Ok, so here is what you’ve all been waiting for (or should have been waiting for): Santorini stuff!!! Santorini was so beautiful; I wish I could go back during the warm seasons in order to experience it better. We were there at the end of February, as the middle part of our Greece trip which began and ended in Athens. Six of my friends and I arrived in Santorini on a Saturday night, and stayed until Monday evening. I’ll break this down into my favorite parts, for easier reading.
The Hotel
We had the BEST hotel in the world: Hotel Manos. It’s run by a Grecian family, and we spoke mainly with the mom, Poppy. She was so kind and helpful, plus she spoke English. She arranged for her husband to pick us up and drop us off at the ferry dock, she took us to a “better” sunset location when we missed the bus to the famous sunset spot, she gave us all kinds of advice on what to do/where to go, and overall watched over us like she was our aunt.
The hotel itself was gorgeous too. It was on the edge of the main town, Fira. From there, we had a view of the ocean, and unbelievable stargazing opportunities at night. (There’s nothing like viewing Grecian-named constellations from Greece itself.) Here are some pictures:
Unfortunately, the pool wasn’t open.
Did I mention that we each only paid 10 Euros a night for this place? Lovely AND affordable!
The Food
Delish. Just like in Athens, there were gyros for good prices. We were able to get ours to-go and ate them on the beach.
I knew that baklava could be found somewhere on the island. After all, it is a Greek food. We finally found it in this cute little baked goods shop (below). The woman who worked there was super friendly…. Probably because she had my dream job.
Of course, what would a trip in Europe be without gelato? We had gelato 4-5 times in two days for several reasons. A) It was delicious. B) The store was located in a central square that we always ended up in. C) We made friends with the owner, who talked to us of education, business, the EU, and America. He even opened the shop early for us one morning! (So we could get gelato for breakfast, of course.)
Even the restaurants were nice. Everything was relatively cheap (steak and vegetables for 11 euro!), and the restaurants we went to were cute, with good food. Check out the little grams-and-gramps place we ate at along the side of the road near Oia:
The Dogs
I miss Lady, but the dogs on Santorini helped alleviate the homesickness for my puppy. We pet one of them, then his friend showed up, then another one came along, and once we hit the main square they all started howling: we ended up with a pack of eight dogs as our escorts through town! They kept the leashed dogs from barking at us, hehehe. And of course, here is the lovely Hotel Manos dog who met us at the road each night when we returned:
The Sunsets
Sunsets on the Mediterranean. Need I say more? Oia is considered the best spot, but we missed the bus there the first night, so Poppy drove us to another spot in Fira to watch it. Apparently, the entire cliff/ocean side of Fira is full of tourist restaurants, hotels, and shops, so literally the entire half of the village was closed when we were there. (Off-season.) We had free run of the whole side of the cliff, and we took advantage of it to watch the sunset over the bay and the volcano-island. (Although, as you can see, it was a bit windy.)
We made it to Oia the next night. That was nice too, but there were actually people there, so we couldn’t roam as freely as we did in Fira.
The Views
They say that the story of Atlantis comes from Santorini. The island used to be one huge, volcano-created island, but after a violent eruption it became as we know it today:
From any point on Santorini, you can see the ocean.
The Beaches
We tried to get to Red Beach, the red and black sand beach, but we missed our bus stop and ended up on Perissa, the black sand beach. When they said “black sand” I assumed that’s what it was: sand that is black. Oh how wrong I was. It turns out that black sand is actually small, black volcanic fragments. Small enough to walk on, but big enough to make your bare feet plead for mercy after an hour or two.
The beach itself was relaxing. Since it was semi-sunny, we were able to play in the waves a bit, and then lay out to enjoy the warm sunlight. I’d love to be able to go back there when its warm enough to actually swim: the waves and the terrain make it seem like it would be really fun!
The… Unfortunate
This is the story of how an unfortunate incident turned into a positive one. Once upon a time, Colleen and her friends were walking down the side of the cliff on broad, rocky stairs in order to get to the port where their pre-paid ferry to the volcano awaited them. Unfortunately, Colleen wasn’t paying attention and has bad ankles, so she rolled her ankle and couldn’t finish the journey. Her kind friend, Maria, stayed behind with her, and Colleen felt bad that Maria missed the volcano trip. Maria had always wanted to ride donkeys down the side of a cliff, and she and Colleen were discussing this when they heard bells. A little man and his troupe of donkeys descended the stairs and offered the two girls a ride to the bottom, and back up again (for a small fee, of course). Since this was Maria’s dream, and Colleen couldn’t walk, they accepted. The donkey ride seemed treacherous, but the harbor was beautiful. It was definitely worth it- especially considering that Maria didn’t have to carry Colleen up the mountain! (See Facebook for a video of the experience)
Well, that’s all, folks. Start saving your pennies (or sabotaging the Euro) now, because I’m getting married on a ferry to Santorini, and you NEED to come. If you’re not interested in the wedding part, then at least start saving just to see SANTORINI. It is DEFINITELY worth the trip. :)
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