Europe on a Shoestring: Scenic Santorini

From Athens to Santorini is an easy 45 minute flight whereas the ferry can take 8 hours or more so we flew! Our host picked us up from the airport and delivered us to our door- well not quite- he delivered us as far as he could by car, and then we had to walk down, down, down to our rooms. Extremely fortunately, he carted my suitcase for me otherwise I would have had to have made two trips. Our rooms are just gorgeous though small. They are shaped liked caves in the side of the cliffs as most of the dwellings along the edge of the caldera are, and each has its own sun-drenched terrace- when the sun is out.

We were all quite hungry (translate that as starving) so wandered uptown to find something to eat and found a lovely little cafe perched on the cliff with a view overlooking the caldera, of course. Stacey and I shared a pizza and a waldorf salad which was lovely but I think we paid for the view!

Elizabeth and I sauntered off on a mission to find a supermarket which eventuated in success after finding lots of other types of shops and restaurants. We bought coke, sprite (mixers for our vodka and southern comfort), milk, bread and butter (for fish and chips which the others are searching for) and a six pack of Corona. (no explanation needed!) We had gyros for dinner (again) and headed to bed about 9.30 as we are hiring a car tomorrow. I caught up on some emails, and organised payments and was asleep by 10.30 and didn't wake up until after 6. I slept like a bear in a cave ( which I sort of was!) but Elizabeth didn't sleep at all because she thought I was on the computer all night but she must have been dreaming- literally. Consequently I have been banished to the upper room which has a picture window over the bed with a view over the caldera and the cute little church next door. It's the stuff postcards are made of.

We have hired 2 cars for 30 euro each for 24 hours. First we headed to Mt Profitus Ilias and drove to the top. Above where we parked was a sign posted on a ramshackle building saying the military radar had made the whole area carcinogenic so we didn't stay long especially since we saw a cat who looked like he was suffering cancer. Stacey stopped on the way down to take photos- what's new- and the wind was so strong that I seriously thought the Nissan Micra we were in was going to blow right off the mountain!

So what do we do next? Yes, drive up another mountain to see the ruins of Ancient Thira. It was a steep climb with many hairpin bends- so scary that I just about kissed the ground when we reached the top but the wind was so strong I couldn't bend down. I didn't think I was up to the challenge of going all the way down again in the car so crazily decided I'd walk down. It was only a 10 degree slope (so the signs said) so was a pleasant walk down and I could actually open my eyes and appreciate the view, something I was unable to do on the way up and I feel like I am getting fitter in the process. I waited down the bottom out the front of a quad bike hire shop for an hour before I was eventually found. Poor Keeley had been searching for me all along the beach where I was tempted to go but thought I had better stay put. This was the black beach at Kamari we had heard so much about and it is BLACK! It must get unbearably hot in summer but there are hotels and restaurants strung along the foreshore, all but one closed for the winter- some even boarded up. Keeley had already met the proprietor of The Hook in her search for me so it was there that we sat and had a lovely latte. We were all a little peckish but remembered we had lunch packed in the boot, so headed off to the White Beach. The cliffs were interesting but the white sand was actually just a little less black than the Black Beach. The resorts had all closed up, there was nowhere to sit so we ate lunch out of the back of the car in the windy conditions which had somehow become colder as the day wore on.

I navigated our way to the Red Beach next, passing by the prehistoric village of Akrotiri, which, you guessed it, was also closed, but it did tell us that on the website so we weren't hugely disappointed. The Red Beach was the most beautiful of them all, even though we had to climb up a cliff path to see it. The water was crystal clear and a beautiful sea green colour. Photographs do not do its beauty justice.

On, on to the lighthouse at the south-western most point of the island which we almost reached before deciding to turn around and drive to the pretty village of Oia on the northernmost spur on the caldera where Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants was filmed. It is exactly as it was in the movie. We were willing the sun to appear as this was the spot to witness the amazing sunsets over the caldera we had heard so much about but alas, the weather was not kind to us. It grew colder and windier and then started to rain so we scuttled back to the warmth and dryness of our car and home to more delicious gyros for dinner.

The weather did not improve overnight so when we awoke to a blustery showery day decided to stay indoors and have a movie day. We watched The Secret Life of Bees and Friends with Benefits before heading out to the shops. I still hadn't bought Keeley a birthday present! I knew what I wanted to buy her but took hours deciding. I eventually settled on one of many beautiful paintings of Santorini as well as a donkey apron, oven mitt and tea-towel, and all she wanted was a donkey ride. I also bought Stacey a lovely silver necklace and a book of Santorini photographs.

After finishing our shopping, we headed to the taverna where Kiryn was waiting until her laundry was finished. Lorelle met us there as well, but Elizabeth and Keeley decided to stay indoors as it was now pelting down. Stacey and I had eaten a late lunch of spinach pie and calzone so were not really hungry at all but decided to eat anyway. I decided on two starters and couldn't even finish the second which was delicious, so asked for a doggy bag. It was white eggplant and saganaki with cinnamon. I love Greek food!

Our last full day in Santorini dawned and our last chance to sail over to Volcano Island and swim in the volcanically heated waters 600 metres deep. This was to be the highlight of my trip! But the weather had worsened and although we held out hope that the clouds would lift and the seas become calm, it just didn’t happen. Kiryn and Stacey researched what would be open today as it’s Keeley’s birthday and the only thing they could find was a winery!

Elizabeth decided not to come so the five of us squeezed into a car and headed off to the winery which wasn’t too far away. It wasn’t only a winery but a very interesting museum with 24 exhibits 8 metres underground. We learnt why the vines grow in circles on the ground here in Santorini, the history of Santorinian wine making, and saw many examples of the types of wine press that have been used over the centuries. The wind-blown volcanic conditions and the way the vines grow on the ground lead to a much smaller grape production per acre than other European vineyards, but the quality of the wine is pretty good. We tasted four wines- the red was particularly good so Stacey bought a bottle to drink for Keeley’s birthday. It was still early so we decided to drive up to Oia again- the low road this time- and Kiryn had remembered there was one restaurant open when we visited here the first day so we decided to head there and see if we could have some lunch. ( The wine had made us hungry!) We found it easily. It was called Lotza and the owner was great and the food was even better! I can highly recommend this restaurant. Lorelle and I had pumpkin, feta and zucchini pie, and then I gutsed myself on a lime, saffron and cheese risotto- the best risotto I’ve ever had in my entire life! (another best!) washed down with a local red for 4 euro.

When we were walking to the restaurant, we saw some donkeys and thought Keeley might get her ride after all but sadly, only witnessed the horrific beating of one of the errant donkeys. The guy even punched the poor creature in the face. Keeley of course was enraged and upset by this inhumane treatment of the donkey, especially as she had received so many donkey presents. To counteract this, while we were waiting for our lunch to be served, she spied a woman feeding some cats down below the restaurant so Stacey and she went down to investigate. Stacey took her camera of course and took a beautiful photo of Keeley holding one of the cats. The lady feeding the cats was an Australian from Perth and had never liked cats until she moved to Santorini two years ago to be a marriage celebrant. She now takes it upon herself to buy cat food for more than 2 dozen cats and feeds them daily. Keeley was impressed and her mood lifted to enjoy the magnificent lunch on the deck overlooking the caldera. It was a birthday lunch that was enjoyed by all the family and maybe even so because it was completely unplanned. We had planned for an elaborate birthday dinner that night at a restaurant with a magnificent view just up the road from us in Fira but it was not to be as the manager wouldn’t answer or return our calls so we ended up eating late at Nicholas’ Restaurant in Fira town after drinking the two bottles of Piper- Heidsieck that Kiryn and Stacey had bought for Keeley as a surprise. Of course, I didn’t know they were a surprise and let the cat out of the bag the night before.

Another delicious meal! Keeley and I shared some fried saganaki for starters and then I had shrimp in saganaki sauce for mains. Just delicious. Kiryn, Lorelle and Keeley couldn’t go past the moussaka, while Elizabeth had lemon chicken and Stacey had lemon roast lamb which I helped her finish, all washed down with the local red, again! 86 euro for the lot! We really got ripped off on our first lunch paying 89 euro for a sandwich and a beer each!

Kiryn, Lorelle and Elizabeth decided to walk off their meal, while Stacey, Keeley and I wandered into Town Club (not very imaginatively named!) and danced ours off! We only had 10 euro between us or we would probably still be there! I had a pina colada, and Keeley and Stacey shared sex on the beach. The barmaid came out from behind the bar and danced with us. We had the best fun! We wanted to stay up all night! What Keeley and I didn’t know was that the others had snuck home to get the birthday cake organized so that was a REAL surprise for Keeley and me!

After drinking the complimentary bottle of white wine the hotel had given us on arrival, we played some bananas and we just too buggered to walk up the stairs back to the club even though we had promised the barmaid we would return with some money. The minds were willing but the bodies weak! We all slept soundly and woke up just in time for breakfast at 8.30.

I then managed to get my suitcase up the steps and to the car. It was much easier than I had imagined. I am getting stronger day by day. Down the stairs again to get dressed and pack up the rest of my gear. I wanted to return to the shop where I had bought Stacey’s necklace as the lady was so lovely and I really preferred the paintings there. I think it was just that there were not so many to choose from and she was so accommodating, not pushy at all. I ended up buying two sterling silver charms for Keeley as well as five paintings! The lovely lady gave us a huge discount which brought the cost down to almost the same as the cheaper shop. Elizabeth had bought a large tube at the post office this morning so I knew there was room for them and I just love them! I don’t think I could ever have too many! I already have 4 Cebo prints and 2 George Meris prints but I bought them second hand 8 years ago and they are quite faded. Keeley also chose a donkey charm and a silver copy of a round stone found in Crete hundreds of years old which signifies the circle of life.

We caught up with Stacey at the shop where I had bought Keeley’s birthday painting and she chose another one to match hers. We chose one for Elizabeth, as well as some for Nana and Lorelle to be sorted in Rome. We put 5 euro of petrol in the hire car and headed for the airport. The Europcar lady was waiting for us so Stacey handed over the car to her. We trooped inside to find Lorelle, Kiryn and Elizabeth waiting for us. I had to put my dirty clothes in my suitcase and as soon as I opened it, a gorgeous black and white cat hopped in and proceeded to go to sleep. Alas, there was no room for him although he did follow us through security to the gate lounge. I was actually a bit teary leaving Santorini- I don’t know why- but I really feel very much at home here. I wonder how hard it is for an Australian to live here.