Waking up in Greece is surreal! We woke up leisurely after recovering from our big hike yesterday and ate a buffet Greek breakfast at the hotel.
I had always thought Santorini would have spectacular beaches given that it's an island but as a matter of fact it doesn't have any beaches that you can swim in. That is due to the fact that the island has steep cliffs all the way around and since it was formed by a volcano, there is a lot of black volcanic rock still around. There are a couple of beaches such as the white and red beaches located at the southernmost tip of the island, but it is too dangerous to swim in those..
I had come to Greece with the intention of swimming and being in the water so I hopped in the pool at the hotel as a substitute. It was very relaxing to sit by the pool basking in the warm sunlight.
To get around the island you can take the public bus, walk, rent a car, or one of the most popular attractions - take a cruise. The cruise was a full day excursion to hike the volcano, bathe in the hot springs, bbq on board, and then lastly, sail into the sunset. The excursion started at around 1:30pm and they arranged everything from our pick-up shuttle from the hotel to a guide on the boat. The shuttle took us to what is known as the new port where we met a guide and boarded the ship. I loved the ship! It was completely wooden and had a vintage vibe to it with its large sails. Much cooler than the typical tourist ship where they have you seated in plastic seats on the top deck.
The ship made one stop at the old port which was close by to our hotel and then we were off to the volcano. The ship had maybe about 10 other people on board so it was a small crowd for the size of the ship but no complaints. It meant I could continuously run around the ship seeking the best view. The volcano which was visible from the island was about a 20 minute boat ride away. From the base, it was then about a 30 minute hike up the volcano. The volcano is still active but has not erupted in thousands of years. There are many earthquakes that occur frequently on the islands. The biggest earthquake in history they talk about was similar to Pompeii and spread the ash all over the city. Initially, Santorini was a circle but following the earthquake, it became fragmented and the remaining islands are all considered a part of Thera. The volcanic hike was not hard at all and from the top you could see the entire crescent shape of Santorini. On the backside of the volcano was a nice cliff face that was surrounded by emerald green waters. I expected to see a formal crater at the top of the volcano but since it has been so long, there is no clear crater. I enquired and was told there were multiple craters and everywhere the land had a depression was a former crater. Totally not what I expected but interesting to learn.
Since the volcano was still active, the ground underneath was still warm which formed hot springs. The hot springs that we stopped at were on the side of the volcano and I was excited to experience volcanic hot springs. The hot springs were perhaps the biggest tourist trap as there was no spring and it was not hot. There was no spring as it was just the open Aegean sea. It was very chilly and as I swam closer to the rocks on the coast I could feel areas of warmth alternating with the cold waves. I love swimming in the ocean so I didn't mind it but I did have my hopes up for actual hot springs.
We dried off on the boat in the sun as we set sail for another tiny island behind the volcano. The population of this island is only 300 people and I seriously wonder how they acquire resources. They are known for growing cherry tomatoes though! The water surrounding the island was very deep but also clear and a dark navy color. We were allowed to hop off the boat and swim in the water again but I had already been swimming twice today. Plus I knew it was going to be freezing or there would be other people in the water.
For dinner they served us a simple barbeque with some Greek food. I had rice, potatoes, a Greek salad, and then the grape leaves wrapped with rice. They could have done better with the food or maybe it was just since I am vegetarian.
While on board Carissa’s dad and I were trying to convince her to take titanic photos with me. We saw other people doing it and Carissa said “absolutely not”. However there was unlimited wine onboard so we gave her some of that and she grudgingly did it. By that time, everyone was waiting for us to pose and they jokingly all sang “My heart will go on” just to embarrass her more. T’was a good time and I could not stop laughing.
The last activity of our cruise was seeing the sunset. Except there was no sun because it was too cloudy. So we sailed back to the port and returned home. Yes, I was sad I didn't get my perfect sunset but also understand it happens and overall I did enjoy being on the water. I especially loved that everything was planned for us and I did not have to think about what we were going to do next or navigate us somewhere.
When we returned back to Fira we sought out a Greek bakery and tried some traditional pastries that tasted like baklava.
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