Dave the Nomad

I wasn’t planning to go to Santorini because I heard it was pretty much shut down for the off-season. However, I met several girls who were going anyways for a few days, and I decided it would be a more economical way to spend my time than trying to rush around another country. The ferry ride over was comfortable and interesting. There always seemed to be some island within site, each one being a little different, but vaguely similar as well, and then we reached Santorini. The crescent shaped island was amazing with colorful rock strata and the occasional spots of greenery. We found a hotel for 12.50 Euro/ night, and spent our first day wandering around the main city of Thira as the sun was setting and rain pouring.

The lack of tourists was actually refreshing. Although less places were open we only had to share the streets with the natives, a few ex-pats, and a friendly little pack of stray dogs. We quickly made friends with our waiter at El Greco and he helped us rent a car for 25 Euro/day. The island is too big to travel entirely by foot, and uses infrequent buses this time of year; the car was perfect. We drove around the winding roads the first day visiting the highest peak, a few beaches, and attempted to watch the sunset from Oia on the north end of the island. Sadly, the rain clouds blew in and we resigned to eating, seeing our new dog friends, and checking out a few of the local bars.

Our second day on the island was a real surprise. I decided to go for a morning swim before heading over to the volcano island located in the middle of the crescent. The lively crater has been active in the past, and still boasts some hot springs. The water around the volcano was a little bit warmer than the rest, but certainly not hot. After taking the ferry back to the old port of Thira, we took the traditional way back up the hill, on a donkey. There is an old man with a chubby face that partially hid his smile who will gladly let you ride one of the decorated donkeys up the path for a few euro. The donkeys are real troopers who stopped as long as they could until the old man would give them a little shout. They would zigzag up the path and a few times I had to pull my foot out of the stirrup to avoid having my leg squashed into the side of the wall. However, I have to give those donkeys a lot of respect, drenched in sweat, and the sound of those little bells jingling around their necks had to be an uncomfortable.

We drove out to Oia again in hopes of seeing a good sunset, and the clouds seemed to break just in time to see it set over the distant water. After having to change a flat tire from a screw, we settled into a small restaurant on the edge of Thira with a roaring fire and cozy atmosphere. To my surprise, the girls also managed to get a birthday cake for me to make sure I celebrated it with company. It was a great end to the day, and certainly the highlight day on the island.

Before catching the 7 pm ferry back to the mainland, we checked out some of the islands better beaches. Among them was the red beach outside Akrotiri which was true to its name and almost entirely made up of red lava rocks. You have to hike a bit to get there, and then stomp through some washed up type of seaweed that was almost like straw in the shape of fettuccine noodles. The waves were very calm, and it was my favorite of the beaches.

The beach at Vlichada was also cool. It is primarily a black beach with some pumice on the high tide line and wind carved sandy white cliffs above it. It was certainly unique, but much more exposed than the red beach. A large storm came in as we boarded the overnight ferry, and the colorful cliffs of Santorini were hidden from a proper goodbye by nightfall.

The ferry ride was much different this time. We took the Atek Lines instead of Blue Star Ferries and were directed to our seats in the lounge area which were simple movable chairs you would expect to see in a reception area. I managed to get some quality sleep, but the ferry had difficulties docking at several of the islands due to the high winds. The whole ordeal saw us landing in Athens five hours late, and me sitting around after missing my train to Thessaloniki. Overall, Santorini was beautiful and definitely a place I’ll make sure to visit in the summertime.

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