Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We had a full day of travel before reaching Santorini at 10:30 pm. We slept in a little the next day and decided to rent a car to tour the island as recommended by Mario, our hotel clerk. He was absolutely fantastic and made us feel so welcome. Greeted us with wine and spent a good 30 minutes explaining the island to us and everything that we should see.
We first toured the south side of the island and saw ancient ruins that dates back BC called Akkritiri. There were many things that plagued this island over the last few thousand years, including multiple volcanic eruptions that would almost ruin the whole city and they would start anew again.
We next visited an all black sand beach which was made by the volcanic eruption which gave it the dark color. Words cannot describe how beautiful this was... Next to a huge rock cliff where people were diving off into the sea in contrast to the turquoise waters and black beach was breathtaking.
We then took the car up to Oia, did some shopping and watched the sunset. People flock to Oia because it has the best views. Luckily, we found a table and watched it with a beer in hand.
The next day, we woke up early and had some crepes for breakfast.Jen and Lacey weren't feeling well, so I decided to head out on my own after breakfast in Fira. I took the famous 588 steps down to the old port where there were huge sea cruises docked. Santorini is known for its use of donkeys because of the steep cliffs and steps. I was able to hire a donkey to take me back up for 5 euro. I was led by this old, chipper Greek man who would randomly shout out commands in Greek and the donkey would either hurry up or stop. I only got nervous once when the donkey had a misstep and then started booking it! Looking over the edge of a cliff while riding makes your heart skip a few beats... Especially when they start to trot.
That afternoon we had scheduled a sunset tour on a catamaran. The boat had nets in the front where you could lay and get random splashes of water. We had multiple stops. Including at a sulfuric mud bath, a hot spring, a white sand beach, and red sand beach and snorkeling. I saw an eel while snorkeling, which freaked Lacey out but I loved it!
The crew also liked to tease us because here we were, three young ladies and easy bait. After swimming without a life jacket in the ocean for the first excursion, the crew decided that I "wasn't safe" and strapped one on me anyways. I think they were just trying to test me to see if I would get upset, but I decided to embrace it and relax in the water so I jumped in full force. They also thought it was a great idea to pelt bread at us while we were snorkeling to help attract the fish. No one else got this special treatment...
For the last part of the cruise we anchored and watched the sun go down. I have never seen the sun disappear behind the ocean like that. It leaves surprisingly fast, but everyone cheers as the last sliver disappears. We made some really nice people on the boat from all over the world. We especially got to talking with this couple from London that was so nice. We spent a majority of the time discussing about our lives and experiences. Their kids want to visit America really bad... Which is so funny because all we want to do is visit Europe as Americans.
Leaving today made me realize that I would definitely come back in a heartbeat.
- comments