We left Barcelona on Thursday morning and landed in Athens around 3:00 PM. We didn’t have a place to stay so we just took the metro to Athens, bought a map, and found a place to stay for the night in Athens. We stayed at a 3 star hotel for 45 euros. It also included free Internet and breakfast. It wasn’t the nicest but it was well worth the one night stay. After checking in we went and got dinner at a place nearby and took a nice walk to the Acropolis and back.
It was a really nice walk and we passed a ton of cool things on the way. There are a ton of ruins and we went up on a hill called acropolis hill that had a great view of the city. Then as it was getting darker we went around to the other side of the Acropolis and saw the Parthenon all lit up.
There is a really cool foot path going back towards our hotel from the Acropolis. We walked down that road and observed the street artists and people selling jewelry and other crafts.
It was a really cool walk back down to the dirty streets of Athens. Athens is a great place to go for a day or two but I feel like more than that would be a little much. It is really dirty and there really isn’t anything more than the Greek ruins, museums, and nightlife.
The next day we woke up early and went to the Acropolis. I have really wanted to go there for a while and it was as cool as I could have imagined. We saw the Parthenon, although it was covered in scaffolding.
Then we saw the Temple of Athena. I learned that originally there was an olive tree in the middle but I guess it was gone by now. After hanging out for a while we walked down to the Acropolis Museum. The museum was not that great but the top floor was basically a recreation of the roof of the Parthenon. They had a lot of original statues and a few recreations but a lot of it was still missing.
After that we went back to the hotel to check out and started heading to the port to catch our 8-hour ferry to Santorini. On the way we picked up a bag of Pita bread, some sweet peppers, feta cheese, water, and two bottles of wine for the ride.
While we were waiting to leave a group of people from Israel came and sat next to us. They were playing music which was cool at first but they were pretty bad. I enjoyed it anyway while we were sitting in the sun out on the deck of the ferry. We also met a group of people also studying in Barcelona. They also brought some booze and managed to finish it with 5 hours left in the boat ride so they were pretty drunk when we met them. The boat ride was fun. We just chilled out on the deck for a while, ate our food, drank our wine, and played some cards. We also saw a great sunset.
We got to Santorini around midnight and had a driver waiting to take us to the hotel at the port.
The hotel, or hostel, was called Villa Manos. Usually when you look for the best price, you sacrifice customer service but it seemed to be the opposite at this place. When we arrived they gave us a glass of wine, a map. In the morning they offered to call a place for us to rent ATV’s (which we did), and they made fresh breakfast for us right there.
We rented some ATV’s for the 3 days we were there. This was probably the best part of the stay on the Island. It made everything so easy, and we really did as much as you possibly can in three days.
The first thing that we did was take a little boat ride to the Volcano. We checked out of the hotel and they said we could leave our luggage there until we got back. The boat left from the old port so we had to walk down this windy snake path to the bottom of the cliff
It was a short hike up to the top of the Volcano and back down but it was really cool. I don’t think I have ever been on a Volcano so this was a first time experience. After the hike we got back on the boat and had the option of swimming to the hot springs. We boated over to another Island and both of us hopped into the water to the hot springs. The water was really cold so while I was swimming I was really looking forward to the hot springs. However, the hot springs was really just some lukewarm water, not really hot. While we were hanging out there we started talking to some people from Maryland. They were all studying in Manchester, England and on spring break too. After the hot springs we went and got lunch with them and parted ways. They will actually be in Barcelona when we get back so we might see them again. Here are some pictures of the Volcano tour
After lunch we went back to grab our bags and head out to our other hostel. When we left she treated us as if we knew here for years. She gave us both a big hug and the two cheek kisses.
We made our way down to Perissa where our next hostel was. We got a little bit lost but eventually found the place and checked in. This place was more of a hostel where younger people go to party. The receptionist was really nice and helpful but it didn’t really have that home feel. By this point it was around 4 in the afternoon. Our original plan was to go to the Red beach but it was a little too late for that. Instead we cruised on over to the most southwestern point where there is a lighthouse. The drive should take about 30 minutes but we stopped so many times to take some pictures that it took us well over an hour. Here are some photos from the ride
Behind the lighthouse was a rocky ledge that almost led down to the water. We hung out for a while there taking pictures and just hanging out. I also found the famous rocks from Santorini that float in the water. I grabbed a few for souvenirs.
By the time we left the sun went down and it was getting dark. We found a place to eat dinner overlooking the water and then just went back to the hostel to go to sleep
The next day we decided to make our own breakfast. There was a hot plate and supplies in our room so all we had to do was go to the supermarket and get some food. We made some bacon, omelets, and toast. This was very easy and it gave us the chance to save some money on food.
Our plan for the day was to hike up a small mountain to the Ancient ruins of Thira. It is a short drive from our hotel and then about a 45-minute hike to the top. We didn’t have the best weather, and it rained for a few minutes but right when we got to the top the sun came out and it was beautiful. Here are a few pictures of the hike.
After that we wanted to go to the Red Beach on the south side of the Island. Right before we got there we stopped at a place called the Dolphin to eat some lunch. The Red Beach was unlike anything I have ever seen before. It is a cliff face with red volcanic rocks and a rocky beach. We walked around for a while taking pictures, climbing on some huge boulders, and skipping some rocks before settling on some towels. I also went swimming in the freezing cold water but it was really refreshing once my legs went numb. The pebbles on the beach we also perfect for a foot massage because they were small and round so I walked around for a while.
We went back to the hostel around 6 in the afternoon and I took a nice little nap. I hadn’t drunk enough water so I woke up feeling a little groggy. We went to a restaurant nearby called Grandmas Recipe that our friends from Maryland suggested and after dinner we just went back to the hotel to hang out and go to sleep. Traveling and doing stuff all day really takes the energy out of you.
In the morning we made breakfast again and then checked out of the hostel in Perissa. When I was looking up things to do in Santorini I read that they had some amazing wineries so today we wanted to check some out. We packed up everything and put our bags on our ATV’s and went to a Winery called Boutari. We got there before noon and were once again, the only people in the place. We ordered 6 tastes of Santorini wine. Our guide was great. He knew everything you need to know and gave us a sheet to fill out on how to rate the wines. You judge it by color (eye), smell, and taste, and get a score out of 100. I was impressed with my results because after 5 ratings I was only off by an average of 3. We only had a small taste of each since we had to drive our ATV’s. After that we went to another place that the Boutari winery suggested. It was a tiny family owned business that only produces about 40,000 bottles a year. This one included a free tour and a free taste of one of the wines. We each ended up buying a bottle there for gifts.
It was a short drive to Fira where we were staying the last night. We got there before noon to check into our hotel and put our bags down. There was just one more place on the Island that we had not explored and it was the northern most town of Oia. We were also told that the drive was awesome there and back. We stopped about half way to get some lunch at a place on a mountain overlooking a valley. When we got to Oia we didn’t really stop but just drove around there for a bit. We went down a windy road to a cove where there were some restaurants and a path around the shore. We just walked around and headed back. But not before coming across a dirt soccer field where we enjoyed the last hours of the ATV’s and did some doughnuts. When we went back to Fira we dropped the ATV’s off and walked around town for a while.
I took another nice nap when we got back to the room before going to get some dinner. We went to a place in town and got some Pizza and Pasta.
This was the only night that we actually went out in Santorini. There are a few bars in the area and they all have 2 for 1 cocktails until 10 or 11 so we had a few drinks and ended up going to a club and dancing for a little while.
The next day was our last in Santorini so we just got some food, souvaniers, and prepared for the 8-hour ferry ride back to Athens. Bye Santorini!
On the ferry we were playing cards and some kids from Denmark asked if they could play. They sat down and we played some games and talked to them for a while. It was cool talking to some random people. They knew English pretty well and it helped to pass the time. Right after they left, two Canadian girls who stayed in our hotel and rode down to the port with us came over and wanted to join us for cards as well. We had about 3 hours left and we cracked open our second 1.5 liter wine bottle and played cards with them. They were really nice and backpacking around Europe. They were also heading to Barcelona the next day so we might see them there. When we arrived at the port we took a cab to the hotel and they came to the same one because it was right near the port.
In the morning we parted ways and headed to the airport to go to Amsterdam. We are meeting up with some friends from Barcelona in Amsterdam for 3 nights.
It was great taking to you but somehow you forgot to mention the ATV's. That sounds awesome, it seems like you got to travel around the whole island very easily. Looked like a lot of fun.
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