Days 22 & 23 - Santorini

Day 22 - Rethymno to Santorini

We woke up at 5am to catch our 6:30 bus back to Heraklion. We were hoping we could go on a tour to Santorini straight from Rethymno but for 250 Euro... So we jumped on the bus and hit the ferry right on time. Since Rhodes everything has come up roses (cross fingers). We slept on the ferry and when we awoke, we were coming into the port of Santorini. We were then shuttled to the town of Fira, The bus hit switchback after switchback and ascended to the top. We got to the crowded bus station and left in search of Hotel Nemesis and without much problems, found it. It was perched overlooking the caldera and the people running it were super nice. She knew me right from the start, recognizing me from my twitter feed. She told us what not to miss, showed us to our room and gave us directions to a modest taverna called Ellis in Fira. We drank a litre of house white, ate some Greek tapas and met a couple who were here 25 years ago. We exchanged traveling stories and took photos of one another and told them our itinerary. They gave us tips in Prague and Amsterdam and went on their way. We finished our food, ordered more wine and took in the the panoramic view. After, we went back to our hotel and had a power nap...after only sleeping for 4 hours the previous night we needed this one. 

We cleaned ourselves up and headed into town once again. We wondered the narrow, cobbled streets and window shopped until we came out to a viewing area. The town glistened in the night like an earthbound constellation, it was the most relaxing view in the world. We sat and stared in awe of this inspiring view we've on heard of in poems and seen in pictures. Traversing the serpentine corridors, we made it back to the hotel rather late and hit the hay. 

Day 23 - Santorini

Akrotiri - The red beach

Hitting the well run bus again, we journeyed to the southern tip of Santorini where the red beach is located. Scurrying up and around rock faces, we popped out onto the beach. The wind was strong, the water was cool and the sun beat down upon us as we basked on the most unique I've ever been to. There it was quiet, peaceful and we read our books and oiled our bodies. We spent the day sunning ourselves until we couldn't take it anymore. Our skin was getting used to the sun and I think I even started to develop a tan!! We plodded back along the rock cliffs, took pics as we went along and made it to the bus stop just as the bus arrived. We scored a seat, watched the world go by and pulled into Fira's station where we headed to the nearest Gyro shack. Luckys Souvalaki is a fast food haven packed with locals and budget travelers alike. We inhaled our snacks and made for the local supermarket to pick up dinner and more booze for under 9 Euro! After the long beach day with no sun burns we got our drink on, made food and enjoyed our balcony. After that the night got a little hazy...