The 20th anniversary of my birth! I'm a fifth of a century old now. Oh dear! Like I told mom, I guess it's good I'm not a teenager anymore but I'm not sure I want to be grouped with 29 year-olds now... but anyways back to Greece.
We woke up around 10am and decided we would rent some ATVs so we could see the island on our own time. So we got ready, ate a gyro at Lucky's and then went to rent our ATV at a place called Marko's. It was a nice yellow thing and were told to fill it up with gas and then have it back by 12:30 the next day. No big right? WRONG. As we ride it towards the nearest gas station it stalls on us because it has already run out of gas. So I'm sure we were a sight as we push the ATV towards where we hope the nearest gas station is. But at least it was downhill, otherwise... who knows what would have happened. But eventually we found the gas station so we gassed up and were on our way.
Our first item on the agenda was to find Perissa Beach but of course, we didn't really know how to get there so I'm sure we took a turn too soon because we ended up at the Monolithos Beach. It was empty, due to it being a low season, but it was our first look at the black sand beaches and being able to step into the Aegean/Mediterranean. It was beautiful! And hot, but that's probably because the sand soaked in all the heat. But we decided to keep moving.
We followed the road which I had now discovered would take us to Kamari Beach, one of the most popular ones besides Perissa. So we took these winding roads, passing by picturesque buildings and the airport and then we arrived in Kamari. It was a little more built up with some shops and things and even had some chairs out in the sand for us to lounge on, so lounge we did! It was nice just to sit and soak in the sun and relax.
Then we were on our way back, stopping only to take some pictures so we could meet Chris and Megan and go to Ia for the most beautiful sunsets in Greece. We were told there are only about 15 great ones a year with all the colors, but we were optimistic anyways and just wanted to see the town where Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was filmed.
So we headed back and met up with Chris and Megan then began our ride to Ia. It was somewhat scary because we're on the cliffs and you think one wrong turn and I could be thrown off. But I tried to push that out of my head and trust Kayla's driving skills.
Eventually we arrived in Ia and we were not let down. The town was so beautiful, I think I took multiple pictures of pretty much everything we saw. We went down to Ammoudi Bay and looked at what I guess would be called the docks, then went back up to find the perfect perch to watch the sunset. We ended up settling among these ruins of a building on top of Ia and it was the perfect spot; we could see all the effects of the setting sun on the cliffside homes.
After sunset, we headed back and only faced a few difficulties, like trying to turn the headlights on for our ATV, but eventually we got it. Kayla and I arrived back in Fira then scouted a location to eat dinner and settled on this restaurant called Cesare's which served us some really delicious pasta. My meaty tortellini was YUM!
March 30th
Monday morning Kayla and I decided to turn back in our ATVs and try out the bus system and go to Perissa Beach. We figured it was best because the buses actually knew where the beach was and wouldn't get us lost. It turned out to be a sound investment as well because we got to see a little more of the island as it stopped on the way to our destination.
Perissa is probably one of the most touristy beaches on Santorini. There were tons of little shops and eateries along the beach and it was beautiful as well. We sat again in some lounge chairs on the beach and just read our books for a couple of hours, soaking in the sun. I made a new friend in the cat that decided to approach us. He just came meowing and jumped on my chair then settled on my stomach (we probably shouldn't tell Elmo this, he may become a little jealous). So we had a lovely purring companion while we chilled on the beach.
Eventually we got a little hungry in the early afternoon and Megan and Chris had told us about some yummy smoothies they had so we tried to find the place they had them, Del Mar. Well we didn't find Del Mar but we did find the Beach Bar. When we asked the man behind the counter if he had any fruit smoothies he just stared at us and showed us that he had some apples and bananas, but then he comprehended and just said, "I'll pull something together for you." Needless to say, I was a little leery of what we might get, but he served us this pink concoction which I'm guessing had strawberries and kiwi and maybe bananas, and it was good. We sucked it down and were sufficiently happy.
Then we walked a little more down the beach, met some Canadians and their son selling crystals (which were really rocks from the beach) and then turned around and went to the bus stop to wait.
We got back to our room around 5:30 and then we were mesmerized again by the Greek television before going to get some of Lucky's Souvlakis for dinner (I wasn't lying when I said we ate there at least once every day...). Another successful day of exploring for Kayla and I.
Here are some of the pictures from these two days:
our gasless ATV, and Monolithos Beach
Kamari Beach
Pictures from our ride back to Fira: a beautiful Grecian house, an interesting tree, and a field of flowers before some buildings
a pink hotel, a house frame (I've decided I'm going to channel Greek architecture when I build my house), and a crashed fighter jet (or at least it looks like it) at the airport
a church built into the hill, a view of the ocean, some villas along the road
a trashcan that did have a cat on it but by the time I clicked the picture it had jumped in, a windmill in Ia, Ammoudi Bay (where Kostos would have moored his boat)
Kayla and I in Ammoudi, a view down Ian steps, my hiding the church behind me
Beginnings of a sunset, traditional Greek, blue domes that top churches, a colorful establishment in Ia
the cliffside of Ia, a view of Ammoudi Bay from above, and the sunset
Megan and I with the Ia cliffside homes, a close up of more windmills, and Kayla and I in the sunset
decor of Cesare's restaurante, my yummy tortelini, and we discovered Lucky delivers, which is probably a bad thing where we are concerned
eating ice cream while waiting on the bus, Perissa Beach
Perissa Beach, my new feline friend, and me and the beach
a church along the beach, picturesque gates, and a sign for the beach bar
the interior of the beach bar, a look at the patio and beach beyond, Kayla and me with our smoothies
taking a rest, a sign that lets you know Chinese food is conquering the globe (it's EVERYWHERE), and getting in the shade of a beach umbrella
Well that's all for this installment, folks. Check back soon for more updates, and thanks for tuning in! Ciao!
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