Our trip to Santorini commenced in the dark at 5am! We had a ferry to catch and a train to catch in order to get to the ferry. By 12am we were on Santorini.
Santorini was once complete island, a mega volcano. Approximately 2500 years ago (or more), the volcano blew its top in such a manner that the caldera collapsed, the sea rushed in and what was left consisted of a half moon of land and a few islands. The eruption left a trail of destruction and is credited with bringing out the end of the Minoan foothold in the Med (which in turn allowed the Greeks to get a foothold).
The ferry docked on the caldera side. Steep cliff faces were as far as the eye could see with little towns, white, like a dusting of icing sugar on a craggy piece of cake.
The ride to the hostel on a bus meant the driver had to perform amazing feats of contortion with a many wheeled machine. Narrow alley ways proved to be no issue and if there was no where for the bus to turn around it would simple back down the alley. The roads are steep, windy and full of switchbacks. Its amazing.
The other passengers were dropped off before us, so we were suffering a major case of hotel envy as we werent sure what to expect for our hostel. Kristen and I had booked a room in a cave. Julie was later able to get a dorm room in the same hostel. The place is called Cavelands and used to be a winery. The rooms are the caves carved out of pumice and used to store wine many years ago.
Well, apart from the fact that we couldnt check in for another 2 hours, its a fantastic place. We are actually staying in a cave. There is a pool. We may not have caldera views (which cost a lot) but there are views to the sea on the other side of the island. Heaps of outside space and places to sit in the sun or shade. Pretty relaxed. Typically Greek with whitewashed walls, bright colours interspersed and bouginvillia vines in bloom (you know, the bright pink papery ones with spikes on the vibes that catch you if you get too close). Sweet deal. We have arrived in paradise!
There are three resident friendly dogs who periodically do the rounds just to see what everyone is up to. One of them joined me poolside for a bit with his paws in the water trying to cool down. There is also a resident black cat who spends most of its time in the shade.
Swallows are everywhere and one in particular kept swooping in to take a drink from the pool. They move so fast!
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