Santorini

Off we were on a huge old ferry to Santorini. We didn't have assigned seats, so we sat on the upper deck for a little while, until we nearly suffocated from the heat and drenched our clothes in sweat. We snuck back into the cabin and found a couple of free seats, and we caught up on the news of the world for the first time since we'd left Abu Dhabi.

As we approached Santorini, we headed out to the deck as the island is known for its dramatic coast...and truly, it was a spectacular sight. The port was tiny and very busy, we quickly caught a bus and were headed for Oia (pronounced ee-ah) to look for a place to stay, when a guy from the international bunch we'd met in Paros sent us a text message telling us they'd booked a hotel in the Firostephani area and that they'd be arriving the next night.

So we got off at Firostephani at about 4 pm, smack in the middle of siesta time. The streets were oh so quiet, and we could see Santorini's caldera in all its glory. We put our bags down and M went off to look for a hotel while I guarded our luggage. It was so peaceful and so, so pretty.

M managed to snag a great deal for 2 nights in a hotel called the Blue Dolphin. For one night we'd get a standard room for 50 euros, and the second night, the lovely man in charge was going to give us a 200-year old cave room, also for 50 euros a night. Original price: 200 euros a night!! Firostephani is quite an expensive area in Santorini, so we were extremely lucky!

(M and I on our hotel terrace...and I'm no longer blonde!)

We quickly showered and headed off to Oia, where people gather to watch the famed Santorini sunset. We walked the little streets, stopped at the many jewellery stores, bumped into one of my sister's classmates from Montreal (tiny, tiny world!) and then settled on a rooftop restaurant to watch the sunset. We were surrounded by couples, and M and I quickly felt out of place. Santorini is known as a honeymoon destination, and we were worried the romance would quickly alienate us.

(Santorini sunset from a rooftop restaurant in Oia)

The sunset was of course spectacular, and then we kept walking Oia's little streets for a good few hours. M pointed out that all restaurants were set up for couples with only tables for two...all we could do was laugh at the fact that we were in one of the most romantic places in the world together...two girls...really, I was this close to falling in love with her :p

We crashed like logs that night, got up the next morning to a fog-covered island and had breakfast on the terrace. We moved our stuff into our cave room, which was unbelievable! It was huge! Once the fog cleared, we headed down to the capital, Fira, to catch the bus to Kamari beach, a black pebbled beach that got so hot we felt the burn through our towels. I have to say though, I did not like Fira at all...it was filled with tourists and felt very dirty for some reason...definitely not something I expected to see in Santorini.

(Kamari beach)

After a few hours of sun-lounging, we made our way back to the bus stop to head back to Firostephani to meet up with the international bunch. We joined them at their hotel, had a bottle of wine and headed back to the Kamari area, where the beach front is lined with pubs and clubs. We got some drinks and walked along the strip, stopped off at a few places before settling on a club called Albatros, where YMCA was blaring from the speakers. Just what we wanted, cheesy music!

We drank countless watermelon Bacardi breezers and danced our hearts out to really good cheesy music before heading back to our cave in the wee hours of the morning. I would have loved nothing more than to sleep off my hangover, but we had to check out of our cave and find another hotel room for the night.

(Our 3rd hotel room in Firostephani)

So off we were to the corner coffee shop for some much needed caffeine and a good breakfast, and we found a hotel right across for 55 euros a night. Very basic cute room with of course, a view on the caldera. We hung out at the international bunch's hotel pool all day and drank some wine, had a siesta and then met up to walk up to one of the volcana rocks.

(View from the international bunch's hotel pool deck)

The walk up was spectacular, and we passed through the town of Imerovigli, one of Santorini's poshest and most romantic areas. We reached St George's chapel way up top and my fear of heights was definitely acting up...the view was really breathtaking. M and two of the guys walked to the volcano rock, while the girl and I hung out by the chapel to watch the sunset.

(View on the walk to the volcano rock)


(The volcano rock)


(Sunset as seen from volcano rock)

Back in Firostephani, we headed to a restaurant for one last meal with the international bunch. We said goodbye to a couple of the guys, while the Cypriot and his sister came back to our hotel room to hang out a little longer. M and I went to bed around 2 AM, and were up at 4 am to catch our 6 am ferry to our next destination, Milos.