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so there we were in santorini...actually arriving there i was somewhat taken aback...i dont know what i quite expected...all the pictures i had seen of santorini looked rather like mykonos to be honest and i didnt think santorini looked that much like santorini (whatever that means)...not from a distance anyway...
my first impression of santorini was of tiny little townships clinging to the top thin peak of a big black rock...as i hadnt done my research i didnt know about the whole volcanic thing...i was expecting the main view to be of whitewashed buildings with blue roofed (rooved? what is the right way to put this) churches....the towns look very small from the port cos of the height/distance...well we got ourselves a taxi as soon as we landed and it was a little more pricey as it is a bit more of hike from the port...up a narrow hillside road, very steep...traffic is a problem here but adds to the charm...yet more rudeness and we saddlebacked a ride with some irish tourists...who as it turns out went to a much nicer hotel than us - i ran into them in the township on the next day...dont stay in the main town (fira) if you go...suggest closer to ia/oia?
worst hotel of the three islands...dark and they fought a little over the airconditioning (a/c is not always included - can you believe?)...and breakfast was not impressive...run by a georgian family - must do it as a summer gig - excape the winter and all that...met a lovely stray dog though...although a bit mangy, was a gorgeous golden retriever type cross that took to my mate and i...hung with us at the pool that night and i tried to take it to bed although my friend was not impressed...and then the hotel staff shooed it out later - never saw it again...speaking of which there was also a cute beagle or some sort of gun dog cross on paros and also lots of cats that we gave tidbits to from our dinner...loved the animals in general in greece...i love pets :) safer than people eh? ;p
third day had a look around the township...not overly impressed (very concretey and junkey touristy) although the view is simply incredible - has to be seen to be believed...like a circular island that has had a volcano erupt and destroy so the sea has rushed in where the crater would be (actually i think thats what happened)...you can see to so many other islands out in the blue, blue distance...you can get a donkey up from the bottom if you take a cable car down but apparently you have to walk a bit up...again very hot which makes me cranky...39 deg C on the day we left...bleugh...enough walking just around the township which is hilly of course...had a couple of cocktails too with ocean views from the crest but SUPER expensive...and outside so no A/C...many, many paintings to buy in santorini...mass produced of blue churches with ocean views...yep i bought one...
on that third day, took a tour which was pretty good...my friend did some boat/volcano hike which sounded exhausting in the hot weather but i chose a shorter trip just around the main island...i might add i was getting a bit feisty by now (yep more than usual) simply cos i was feeling the need to be independent and do my own thing...sorry kylie...im a pain i know...not a joiner...
so I THINK...it went something like this (yep i should have written it down)...the oldest church on santorini - panagia episkopi - byzantine era - 11th C AD...then mesa gonia - village destroyed by earthquake in 1956...desolate...imerovigli...man with a donkey here i think - he was very cute (in the old man way), skaros castle (rock) - former capital of the island..or was it pyrgos...im thinking skaros...but it think pyrgos with a castle was somewhere in there...maybe we didnt actually climb up to it..i have to admit by now i was slightly delirious with the numerous stairs and the burning heat...and another doggie that followed us up!!!!...finally to oia/ia for the sunset over the caldera...we had a meal and waited although we did not think this was any more impressive than in fira and cannot say it was any more impressive than perth to be honest!!!! bus back to fira...
here i might add that a highlight again of greek food (apart from the ubiquitous gyros) was the banana and chocolate crepe! when i say chocolate it would appear a nutella type substance is used...yummo! NO - i am not obsessed with food, purely greek food :)
in summary dont think contrary to popular belief that santorini is the only greek island with that traditional whitewashed, blue church thing going on...it aint...although the view has to be seen to be believed...
got the fast ferry back to piraeus...much better than the slow ferry although again did not have as many options...smaller than the slow ferry but left at a decent time (got back in time to use the metro to our hotel - syntagma square - the main one) and was about twice as quick...maybe 5 hours? major problem was the smoking on board...again not encouraged to step outside and you could smoke just about anywhere you damn well pleased...disgusting in an enclosed space...
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