After our shenanigans at the airport, we finally arrived in Santorini around 8:30pm, with a busted suitcase handle as a souvenir from Olympic Airlines. I sorta kinda hate them. Since the place is tiny, we were one of two flights for the night, and were greeted at the airport by our hotel's owner, who shuttled us to our adorable hotel located right inside of Fira, the island's main town. Our warm welcome continued with a description of the island and a glass of wine...the only drawback to this point (besides my new hatred for Olympic Airlines) was the weather: it was cold and rainy when we arrived, and reports called for a gloomy Tuesday before a barely-clearer Wednesday. Hmphf.
As recommended by our hotel, we checked out Nikolaus for dinner...delish. Probably the best tzatziki I've ever eaten. Ever. Pair that with shrimp, veal and local wine for less than 30Euro total, and I'm set.
May 5th
We slept in late-ish on Tuesday, and headed out on foot. It had been recommended to rent a car, moped or ATV to explore the island. We surely thought that we could get a half-day rate on a car, given that it was nearly noon when we left the hotel. Wrong. Since it was likely to rain, an ATV was out of the question and we were hesitant to start a trek to Oia, a "forty minute hike". Since we had nothing else to do (really) we intended to start wandering and play it by ear...
Two and a half hours later, the hike ended in the picturesque little town of Oia. Signage was either inaccurate or nonexistent, and the 'obvious' paths weren't so obvious. Apparently, we'd misunderstood the scale of the map, and the nearest little town was a 40 minute hike...oops. On top of that, the wind was tremendous. Tremendous. The kind of wind that chokes you if you open your mouth to talk. Walking on the side of a cliff in extreme winds = an awesome idea.
Needless to say, we took the bus back. It took 20 minutes.
We were thoroughly whooped after our hike, so we laid low for a bit before venturing out to check out the shops and restaurants nearby. We scoped out a rad place to watch the sunset later that evening:
May 6th
Intent on getting our butts on an ATV, we got moving early on Wednesday morning. 13Euro got us an ATV with gas, and we took off to the opposite side of the island for some beaches. We hauled ass along the roads alongside buses, cars and mopeds to a black sand beach:
Then, we braved the roadways again and headed to a red rock beach:
It was my turn to drive next, and I think I surprised Rob with my speedy skills : ]
We checked out a lighthouse and then drove back toward Fira. The views were gorgeous, the sun was shining, and the day was excellent.
Instead of spending boatloads on dinner, we snagged Souvlaki (which is basically what we think of when we say 'kebab' in the States) for dinner before having a few glasses of wine with some folks from our hotel.
May 7th
Our flight was due to depart at 1:45pm, which in Greek means 3pm. We took off around 2:15pm, and landed in Athens without in incident. Yay!
Overall opinion: Even without fantastic weather, I heart Santorini. Gorgeous, relaxing, delicious. End of story.
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