**I’m sorry that pictures are not uploading. The internet here is not great on my phone. I will add them as I am able.
Today we were picked up at 830 to head to the port of Santorini for our all day boat tour in a glass bottom boat. We were lucky enough to find seat on the upper deck with a couple from England. Rebecca and Peter allowed us to share their small table and the chairs.
We boarded our boat at 9:30. First, we passed by the old port in Fira to pick up additional passengers and then on the the Caldera—the still active volcano. We walked to the top which was about 1 km. The smell of sulphur was evident and we found the vents as we walked around the top of the crater. The lava rock was various colors. Additionally, we had some amazing views of the crater and the surrounding cliffs of Santorini.
Upon leaving the caldera, we went to the natural thermal waters where we were able to swim for a short time. The waters were warmer than the sea water and a dark brown from all of the mineral properties found in it. This water is supposed to be good for healing and longevity. It was then to our longest stop on the island of Thirasia to the town of Manilas. Here we had the option to stay in the port to eat and swim in the clear shallow waters on the rocky beach or we could climb to the town high above the port. We choose to climb and I’m so thankful that we did. It took us about 35 minutes to walk the switch back stairway to the top and 20 minutes to walk back down. (Now remember that I had hurt my toe yesterday. 😳 It actually wasn’t bad and well worth the little bit of discomfort.) At the top, we ate lunch at a small restaurant overlooking the sea and port below. I had pasta and John had porgy with red beef hummus. The views were amazing and we got to see a bit of the traditional town and homes where the locals live.
Following this lunch stop, we headed to another area on the island after a brief stop at sea for people to observe the clear waters through the glass bottom. We chose not to fight the crowd and heat below and just enjoyed what we could see from the upper deck. The next stop along the shore was to see an old, tiny cave church called The Seven Children. This church was built because seven children were our fishing when a storm blew in. They were found safe ten days later in the cave where this church now stands. The Greek people still celebrate this every year on August 4. Finally, we returned to port to disembark. However, our day is not over.
We were then transported by bus to the town of Oia which is famous for its amazing sunsets and all those Instagram pics with the white buildings and blue roofs. We walked through the town for a bit from about 6:00-7:30. It was extremely crowded and hot but gorgeous. We got some amazing pictures and the donkey video that I shared on my social media. We picked up some ice cream and bottled cocktails to snack on in the shade. We were exhausted from our day, as well as hot and sweaty. We decided to just pick up some wine and cheese to go with the bread we already had and head back to the Airbnb before it got any busier for the 8:40 sunset.
I don’t think a cool shower ever felt so good as it did when we got back to our place. We enjoyed our small dinner of wine, cheese, and bread with olive oil. When then started packing as we waited for the scooter to be picked up. By this time (9:30), I was so tired that I fell right to sleep which is really unusual for me.
Today’s take aways:
1. Taxis around the island run between 30-35 Euros
2. Santorini wine is delicious-it’s mostly dry white but not very dry and doesn’t leave any kind of hang over feeling. One of our bottles on this trip was 5 Euros and the other was 17 Euros.
3. The boat excursion which was 12 hours total (if we would have stayed for sunset) and only cost $54/person. Great find and price.
4. Santorini is gorgeous but crowded and hot at this time of the year. I’m still glad we stopped here.
5. Stay outside of the main towns for some relaxation away from the hustle and bustle is the tourist attractions.
6. Get some exercise before coming here, especially if you want to see all the views! (I’m glad I was doing 30 flights at the gym on the stair stepper because this was so much more.)
7. Santorini is not a destination for kids. I’m not sure why so many people brought them here. There is little to nothing for them to do.
Since, I couldn’t stay awake to write this yesterday, I am writing it a day late on our ferry ride to our next destination of Naxos.
More to come later today.
Efcharistó poly!
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