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LOUISE
Day 1
Greek ferries running on greek time. We made it to Santorini only a few hours late. We hadn't organised our transport to our hotel so picked the cheapest private transfer out of the port. Scott spotted a minivan that had half reversed off the dock. We spent the night wandering Fira and eating €2.20 gyros for dinner. Happy hour bar hop begins. Super handy when happy hour is from 9pm-12am.
We all felt a bit fuzzy but fairly fresh the next morning. Breakfast at our hotel is a pretty decent spread. Fresh bread, eggs, cold cuts and cheese, croissants, cake, cereal, yogurt with every topping imaginable and plenty of fresh fruit.
Day 2
After a morning dip to refresh we wandered down the 600 odd stairs to the old port. Admiring the views and donkeys along the way.. making sure to avoid standing in the donkey poo. Mandatory freddo cappuccinos at the bottom then took the easy route back up - the funicular. We booked a nice restaurant for dinner to watch the sunset then headed to the bus stop. The Red Beach our next destination. We love the lack of signage in Greece. We get dropped off the bus and have no idea where to go. We decide to follow others who look like they know where they're going. Glad we all wore shoes. Thanks tripadvisor for the suggestion. The contrasting colours of the turquoise water and red cliff face was beautiful. Not much room on the beach though. We stalked and snagged a spot when people were leaving. A few quick swims and some failed model photography snaps by Scott for Lauren before the walk back.
We made our way to dinner to catch a beautiful sunset. Never disappoints. The food was good and the views worth the €. We will be eating €2 gyros the rest of the trip.
Day 3
This morning Lauren, Blake and I departed on our walk from Fira to Oia following our online guide - santorinidave.
The walk was about 10km and took us approximately 2.5hours. We started early to avoid the heat at the Hotel Atlantis. Spectacular views of the Caldera as we made our way along the pathways via Firostefani and Imerovigli, passing Skagos Rock, before descending into Oia. We met a man and his donkey named Lala, a man in a church who showed us some art work amd two semi wild dogs who decided to follow us for the last leg of our journey. We named them Zeus and Panos. They were super cute and good company. Santorinidave recommended Lioyerma Pool as the end point for our hike.
Good recommendation Dave! Our feet and legs were tired but the views along the day made the walk worthwhile!
Scott had a lazy morning we ran into him catching a 1pm bus to Monolithos Beach to do some kitesurfing. After some lunch we grabbed a bus to go join him. Monolithos beach is a black beach. Not the most picturesque beach we have ever seen and the sand was bloody hot. We wandered past all the sunbeds and umbrellas down the beach towards the few kites in the sky. We found Scotty shacked up in a little hut. He had been our for a surf so he was happy. Blake and i made our way back to the swimming beach and had a dip. The water here was warmer than the other spots we swam on the island.
Blake and I had a nice surprise when we got back - our washing had been done. The cleaner must have got confused and took our personal laundry bag... we got clean clothes and saved ourselves 30€ (they charge 10€ per kg). Win!
Dinner at the Chefs Garden was top quality. Blake claims best meal so far. Drinking games then headed out about 11pm. Tropical Bar followed by The Highlander. Music was an improvement tonight. Scotty let the hair loose. Anyone within a 1m radius was in danger of a decent headbut or hair whip. Early morning drunken gyros consumed.
Day 5
Blake and Scott had minor hangovers this morning. We spent the morning lazing in the pool before heading back to Tropical Bar so the boys could watch the footy. Loz and I got icecream before heading back to get ready for our wine tour with Kamari Tours. The tour went for 3.5hrs. We visited 3 wineries - Argyos Estate, Koutsoyannopoulos Wine Museum (top 10 wine museums in the world) and Canava Roussos the oldest winery in Europe. Vinsanto wine is a specialty in greece. A white dessert wine. It was delicious but very sweet. We learned how the grapes are grown on the ground and with such a dry climate. Max 30days rain per year. It was basically a private tour with only one other couple. We tasted 3-4 wines at each winery and had snacks of different cheeses, bread sticks, dried fig, olives, chips and chocolate. Great value for 50€.
We met the boys at the bustop for a bus to Oia. We knew it would be a long shot to get a spot to see the sunset as it was fairly late and usually you need to go a good few hours prior, but thought it was worth trying. Sardine streets. We made our way to the viewing spot and could hardly move let alone see the sunsetting over the buildings. Stick an arm in the air and snap away. We got a quick snap then bailed. Walking back through the beautiful streets for the last time. Back to The Square for a last feast of gyros and portion plates followed by frozen greek yogurt. #itsthegreekway
Headed to Budapest the next morning we caught the local bus. 1.80€ opposed to €10 euro each. The bus was basically a private transfer with us and one other person onboard.
We had a brief moment of panick when the lady at the check in desk wouldnt accept Scottys luggage. His kite bag being 150cm tall and the height limit being 110cm. She wasn't helpful providing solutions... she just kept saying 'NO'. Eventually a more helpful lady stepped in and got the bag approved.. phew. 56€ later and we were on our way back to Athens and then onto Budapest.
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