First Day in Santorini!

I woke up early this morning to get groceries for breakfast and a few lunches over the next few days. After having a kitchenette in Tolo, I was a strong proponent for finding another hotel with a kitchenette. Not only does it save us a lot of time and money in the morning, but we’re also actually able to start the day on a full stomach. I’m all for getting in to the culture and trying their food, but “toast” and tea was not going to cut it. After getting groceries and going for a walk around the town, I headed back around 10am and Kristine was just waking up, so I made us omelets. Here’s our hotel in the daylight:

As we were eating on our front porch, the owner told us that our new room was ready whenever we were, so we finished up and moved our things. It turns out that the move was more than worth it. Our new kitchenette has a cute little table

and we now have our own balcony!

The “stoves” that we have are minimalistic, but they get the job done:

There is one burner for cooking and another for heating up a mini teapot that is the perfect size for two cups of tea! What more could you ask for?

The islands of Santorini were once a volcano that has since collapsed in on itself. Santorini (traditionally called Thira) now makes up an arc that was once the rim of the volcano, while Thirasa on the opposite side also remains from the rim. In between the two are a few small islands that are the only remaining parts of the volcano’s center, which remain above water. The rim of Santorini is known as the Caldera, and I had learned from Arthur that there was a 6 ¼ mile path along the Caldera from Fira (roughly in the center of the arc of Santorini) to Oia at the northern tip. Santorini is more of a vacation island, with fewer museums and cultural sites, and instead picturesque views all around. So, I figured what better way to spend our first day that to see all that there is to see on the Caldera Path? We embarked on our journey in Fira, passing shops and restaurants along the way.

Far in the distance you can see Oia, our intended destination:

For the next few hours, we just kept walking. There isn’t much to say that can’t be better described in pictures of the amazing views…


…and buildings full of character at every turn…

Eventually, we reached the outskirts of town and an already hilly hike became more like climbing a desolate mountain.

At this point, we thought about turning back, but Kristine knew how much I wanted to make it to Oia and was a trooper. We essentially climbed up and down 3 barren mountains in the range on the way to Oia. The path was far more than 6 ¼ miles. We later learned that the bay was 6 ¼ miles, and therefore the winding trails up and down mountains totaled far more distance. Finally, we reached the peak of the final mountain and could see civilization again!

It’s all downhill to Oia from here!

Oia is noted as THE destination to watch the sunset, but it was only about 3 o’clock so we took a bus back to Fira.

We walked around the many shops on the Caldera in Fira and Kristine ended up buying a few bracelets and a beautiful scarf/necklace that will go well with the dress I bought her in Olympia. We then set out to find a restaurant to sit and watch the sunset (there were far too many amazing choices). Eventually we settled on Finari, where we started off with a Greek Salad and a Tomato and Cucumber salad, then Kristine had chicken pasta with some kind of Pepper Feta sauce (I was very proud of her for trying new things) which she loved! We were far too early for sunset, and instead decided to do as the Greeks do and relax at our table for an hour or two. The sunset did not disappoint.

After sunset, we finally requested our check and our waiter brought along 2 small shots with the bill. We weren’t exactly sure what he called it, but it was some kind of dessert wine and neither of us were huge fans.

Kristine ended up downing hers then most of mine because she felt guilty not finishing our gift. We then went home for tea and cards, where again I won 500 Rummy and Kristine again won a best of 3 of gin. We took showers and assessed the damage from our hours in the sun. Since we had not expected the walk to take so long, we had not bought sunscreen and we’re nervous to see if we’ll look like lobsters tomorrow. We have some pretty interesting tan lines:

I also have a pretty nasty tan line from my sunglasses and Kristine has one across her chest from her purse strap. Further complicating the situation is that we were walking north all day long, so the left sides of our bodies are noticeably darker than the left. During the walk, my Sperrys continued to fall apart. The front half of the sole is now separated from the shoe, which effectively worked as a shovel during our entire walk, scooping up rocks into my shoe with every step.

Sadly, after four years and two Eurotrips, I’m going to have to retire them once we get home. Tomorrow, were renting a motorbike!!! There are no words to describe how excited I am!