Tag Archives: santorini

Off to Athens and more doctor visits

Posted on by

0

The sunrise in Santorini was so pretty, Pokin and Julia made everyone come back out for it. It was still scenic. While I grumbled at getting up I was happy to see the views.

Our flight to Athens wasn’t until 3pm, so Pokin wanted to hit up one more spot, which was the fishing village of Amoudi. Nowadays it’s mostly seafood restaurants, but this used to be the dock where supplies and trade landed. There’s a steep uneven flight of stairs connecting the two and that’s what we explored. Little did Pokin realize this still an active mule route and she was incredibly grossed out going down it.

Down we went to the village, past the village to the jumping rock where, in the right times of the year my bud could have gone cliff diving. Today we were in a hurry though and it was too cold for it. So we took a look, turned around, booked up back up the 250 steps.

Time to get ready for our transfer to the airport. First some ice cream.

We’ve been reminded every step of the way that most people in Oia survive off two jobs, and our driver was no exception. Along the way he told us he used to race cars, and is now a transport driver during tourist season and a construction worker in the off season. We learned a bit more about Greek culture before heading to the airport and heading to Athens. It was interesting to have to cross customs in Santorini again despite staying in the country.

On arrival in Athens we were picked up by a driver, and transported to The Dolli. My own seat this time!

The Dolli is a newly renovated hotel that actually opened at the beginning of the year. It used to be a private mansion, before being converted into a department store before becoming its current incarnation. It’s a small boutique hotel with only 46 rooms and permanent apartments. The main claim to fame is the rooftop pool deck with a view of the Acropolis.

The check in process was actually pretty nice. Instead of waiting in line, we were seated at any of a number of couches, and we were brought a welcome tray with 3 varieties of drinks and a platter of treats. I was hungry so I ate most of them before we were escorted to our rooms.

The rooms were opulent, though we weren’t baller enough to get a room with any great view, so we mostly kept the curtains shut as I was reminded the next building over is close.

My bud was starting to get sick so we just took it easy for the rest of the night, though Pokin did want to try some greek food. Just like in Oia, concierge only had one recommendation. Dophios. Again, apparently a great recommendation because they ended up wtih some of my bud’s and Pokin’s favourite dishes. After dinner we went back up to check the views.

The next morning my bud was definitely sick. He barely enjoyed the breakfast or the view.

And so for the second time this trip we went to look for a doctor. We found Dr. Alex Christopoulos, sent him a Whatsapp, and within 10 minutes of Pokin messaging, we had an appointment for my bud scheduled for 1pm. We grabbed breakfast and shortly after, headed off to see Dr. Christopoulos.

Lucky for me, I’ve been a pretty health bear and haven’t needed to see a doctor, but what I’ve witnessed of the US medical system hasn’t been that ground. Sounds like my bud and Pokin thought their Greece experience was pretty great. Dr. Christopoulos saw them pretty quickly, took an hour of time with them, took the time to find a pharmacy open on a sunday, and the whole visit cost 70 euros.

My bud got loaded up with drugs and it was back to the hotel.

At first my bud was just going to rest for the rest of the day, but Pokin had booked a private tour of the Acropolis and really wanted my bud to see at least a little of it.

A little of it turned out to be all of it and we walked around with our guide, Sotirios, who gave us stories behind Acropolis and the Parthenon. Too bad my bud was sick. He couldn’t ask the questions he would normally. But we’re all glad we went.

And with that, we wrapped our Greece trip. I hope my bud makes it on the flight ok given how congested he is now!

More sunrise photoshoots, food tours, and wine tours

Posted on by

0

After seeing all of the cool photo spots around town, Julia decided she wanted to get sunrise photos, and Pokin decided she wanted to suck it up and go as well.

My bud decided he wanted sleep and I was roped in as an unwilling participant.

That said, once I was dragged out of bed and got to see the sun rise over Oia, I have to admit it was pretty worth it.  The streets were waaay less crowded – mostly other crazy photographers and Instagram couples.

We got to all of the top photo spots and were able to grab some cool photos.

We couldn’t stay out too long though because Pokin had a food tour booked in Fira.  It wasn’t originally supposed to be for today, but Pokin was way too sick to go on Tuesday, and the owner, Laura of Santorini Food tour was gracious enough to let her move it to Friday, but it meant we had to grab breakfast and get our way to Fira by 10:30AM. So a few more photos and it was time to dash back.

Breakfast!

The distance isn’t that great, but there are only 30 taxi drivers in Santorini and not a lot of Uber drivers, and it turns out there are anywhere up to 2-6 cruise ships that can bring thousands of passengers that dock In Fira every day.
 
Today looked to be a busy day.  By breakfast time there were already 2 cruise ships in dock.  We had to beat the Cruise ship rush to get an uber.

“Wait time 15 minutes.  But maybe up to 40 minutes, “says the Uber app.

So we err on the side of caution and leave a litte bit earlier.

Fira is the main town in Santorini.  And on arrival it was definitely a lot busier than Oia, and less picturesque.  Fira is connected continuously two two other cities – Firostefani – (crown of Fira), and Imeregovigli.  The food tour started in St George Square.

While we were waiting by the church, the bells started clanging in cacophonic waves.  “Square” on the side of a caldera where space is precious is a generous descriptor, meaning we were right on top of the bells.

“How do people here handle this?” I wonder, something like 10 minutes into the bell ringing.

Turns out the church is only open a couple times a year for a religious ceremony and we won th lottery on being there on that day.

Knowing that made at least the procession more interesting.

At about 10:30, our guide, Dimi showed up.  She’s one of several guides with the company, which was founded by a couple Laura, and Aristoeles who were passionate about travel and spreading their love of food.  As the story goes, they ended up going on a food tour overseas quite by accident, and realizing there was no equivalent in Santorini, started this business to bring it to Santorini.

We started our first stop at a coffee shop, where we got to try a traditional Greek coffee.  It turned out to be quite like Turkish coffee, because really the two countries are next to each other.  “One of the things people don’t realize about Greece is how middle eastern we are, “Dimi explained.   We sipped our Greek coffee as we had our spoonsweets (sweetened fruits), before making our way to the next stop – a local brewery.

Before that though, we stopped by the Three Bells where Dimi had a treat for us – easter pastries that were seasoned with Mastiha.  Mastiha is a type of local pine that is used to make a liquor aperitif, as well as other sweets.  This pastry is normally hard to find outside of the holiday season, but Dimi found a year round bakery and got some for us all to try.

Because it’s already end of season, we only had one type of beer to try, which was one more beer than I needed, but I was plenty fine for my bud.  Here we got to try fava, some Santorini tomatoes, and some fried zucchini as we perched by the caldera.

The next stop was to olive oil tasting, where we started with a serving of “moonshine”, which tasted a lot like grappa.

We were reminded of how to do an olive oil tasting, and we tried the olive oil by itself as well as with some cheeses, tomatoes, and cured meats.   We washed it down with more moonshine and went to the next stop.

We next stopped for some streetfood – souvlaki. 

By now we were getting close to our next tour and Pokin started to get worried, but Dimi offered to call the tour company for us.

“You have to understand we all know one another.  It’s a very small industry so it’s no problem” She calls and speaks to them.

“Don’t worry. They’ll wait for you.” And that was that!

We’re at the last stop, and we wrap up with donuts to finish up at the food tour.

Onwards to the wine tour.

Santorini is actually a really dry, windy climate. So it’s tough to survive as grape vines. To maximize their chances of survival, santorini grape vines are woven into a circular basket shape to protect the vines. They are allowed to be on a drip system for a couple years, and afterwards the irrigation has to be removed and the wines are watered via ocean mist.

The most popular type of wine is Vinsanto, made from grapes dried in the sun, and the most popular grape varietals are Athiri , Aidani, Assyrtiko and Mandelaria. We went to 3 different wineries to check out the wines, before ending up at sunset in the most scenic of the wineries. Was fine. Cocoa is better.

Flying dresses and sailing

Posted on by

0

Pokin had booked a photoshoot this morning.  There’s this thing called a flying dress.  With Santorini being pretty windy, it’s a thing to wear these long flowy dresses, hog up the prime spots around town and look stupid in front of the tourists with these dresses as you stick your legs out in funny positions.

I didn’t get the appeal but Pokin thought it’d be fun.  She  got a package for her and my bud, and then another one for Chris and Julia.  She booked makeup and hair as well, meaning all of us had to get up at 7AM in the morning to do hair and makeup in time for a 9:30AM photoshoot.

It’s early.

I sat and listened as the hair and makeup artists got to work.

Tasha is from the Ukraine.  She was displaced during the war and settled here to work.  She works on everything from photoshoots to weddings and is one of the seasonal workers.  She will be back to Athens in November.  The other makeup artist grew up in Santorini, but is pregnant and will be having her baby soon.  She also spends her winters in Athens.  Both of them have been working non-stop 10+ hour days to get as much business as possible before the dead season.

I meant it when I said Santorini is seasonal. The whole island shuts down by November and about 5000 residents remain.

At 9:30, the photographer and the assistant Edward and Irene arrive.  They help Pokin change into her first dress and I am super impressed.  I was very skeptical when they said the dress sizes were XS – L, and L – XXL, but it turns out the fabrics twist and turn very accommodatingly.  So they twisted and turned and adjusted the fabrics and voila, it fit.

We started the photoshoot on the hotel property before moving all around town.  My bud was dressed in a suit and as the day got progressively hotter, I felt bad for him.  But he was a good spot and we moved from spot to spot.

Now that I knew what a flying dress photoshoot looked like, I saw them all around town.  All the girls and their buds looking uncomfortably hot with their entourage. At one point there were so many of these groups we had to wait in line for our spots.  Until now, little did I realize how busy things were.  Luckily some areas were chained off only for photographers, or else we wouldn’t have been able to elbow through crowds.

Two hours later, the shoot was over and it was time to scramble, as we were headed to our next destination.  A boat.

Nicholas decided that the one thing you had to do in Santorini was do a boat cruise.  And it had to be on a catamaran.

So we booked one with food for sunset. The cruise location was pretty far away and required an hour commute (mostly because of the windy roads), so we had to be picked up at 1pm for a 2pm boat time.

What Pokin didn’t tell Chris and Julia is that she had booked a private catamaran cruise.  And so when we pulled up to the dock, Julia wondered – “where is everyone?”

“This is it, the boat is just for us,” my bud responded just as the crew came out to greet us.

There were 3 crew total – the captain, the chef, and an extra person.  We got settled in (shoes off), and off we went.

I have to admit, I wasn’t such a fan of being on a boat, but it was pretty worth it – especially doing it on our on boat.  We got to go at our own pace, to explore all the islands and photograph everything.

We even had food made by a chef. I took note. No cocoa.

We went from red cliff to white cliff to a diving spot, before making our way around towards the volcano.

The whole round trip took 5 hours, which was a lovely leisurely pace.

Pokin took Dramamine and was still recovering so she passed out at one point, but I hung out with my bud on the front of the boat.

When we got to the volcano centre, I noticed a hut and a church – “what’s going on?” I wondered.

“Oh that’s the fisherman who has no wife” came the answer.  Cryptic.

Turns out there was a BBC documentary made about this person.  He wasn’t a fisherman, but rather a lovestruck sailor who had fallen in love with an Italian lady who promised to return and never did, but not from lack of trying.

Turns out she had already been betrothed to someone in the Italian mafia, and when they found out tried to hunt him down, leading him to escape to this island.

He is now around 87 years old, and apparently can still be sighted on the island in just his speedos or no clothes, yelling at the tourists who float by.

Suckers.  I’m glad my priority is just gaming and hanging with my bud.

The volcano was the turning point, so we turned around and headed back to the harbour as the sun set behind us.

A pretty nice day overall.

I like sailing on a private catamaran.

To Greece

Posted on by

0

Today we arrived in Greece.

We had all sorts of plans.

And it looks like things aren’t going to go quite according to plan.

First of all, Pokin was really sick the whole flight. She tried to rest a tonne before the flight, but after all sorts of flight delays and missed flights we arrived to Santorini airport at 12:30AM and she was exhausted.

In order to get to bed as soon as possible, Pokin booked us a car transport to our hotel so we would have someone to pick us up.

Except when we got to Santorini there wasn’t anyone there for us.

Confused, Pokin called the hotel only to be informed the driver had just left, after waiting for a while.

After some back and forth with the hotel reception, it turns out not only did we have no ride, but actually our travel agent had booked us a hotel in Katikies Mykonos, instead of Katikies Chromata.

By now it’s like 1:30AM in the morning as we are trying to figure out what to do. The airport is deserted. The travel agent is closed and no one is answering the emergency line.

As we are at the airport trying to figure out what to do as the Katikies hotels try to figure out if there’s any way to accommodate us, Nicholas was approached by a fellow.

“You need a room to stay?” He asks.

Nick eyes him suspiciously. “I think we’re ok,” Nicholas answers.

“Well if you need something, I’m just 7 minutes away. I’ll give you a special price, 50 euro.” Pokin gets a phonecall from the hotel – they are are still figuring things out as they need permission from our travel agent.

“What’s the name of your place?” Nicholas asks, and tries to look it up online.

Everyone is exhausted. We don’t have our lodging resolved.

“Screw it, let’s just go stay at this sketchy guy’s place for 50 euro, we probably won’t die.” Nicholas decides.

And in we pile into a white van drive by the fellow, who introduces himself as Artemis.

We drive through the dark, past the airport and down all sorts of windy roads. A few minutes later we arrive at a property.

Artemis takes us to this room, gives us a quick run down on the room, and we pass out.

We wake up the next morning and it turns out we actually had a pretty incredible view. We were situated beside the ocean with this view.

Pokin was pretty sick so Nicholas went and scouted the property. He ordered some breakfast boxes, talked to Ana (Artemis’ wife) and learned more about their property. Artemis grew up nearby and this was the land his family would come to view the ocean. When he grew up, his mother spilt the property between all his siblings and he converted his parcel into a hotel. Artemis frequently goes to the airport late because many hotels shut down during the pandemic, and he often finds travellers that land only to discover their hotel doesn’t exist anymore.

By this time, the original hotel situation was getting partially resolved, and Pokin and my bud decided to move early to Oia to make transiting the next day go easier. Artemis waited till we actually got a ride before we all waved goodbye to continue to our next destination.