Greek Life

Our 4 days on Santorini were jammed packed with fun, memories made for sure. We started by exploring the town of Fira, the newly determined capital of the island. Anywhere you stand has an incredible view of the caldera and the cliffs. The second day we took a traditional Greek sail boat tour. We first had to walk down about 800 steps down the cliff, my calf’s were immobilized for 3 days after.

The first stop was the active volcano in the middle of the caldera. I was not aware that our sail would include a 2 mile hike to the top of an active volcano in flip flops, surprise! Then we were taken to a smaller island where there are thermal hot springs, and we finally got to get in the water. This is when a family of Germans stripped down naked in front of everyone to put their swim suits on. And may I point out that these were typical German body types, insert mental picture here.

After that was a trip to Thirassia, the oldest village of Santorini, which is actually on a separate island since the big earthquake in the 50’s. Here we had some time to lunch and rest. I had my first real Greek Gyros (pronounced “yeero”) here and it changed my life! The tour ended with a sail to Oia ( “Ia”), pictured in “the sisterhood of the traveling pants” and then back to Fira. We wisely opted for the donkey option for getting back up the cliff. My donkey, who I lovingly named Nick, ala Big Fat Greek Wedding, was the lead donkey and refused to let anyone pass. This was a great memory.

Day 2 was lay by the pool day. The pension (hostel) we were staying at had a beautiful pool. After sufficient sunning, we took the bus to Ois (“Ia”) for dinner in the most amazing setting ever. Oia has become famous for it’s sunsets, so we stuck around to watch it with about 200 other people. It was beautiful though.

Days 3 and 4 were spent exploring the island via motorcycle. This was so fun, and a great way to see the whole island. I’m starting to understand why my dad loves to rent Harley’s so much when he is in a new place.

Greece was truly a gift to me; a piece of my heart will be there always