain. It was a good 40 minute hike and then some to finally get to the ruins! As you can see from the pictures, the view was incredible! We enjoyed Ancient Thira and being among some of the oldest ruins still somewhat preserved and headed back down the mountain to meet Gramma. We foumd her lounging by the beach under an umbrella! I think she enjoyed her down time. We sat for a bit...stuck our toes in the black sand beach and Aegean sea and made the bus back to Fira to hopefully catch another to Akrotiri.
While on the bus we see a tour guide we saw on the mountain who said to follow him when he changed buses so as not to have to go all the way back to Fira. It worked like a charm! We made it to Akrotiri in record time, met some lovely French hikers, and got to see the ruins. This site is extremely well preserved and the site of some of the famous frescos (wall paintings). It was an incredible site and is all housed and extremely well organized! This site was closed the last time we (Gramma, Dad, and I) were here........Dad, you would love it! We HAVE to bring you here to see it! This site really brought to life the size and structure of the architecture! This is one of my favorite sites.....after the Acropolis, of course!
So we did it....we made it to Ancient Thira AND Akrotiri! We killed another hour and a half at the sea side and were in time for the bus! We started to gather at the bus stop and then more and more people arrived......the bus arrives and it seems like there is literally no way to get everyone on. We were one of the last to attempt to get on as we weren't pushing our way to the front....so there we were...the three of us needing to get on the bus yet again. So, the bus boy gets out and literally pushes us into the bus as we ride the whole way standing on the stairs with other travels shoulder to shoulder. Adam was literally right next to the bus door bracing himself on the wall of the bus.
So.....we made it to Fira...literally falling out of the bus!
Day 5:
Today we leave.......we spent the morning lounging at the hotel, packing, and then headed out for one last walk on the caldera. It is a magical place and an absolutely beautiful view! We enjoyed a drink overlooking the caldera and headed to the port for our ferry to Paros.
We are in Paros, third largest of the Cycladic islands, and will be here for a whole week. More to come!
Adio from Greece,
A&K
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