Day 24 - Santorini

Day 24 - Santorini

Caldera cruise to the volcano, swimming in the hot springs and dining in Oia (ee-ah) 

We got to avoid the bus this morning and instead, rode the cable car down the steep cliffs of Fira to the port. It was a quick ride and my palms only sweated a little. We had some hot bevies  and waited for our boat to leave. Once we boarded we met a Californian who told us about his vacation and vice versa. He gave us tidbits of info on Prague, Amsterdam and a few places we haven't decided to visit yet. We made a quick trip to the volcano where we easily hiked the well packed trails to the top only stopping long enough to take pictures of our surroundings. As we reached the peak, we were made aware of the last time it fully erupted spewing smoke and ash over the surface. It's still active, parts were puffing smoke and you could see the sulfur leaking out between cracks. We stayed at the top long enough to take more pictures of each other and the beautiful panoramic views. Our next stop was the hot springs on the other side. On this portion of the tiny expedition, we met a young couple from Ottawa and New York who had met last year in Greece. They regaled us with tales of their trip and stories of New York.  I like New Yorkers, they are a no bullshit breed that stick their middle finger up at you if you don't take them for who they are. We all chatted, our New York friends, us and Mr. California, until it was time to plunge into the azure waters of the sea. We had to swim about 100 metres into the hot springs (lukewarm springs) where the water was a brownish colour that stained your clothes. I hit my shins 20 times on well hidden submerged rocks and thanked god I didn't decide to dive down head first. We spent a half an hour frolicking in the waters and returned to our ship to engage in more conversation with our new found friends. After pulling into the port of Fira, we saw that the cruise ship people had vacated the port and the cable car was readily available. We all entered, Mr. New York crossed himself as we were quickly pulled up the  rock face and we discussed plane crashes. We exited the car, said goodbye and went in our different directions, us to our apartment, Mr. California to the bus stop and New York in search of food. We got home, ate our homemade gyros, cleaned up and got ready for our dinner in Oia. 

We boarded yet another bus and wound our way along the side of Santorini to the beautiful town of Oia. We spent a few hours exploring the town, checking out the lovely art galleries and searching for our restaurant. While searching, we stumbled on a tiny cafe with a beautiful view of the caldera where we had a strudel and I had my first frappe. I'd seen everyone downing these in various locations around Greece but because I love my hot coffee, I never had the want or desire to try one. It was refreshing!! After our little break we went to our restaurant and started our dining experience (thanks I & J!!) at Ambrosia, a little restaurant nestled in the side of the cliffs. We had a lovely meal consisting of a mouth watering Santorini house white wine (a must try!) grilled octopus, sautéed shrimp, fillet of duck, accompanied by an almond and pistachio ice cream. The view was something out of a story book and the food was comparable to an Iron Chef episode, plated and cooked splendidly. We left our restaurant, purchased some local wine (again!) and took the bus back to our room where we enjoyed our last night on our balcony. Santorini is the most chill and gorgeous places on the face of the earth! Until you get the cruise ships and the hordes of people filling the streets, boo you.