Thursday
Santorini is a wonderful place. I am very happy that I got the opportunity to go once more before leaving Greece. We began our vacation with a looooong, rocky boat ride to Santorini. It was so windy and the water was so choppy. But eventually we docked in Santorini and made our way to the hotel. It was very nice and cute.
We spend the evening just relaxing and going out to dinner at a local place.
The next day was packed with the hopes of walking on a volcano, riding donkeys, and renting ATVs to explore the island!
Friday
We began the day with a tour of the Volcano (it felt weird without Tone but I felt like she was there in spirit with me). It was really, really awesome. We started with the cable car down to the port and then began our adventure. The tour, which was lead by a steroid induced Greek wanna-be Abrecombie model, was great. It took us up the volcano where we had a few demonstrations of the steam from the earth and the sulfur rocks. The tour then went to hot springs; however, it was not that easy. The boat couldn’t dock in the hot springs so you had to jump out of the boat, swim to the hot springs for about 15 minutes of fun, and then swim back. I opted out of that one, haha. Here are photos from the adventure.
After the Volcano adventure, it was the donkey adventure. Instead of walking up the steps you can take a donkey up. I was very excited. They all had on very pretty head jewelry. Mine was a bit – interesting. He zig-zaged the whole way up almost smashing me against the wall every five seconds, but it was such a fun experience.
After donkeys, we went to an ATV place right down the street where a 12 year old rented us an ATV for 2 days. First stop was Ammoudi Bay (where they filmed Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) where I had some girly moments.
Then, we took a ride up to Oia where we got milkshakes and enjoyed the warm sun.
After that we went back into Fira for pizza, the same place that Tone and I had gone (we sat in the same seats). It was delicious. The next couple days were not going to be as busy so I was excited to just relax a bunch.
Saturday
We spent Saturday driving around the South part of the island and enjoying some beach time. First stop was Red Beach.
Then we went to Perissa Beach, a black sand beach, where we spent time just enjoying some sun and relaxing.
We drove back home and napped for a bit (the sun just sucks the life right out of you). Then it was dinnertime. However, on the way to dinner we passed an Irish pub that was playing American sports. It just so happened that a Penguins game was on so we stopped in and watched that for a bit. Tyler was very excited.
After that we had an AMAZING dinner with a wonderful view. Dinner put me into a food coma and I was out for the night.
Sunday
We awoke Sunday with the same intentions as Saturday – beaches and relaxation all day followed by an amazing dinner. So that is what we did. It was Easter Sunday so everything was basically closed and everyone was literally roasting whole lambs rotisserie style. It was a bit disturbing, but it’s a culture thing. We drove to Kamari beach and spent some time there. We made an adorable friend for a while on the beach.
We had to get back to return the ATV which is where we ran into a small hiccup in our vacation. However, the situation made me more ready to come home to the American lifestyle. The 12 year old that rented us the ATV said that we could return it on Sunday. So we get to the plae at 2 on Sunday to return it and no one is there and there is a number on the door. I go and get a phone card and call the number – no answer. So we spent the next 3 hours just going back every half hour hoping that someone would show up. Luckily, someone did and everything got worked out. Easter is a big deal here and the Greeks take it very seriously. For instance, no one was at our hotel for the entire day, just the guests. It’s a Greek thing. After that situation, we went back to the place the night before for dinner – it was that good. Except this time it came with the sunset. It was a great night.
Monday
We woke up mega early for our return ferry to Pireaus. It took a very long time but eventually we made it back.
I spent the rest of the day packing up some things, getting dinner, and preparing for our finals. The next 4 days are going to be very hectic and packed with so much stuff. But I am accepting the end of the trip and just want to finish it strong.
