Friday, September 5, 2008
Oh today was my favorite of the whole trip! Santorini is soooooo gorgeous. We tendered in to a small dock and took a cable car straight up the top of the mountain to Fira. We rented a Vespa and rode around the whole island. Everywhere I looked was so charming, quaint, picturesque and beautiful. I wish I could have had a video camera on my helmut and it could have recorded everything I saw because I just couldn’t take enough pictures. One of the most interesting and unusual places I have ever been! We first went to the town of Oia where the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was filmed and walked around admiring the vistas. At one point we walked down the zig zag path of the ancient traditional homes, but it was very steep so we only went halfway down. We found a bakery/patisserie restaurant that made all their own bread and had a yummy sandwich while overlooking the Aegean sea from the mountain top. Unbelievable! It reminded us of Aruba in some ways—one side mountains and a rocky coast and the other beaches. The island is a crescent shape because a volcano eruption took out the outer third of the island and caused a tidal wave 820 feet high and traveling 200 plus miles per hour. As no bones or jewelry was found during excavation it is assumed that they had advanced notice and escaped to another island. Hopefully, not the island of Crete as that island’s inhabitants were totally destroyed!
On the main road that went from one end of the island to the other you could see ocean from either side—soooo gorgeous—the white stucco/adobe buildings with blue roofs and doors, many with crosses on the domes! We went to Kamari and Perissa beach (black sand and rocks—clearly left from the volcano eruptions) and the water was not very salty and very refreshing! Alas, our day was drawing to a close so we returned to Fira for our cable car ride down. This is where things took a little turn for the worse—the line was very long, maybe 2 hours or so—and as there were 4 cruise ships in port and all of us trying to make the tenders back, we decided to not chance it and walk down the mountain on these stone and marble steep steps that zig zag down! I am not sure how many steps, but it took me 40 minutes (it would have taken Steve less—LOL). It wouldn’t have been so back except it was the same path the donkeys—and I do mean donkeys, like 100 of them—and they left their calling cards all the way down. L So, the smell was unpleasant, the steps treacherous, and the donkeys themselves in the way! Anyway, I was exhausted upon arrival and my legs were like jelly! Nevertheless, an incredible day—so romantic and fun and what I always dreamed of. Also, we were actually hungry for dinner—what a nice surprise! J
On the main road that went from one end of the island to the other you could see ocean from either side—soooo gorgeous—the white stucco/adobe buildings with blue roofs and doors, many with crosses on the domes! We went to Kamari and Perissa beach (black sand and rocks—clearly left from the volcano eruptions) and the water was not very salty and very refreshing! Alas, our day was drawing to a close so we returned to Fira for our cable car ride down. This is where things took a little turn for the worse—the line was very long, maybe 2 hours or so—and as there were 4 cruise ships in port and all of us trying to make the tenders back, we decided to not chance it and walk down the mountain on these stone and marble steep steps that zig zag down! I am not sure how many steps, but it took me 40 minutes (it would have taken Steve less—LOL). It wouldn’t have been so back except it was the same path the donkeys—and I do mean donkeys, like 100 of them—and they left their calling cards all the way down. L So, the smell was unpleasant, the steps treacherous, and the donkeys themselves in the way! Anyway, I was exhausted upon arrival and my legs were like jelly! Nevertheless, an incredible day—so romantic and fun and what I always dreamed of. Also, we were actually hungry for dinner—what a nice surprise! J
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment