What to do in Santorini...
Saturday, 6. September 2008, 08:20:12
here is what we did, maybe you get some travel ideas from here.
Day 1
We went to the Black Beach (also known as Perivolos beach) where the sand is actually a huge mix of very small black volcanic stones and some white ones. Thus the appearance of a black sand. Also had lunch there for about 60 euros (greek-cooked seafood is highly recommended everywhere across Greece by the way). Discovered a new deadly combination: tzatziki (goat youghurt with cucumbers and garlic) with french fries.
Later in the evening we went to visit Oia, the north-most city of the island. Nice cozy place to catch the sunset and take pictures with the Caldera view and the other cities as they get their lights on in the evening. Also had a blast with some incredible cakes in the center.
Day 2
We spent most of the day in the hotel pool and at the terrace enjoying the sun and the view. Around 4PM we walked to the center of Fira city, and after having lunch we started descending about 500m altitude to sea level (around 1.5km of stairs), exactly in the path of the donkeys. They use donkeys as a traditional alternative to going up/down with telecabins. They're slow, nevrotic, powerful and most importantly - fun. Do not miss climbing on a donkey. We did that last time and it was SO nice.
This time, we walked the distance, somehow stepping in donkey shit and surrounded by its smell. "shit therapy" as we called it. Fun though, but kinda scary (Gina was always getting Tascha in her arms and hide whenever donkeys approached us.
Reached the port, where we realized that all Volcano trip ships finished their program for the day and got a bit pissed. BUT, we found a cool greek guy having a 6 persons boat who said he'll take us to the volcano center for 25 euro / each (also saving the 2 euro entrance pass as the program finished there too). Got embarked on the small boat, and discovered that it's actually worth every penny to go like this compared to the big boats with many tourists. There were just the 5 of us and the boatmen, had a blast with showers (small boat - very sensitive to waves from other boats) and made it there.
Catched the sunset exactly on the volcano, only with us there. Brilliant ! There's not much vegetation growing there, as there is only black/red stone and a lot of dust. Call it "the moon" or "Mars" if you want, this is what you get.
Ended the day with a night walk in Fira. Streets are totally quiet as Santorini is mostly a lovers / relaxation / photographer-heaven type of island.
Day 3
Headed in the morning to the Red Beach. There is a mountain with red stone that's falling into the sea so all the "sand" is made of tiny fragments of this massive rock. Crystal-clear water, plenty of fish (snorkeling is a must here), all sort of underwater relief forms (rifts, hills, stones, holes, etc) and one of the most salty water we've seen/tasted ever
Then, visited the ancient city of Akrotiri (southern area of the island) and took some great pictures of Fira, Oia and the whole crater. Also did a bit of offroading towards another small beach very well hidden in the mountains. There is one beach we didn't visit : the white beach (only accessible by boat). There was simply not enough time.
Day 4 (today)
We're getting ready to go to the harbor.
We want to reach Athens while there is still light, but it seems that speedboats (4 hours trip to Athens) need 1 month in advance to buy tickets on economy class. They have VIP tickets for ~100 euros, but ....
Well.. this is how this trip to santorini ends.
Only sorrow, is that we didn't get a camera to worth the views.
Next time perhaps..
Day 1
We went to the Black Beach (also known as Perivolos beach) where the sand is actually a huge mix of very small black volcanic stones and some white ones. Thus the appearance of a black sand. Also had lunch there for about 60 euros (greek-cooked seafood is highly recommended everywhere across Greece by the way). Discovered a new deadly combination: tzatziki (goat youghurt with cucumbers and garlic) with french fries.
Later in the evening we went to visit Oia, the north-most city of the island. Nice cozy place to catch the sunset and take pictures with the Caldera view and the other cities as they get their lights on in the evening. Also had a blast with some incredible cakes in the center.
Day 2
We spent most of the day in the hotel pool and at the terrace enjoying the sun and the view. Around 4PM we walked to the center of Fira city, and after having lunch we started descending about 500m altitude to sea level (around 1.5km of stairs), exactly in the path of the donkeys. They use donkeys as a traditional alternative to going up/down with telecabins. They're slow, nevrotic, powerful and most importantly - fun. Do not miss climbing on a donkey. We did that last time and it was SO nice.
This time, we walked the distance, somehow stepping in donkey shit and surrounded by its smell. "shit therapy" as we called it. Fun though, but kinda scary (Gina was always getting Tascha in her arms and hide whenever donkeys approached us.
Reached the port, where we realized that all Volcano trip ships finished their program for the day and got a bit pissed. BUT, we found a cool greek guy having a 6 persons boat who said he'll take us to the volcano center for 25 euro / each (also saving the 2 euro entrance pass as the program finished there too). Got embarked on the small boat, and discovered that it's actually worth every penny to go like this compared to the big boats with many tourists. There were just the 5 of us and the boatmen, had a blast with showers (small boat - very sensitive to waves from other boats) and made it there.
Catched the sunset exactly on the volcano, only with us there. Brilliant ! There's not much vegetation growing there, as there is only black/red stone and a lot of dust. Call it "the moon" or "Mars" if you want, this is what you get.
Ended the day with a night walk in Fira. Streets are totally quiet as Santorini is mostly a lovers / relaxation / photographer-heaven type of island.
Day 3
Headed in the morning to the Red Beach. There is a mountain with red stone that's falling into the sea so all the "sand" is made of tiny fragments of this massive rock. Crystal-clear water, plenty of fish (snorkeling is a must here), all sort of underwater relief forms (rifts, hills, stones, holes, etc) and one of the most salty water we've seen/tasted ever
Then, visited the ancient city of Akrotiri (southern area of the island) and took some great pictures of Fira, Oia and the whole crater. Also did a bit of offroading towards another small beach very well hidden in the mountains. There is one beach we didn't visit : the white beach (only accessible by boat). There was simply not enough time.
Day 4 (today)
We're getting ready to go to the harbor.
We want to reach Athens while there is still light, but it seems that speedboats (4 hours trip to Athens) need 1 month in advance to buy tickets on economy class. They have VIP tickets for ~100 euros, but ....
Well.. this is how this trip to santorini ends.
Only sorrow, is that we didn't get a camera to worth the views.
Next time perhaps..
. They said we have enough to reach the top of the cliff, and there we should put gas. But we never made it on the top 
. God damn toy remained empty in the middle of the steep ascent and we got stranded there like a bunch of disoriented ducks 
. Called the office, they sent someone with 2 liters of gas and we finally made it there.
This time we've teamed up with Marius & Andreea and went by car to Greece. 3 main reasons : It's close, it's nice, and we know our way around there already.
and ON the boat whole 12 hours 
of this ride to Santorini. Lucky it wasn't too cold, but we 
, "the leaf" 
, "country country we want soldiers" 
, and many other games which we used to play while we were kids. And this, thanks to 
