Our final Greek Island destination is Santorini, and our return is 20 years after the last (and first) visit. As expected, it's much busier than the other islands at this time of year, and the first view to greet you is the multiple cruise ships moored in the bay.
We arrived just before 3pm and taxied to our accommodation in Firostefani, very close to the centre and hub of the island, Fira. Santorini has certainly matured and put its big 'grown up' pants on. Everything is looking rather flash and expensive, although the beauty of the island is most definitely still prominent. In our wandering we found the supermarket at the other end of town, which turned out to be a frequent haunt, and after settling in and 'unpacking' we headed out for dinner to Why Not (a fantastic gyro restaurant/takeaway). Although warmer here during the day it's getting cooler at night, and being on the ridge line with views of both sides of the island, we are open to the breeze that goes with that, so a long sleeved layer it is. A good moving day.
We also managed a walk out to Skaros Rock and the ruins of the 13th century Castle of Skaros, the original Venetian capital of Thera (Santorini). The castle suffered damage from volcanic eruptions in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries and was eventually abandoned. To get there we left our apartment and walked a further 60m up to the high point of Fira (Imerovigli) at 350m, before dropping back down almost 100m to reach the track on Skaros rock. We climbed again to ~300m (the highest point we felt comfortable at), and after walking around headed back down to the Church of Panagia Theoskepasti, dedicated to the Virgin Mary (this walk is very up and down!). The Church is not old but is in a stunning location above the caldera and can't be seen from Fira.
We took the lower side track back around the rock before heading back up to the top. The views from this walkway and along the side of the caldera are quite simply stunning. We enjoyed gyro's again for lunch before relaxing at home and taking in the beautiful sunset.
The sunrises are very pretty too, and after torturing ourselves again with another run, we watched some of the NZ election results come in before our next outing. Back down to the bus station and off to Perissa, a black sand/pebble beach on the Southeast side of the island. We arrived ~12.30pm, headed to the beach and picked out lounge chairs closest to the cliffs. Lovely crystal clear water, stunning cliff faces, and sunshine made up around four hours of our afternoon. We enjoyed a swim and a couple of beers before heading back to Fira. Nothing like a good shower at the end of a beach day - especially it seems in Greece, where the water feels saltier than we have experienced before.
We enjoyed a quiet late afternoon/early evening as the AB’s were playing Ireland at 10pm. We headed out and virtually across the path to 'To Briki', a lovely restaurant overlooking the caldera. Dinner was wonderful and Gary's lamb shank was the best meat consumed in a long time. We eventually ventured down to Murphy's Irish bar to watch the rugby, surrounded by Irish supporters - tough game, tough watch, great result. A great day for NZ and a 20,000+ step day for us.
After not getting to bed until 1am there was no real rush to get up the next morning, other than a cuppa, breakfast and to enjoy our catch up call with Craig and Kylie. Another exercise session with Gary making the most of the 2 x 3kg rocks he has carried since Paros, and some more relaxation time before catching up on the admin. We headed out in the late afternoon (and again the evening after change of light), for camera photos of the old port area of the caldera. Having enjoyed To Briki so much we revisited them, for a relaxed fine dining dinner.
Moving day and wedding anniversary today. We had a lazy start as we don’t have to be out until 11am and have nothing to do but pack. After checking out, we walked to the bus stop and headed to Fira central, where we transferred to the bus going out to Oia (all buses on Santorini stop and start at Fira).
As it happened, neither the driver nor the conductor took any notice of the stop we asked to be dropped at, so we ended up at the end of the route in Oia, with a 1.4km walk back out of town. With luggage and blaring sunshine, we were a little hot and bothered by the time we arrived to check in. Breakfast is included this time so only basic supplies needed from the mini mart. Bit of R&R by the pool before heading to 'Candouni' for dinner - an authentic family run restaurant we loved in 2003 and were happy to see nothing much had changed. Such a great night, perfect table, perfect service and wonderful food and wine. This time we will be back, not in 20 years, but in 6 days for our final night here.
Opting for a 'quiet' day we walked into town and down the 285 steps to Armeni Port. Beautiful rock scapes of all colours, sensational cliffs and more of that crystal clear, turquoise water. Of course, what comes down must go up, so we climbed back up the stairs (130m) to the ridge line and stopped for a quick bite to eat at 'Melenio', a Patisserie (Cafe) right on the edge of the caldera with, as expected, a great view. We spent the evening in the local town by our accommodation, Finikia, which oozes quaint village and charm, and enjoyed dinner at Meze Meze.
Thinking the running might have been easier at this end of the island turned out not to be the case. The run started with a 2km downhill (130m) - which means 2km of uphill right at the end of your run! Apart from exhausting, Gary's went well but Lesley tripped on a catseye in the road, hit the ground and slid on the concrete/gravel road alongside a drain (where the phone ended up) and had to run/hobble/walk the last 1.5km home. After the hotel provided some ice and a bit of time to tend to the injuries, we did head back into old Finikia to look around in the daylight. Finikia has been acknowledged as one of the most authentic traditional early medieval villages in Europe and it’s easy to see why - narrow cobbled lanes, old steps and cave houses built into the cliffs. Very quaint, very pretty in a natural kind of way. Lovely place to wander around and we headed back again in the evening for dinner at 'Lefkes', enjoying an incredible slow roast lamb meal for two.
A bit of contemplation on our trip to date the next day, and it's been interesting understanding how we combine touring, travelling and holiday/time out. A few learnings that we will take forward including how much not to pack!
The next day saw our second port walk. After walking through the centre, we headed down the 242 steps to the Ammoudi Port (130m). The colours in the cliff faces are stunning, set off by the beautiful crystal clear, turquoise water below.
Once down we walked through the waterfront restaurants and around the cliffs to a somewhat secluded part of the bay, not visible from the port or the caldera. We have seen so much clear water in the islands but with the rocks below, and the sun shining, this may be the clearest of them all. We went in for a swim, in what was surprisingly less cold water than we expected, and played around with the GoPro trying to capture the location, experience and the water clarity (still novices in this regard).
The walk back was just as beautiful and the climb back up no less challenging, that said in 13 minutes we were on the ridge line looking for a place to enjoy a cold beer and wait for the sunset. We arrived early enough to find a spot on a wall with a small terrace, so grabbed a few beers and relaxed in the afternoon warmth. The sunset in Oia is famous and a must for anyone visiting Santorini, the viewpoint, castle ruins, windmills and white painted buildings all setting the scene.
Initially we were surprised with how few people there were, but as the time gets closer hundreds, if not thousands, of people converge on the old castle site, fill the restaurant terraces and line the pathways. Tonight no one is disappointed as it’s a stunning show, and one of those rare occurrences when you can get the sun and the moon in the same shot. Funny how you never get sick of watching the sun set! Tonight's dinner was at 'Paradox', a Thai restaurant, and we weren't disappointed after craving a change in flavours.
The wind had dropped over the last few days, and we enjoyed the warmth that came with it. There were a couple more visits back to sunset point and the new 'BYO wall', as well as some relaxing in the sunshine, although the accommodation pool was too cold to get into! They mostly rely on the sun to heat and now that we're out of the peak season it's warm, but not hot enough to heat the water.
After walking past it umpteen times, we did get some shots of the large 6 bell Panagia Platansi, 'church of the Virgin Mary'. Originally built by the castle, it was destroyed in the 1956 earthquake, and totally rebuilt on its current site. We also finally stopped to get some night shots of the impressive 1811 Agios Georgios (church of St George).
Another great walk took us up to one of the higher points in Oia, and some amazing views of this end of the island. Such a great walk (albeit up and down) and Lesley did it twice, just to get photos with the sun shining the right way!
We had lots of great dinners, in particular authentic Greek tapas at 'Melitini', and of course we returned to our favourite 'Candouni' on our last night on the island. Had a great chat with two lovely American girls and enjoyed beautiful wine, a lovely dinner and the special atmosphere this place has. We left having chatted with 'Mum', and the staff, and got big hugs from them before we left, vowing to return when/if we return to Santorini. Apart from the special feel Candouni has, the building has an interesting history - built in 1846, it was the first pharmacy in Santorini and sits in a cute winding alley, alongside a ruin that, along with many, is too costly to restore.
In Athens, we were collected from the airport by our accommodation and spent one night at Apartment Tinas, in preparation for our flights that will take us through to Singapore (via Abu Dhabi). Being very close to the airport and flight path we listened to the planes taking off every few minutes before they stopped around 11pm (starting again around 6am).
We squeezed in a 2.5km walk, to do a bit of moving, before having to transfer back to the airport. Flying Etihad (a first), the flights were fairly sterile as we flew down over Egypt, instead of taking the normal route, to avoid flying over Israel. The food was good, the one beer was warm and the overall service average. No screens and unfortunately we were unable to log into the inflight programme on our laptop, and didn't have the right headphones for our phones! Fortunately, the next much longer flight had screens!
Things we will remember about Greece
The Acropolis
Dry and crispy landscapes
The clarity and beautiful colours of the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas
White buildings
Greek Churches
Little Chapels (everywhere)
Stone walls
Ferry trips
Calamari
The cats
The goats on Amorgos
Nudist beaches
Olive groves
Buffalo grass
The variety and vibrance of the Bougainvillea
Friendly people (knowing we speak no Greek)
Santorini cliff scapes
Dangerous drivers on Santorini (speed, given there are no footpaths!)
The Pit Stop
We arrived in Singapore too early to check in, so dropped the bags and relaxed by the pool. Both feeling pretty tired as very little sleep was had in the previous 24 hours or so. We went for a walk to familiarise ourselves with our surroundings, as we are here for a few days to break up the long haul trip back to NZ. We got into the room at 2pm, so caught a couple of hours shuteye before heading out for Japanese (a flavour we have been missing) at 'Ontama Don', not far from our hotel and close by the beautiful 1926 shop houses.
We had nothing to really do in Singapore so made the most of our time walking and exercising having a 20 metre pool and good gym on site and just trying to get back into 'normal' time. Lesley's watch died in Amorgos so we headed out to buy a new one and walked to Marina Bay for a look around. We stopped in at the Gordon Ramsey inspired restaurant, Bread Street, and tried their set menu celebrating 'Wellington' month. Not surprisingly, it was super expensive but delicious, so the dinner drinks waited until we were back near the hotel.
Our flight from Singapore to Auckland was early so we packed in preparation the day before leaving and were up at 5am. At check in our 'upgrades' came through, so we were pretty happy and looking forward to Premium Economy on Air NZ home. We headed to the lounge and celebrated the end of a great five months, as well as looking forward to getting home. The flight was awesome, staff were amazing, and we were well looked after. Lots of movie watching, the 9½ hours went really quickly. We arrived home just after midnight and feeling wide awake enjoyed the view from our deck, albeit rugged up, and enjoyed a glass of 'very much missed' NZ Chardonnay.
