SANTORINI ~ GREECE

Santorini.

Continuing from my last post, we left Mykonos and took the two hour ferry to Santorini. We were staying in Santorini for four nights at two different hotels. Our first hotel was the lovely Andronis Concept Wellness Resort.

View from our room towards Oia (the white village at the end of the peninsula) at the Andronis Concept. Mini hot tub that we actually used often. It got chilly at night and there was a good breeze up here.

Lobby at the hotel, all open air!

Santorini is a semicircular archipelago of volcanic islands. The best example of Santorini’s geography is its world-famous caldera. Circular in shape, it is entirely filled with water. It is the only sunken caldera in the world and resembles a lagoon This cauldron-shaped volcanic depression is surrounded by gigantic cliffs, on top of which all of the Santorini villages have been constructed. According to geologists, the first known volcanic eruption occurred in the year 1,645 BC and was responsible for the tsunami waves that hit the northern coasts of Crete and destroyed part of the island. The last severe eruption occurred in 1957 when the earthquake caused the destruction of many houses and public buildings on the island. Since then, the volcano of Santorini has alerted scientists and geologists with startling proof of seismic activity over the years. Yikes!

The views are absolutely spectacular. Come on!

We had lunch at the hotel and then sat by the pool. We were hiking from Fira, the capital of Santorini, to Oia the next day. The hike takes you along the caldera cliff and through the villages of Fira, Firostefani, Imerovigli, and Oia. It takes about 3-5 hours depending on how fast (slow) you walk…. We were shoring up our hiking energy with some amazing greek food.

Sunset. Yes, we did need a sweater that night!

Here we go! The Fira to Oia hike early the next day.

Here is what I will say about this hike. Gorgeous, a no miss for sure! It does not take 2 hours like our hotel insisted. It was a good 3-4 and we only stopped once to buy water. Bring water! We didn’t. The terrain is primarily porous volcanic rock and much of it is in the shape of tiny pebbles. Hence, EASY to slip! That is why it takes longer than you might think. It is also very up and down, few areas are a straight shot. Trails are also very narrow, in some places only a single person wide. I know I am making it sound bad, but I want to be honest here. We were told it was a BREEZE and would take no time. Not the case, but we were so glad we did it!

We are still happy here. But the white area at the end is where we are going!

Pretty view on the way.

Another view. Um, we are very high up…. no railings anywhere.

Lunch was here in when we arrived in Oia. We could barely sit on these benches we were so stiff! I called the hotel for a ride back after lunch:) Directly into the hot tub to soothe our sore limbs.

Another beautiful sunset from our hotel. We are headed to the amazing Katikies Chromata Santorini hotel next!

We loved our last hotel, but this one screamed the Greece you see in pictures. The infinity pool overlooking the view was gorgeous and they would deliver lunch to your chaise. Thank you!

Stairs on the way to our room and the VIEW. That is a huge cruise ship in the distance.

Can’t let Emily have all the stair pics!

This hotel was near great restaurants, wine bars and the town of Fira. All within walking distance. Our other hotel was amazing, but a little bit in the middle of nowhere. BUT, they had a free shuttle from 6pm to 11pm anywhere you wanted to go, which was very nice.

Em and I loved the food! It was fresh and so delicious. Octopus was a fave on the menu and we weirdly ate moussaka at a ton of places. We became real connoseuirs of that dish.

Dessert.

I loooooooved Santorini. I want to come back to Greece with Tim and do all of the historical stuff in Crete. But, then I want to go to Santorini and sit by the pool and drink rose!

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