Santorini

Thursday getting ready for Santorini was extremely busy. I had class until 10 and then the errands began. I had to run to give my laundry to the laundromat because I did not have time to do it myself before the trip. The laundromat people are really sweet to me and agreed to have my laundry done 4 hours later because I explained I was leaving on a ferry that night and had yet to pack. I felt bad when I picked it up later because I had to give them a 50 euro bill because that is all the banks give out. The problem with this is that all the Greeks hate the 50 euro bill and so it is hard to get change anywhere. The laundromat didn't have any change at all so they had to go down the street somewhere to get change. I felt horrible but had no other money with me. So after dropping off my laundry I had to go to the post office to pick up my package that mom had sent me. Then it was off to the National Archaeological museum to do a task sheet for a class. I then rushed back to the CYA to eat lunch and meet with a professor about a paper. Then I ran back to the laundromat since they were closing for siesta. Then I had to shower and pack and we had to find a place to reserve to stay that night in Santorini since the place we were staying with all the girls for the next two nights was booked that night. Sorry I should explain that I went with my roomates and two other girls. One of my roommates and I took the earlier ferry since we didn't have any late classes on Thursday and that way we had more of Friday to explore the island. Our ferry however got in at midnight so I wanted to make sure we had a place booked for that night.

The owner of our small little hotel picked us up from the port and drove us to the hotel. He gave us some detail about the island on the drive which was nice. The island by the way is distinguished by its cliffs. The port is very small and to get anywhere you have to drive up the cliffs to get to the top of the island. Most of the towns are built into the cliffs. We stayed the first night in Perissa which is where the black, volcanic beaches are. One side of the island is cliffs and the other has small beaches.

On friday we explored Perissa a bit, its a very small town and the best part of it is the beach but we had to check out of the hotel so we didn't really have the chance to go swimming. Also unfortunately I was pretty sick this weekend and I am pretty sure I had a fever on Friday and it was really hot in Perissa so I was walking around very slowly, plus I was really congested so I couldn't really breath that well haha. Then we got on a public bus that took us to Fira which is the capital city of the island and where we were staying for the next two days.

The other girls arrived at 4ish on Friday and we got on another bus to take us to Oia to see the sunset. This is a must do if you are in Santorini but don't worry everyone will tell you that. It was so pretty. This town is probably one of my most favorite ever and is so beautiful. All of the postcards from Greece with the iconic white and blue houses come from this town. Unfortunately my camera died that night but we went back the next night so no worries. We also had an amazing dinner in this town and walked around.

The next morning we did the typical sightseeing tour in Santorini. We took the cable cars down to the port in Fira because there are over 580 steps. Plus I wanted to see the view from the cable car. We then got on our pirate ship and went over to the volcanic island that used to be attached to Santorini before it erupted. The volcano erupted around 1000 bc give or take a couple hundred years. Scholars think it might have caused the Dark Ages which happened in Greece around that time. Anyways we then hiked up the volcano to the different points to see the craters and such. It was a sweet view and a good hike.

Next stop was swimming in hot springs. We jumped off the boat swam in the cold aegean for a bit and then swam to the hot springs. This water can get up to 30 degrees c. but it didn't feel that warm, at least until we swam back in the Aegean. Then the boat went to another island across from Santorini that has a little town at the top of the cliffs that is a local town on the island and does not have electricity. Unfortunately we didn't have that much time and you would have to climb up hundreds of stairs to get to this town so we just hung out in the port. Then the boat took us to the port in Oia.

So in Oia we had to walk up the stairs or take a donkey. I was a little hesitant about taking a donkey but i didn't want to walk either. Not only are there a lot of steps but they are slanted which makes them harder. Also the donkey's would pass you at some point so you might as well be on them. Not to mention the fact that it is very Greek to ride a donkey. So the donkey ride was kinda scary but so cool. I had like a death grip on the harness because the cliff was straight down and at points the donkey was running up these steps. They don't do the slow leisurely climb you might think. Im so glad I did it. Then it was sunset and dinner in Oia again. I could stay there for weeks and be happy. I loved walking around the town.

Next day we stayed in Fira since our ferry left at 3pm. Unfortunately there was a cruise ship in port with a lot of old people so the town was packed. I walked around a bit but none of the tourist gifts really appeal to me. Santorini is extremely touristy. They expect you to speak English only which was convient for me i guess. When i went into the stores if Fira though I made a point of saying Yassas and the store owners were shocked. Sometimes this turned out to bite me because then they talked to me in Greek and of course I had no idea what they said. However I'm glad I tried. I use the common phrases all the time. On one street the tourist shops just ended and turned into backroads so I followed those for a bit trying to get up the cliff a little higher. Somehow I managed to get at a lookout point were a couple cars were parked so I took some pictures and then made my way back to the tourist area. The nice thing about the islands is how quiet they are. Then I went to a cafe that was built into a hill and had a gorgeous view and had some brunch and read a bit.

The ferry ride back was horrible. It was a fast boat and smaller than the other ferries we have taken recently and was the rockiest boat I have ever been on. I was hoping to do work on the ferry but I couldn't read so I just sat there and tried to sleep. But it was a great trip. I am so glad that I got to Santorini since it was at the top of my list. And the weather was perfect. Do not ever go to Greece in the summer it is too hot. Even this weekend in October was hot during the day. Mid October is good weather, you get the heat during the day and chilly nights.

Santorini