Catch part one and two of my Santorini diaries.
One of the best ways to explore the island is to hire a car or quad bike and have a drive around on your own. We paid about 40 Euro for a small air conditioned car for the day. We thought about quadbiking but since we were planning on being out from first thing in the morning to late in the evening, we wanted somewhere to keep our things and more importantly, proper headlights for the windy cliff roads.
Before reading this post, catch part one of my Santorini diary.
We decided to head to Fira for an afternoon and explore a different part of the island. After getting off the bus we started the uphill windy walk through alley ways to reach the cliff side view. The views are spectacular and it’s a photographers dream as you look out over the white and blue houses and the caldera. It was thirsty work so it wasn’t long before we stopped for some food with the view. We found a great place to grab a sandwich and a beer but once we got the bill we were relieved we were staying in Kamari – as it was nearly 20% more expensive.
In his mid twenties my Dad spent some time traveling around Europe, and he once told me his favourite spot was Santorini, Greece. With a recommendation like that it had to go to the top of my to do list. Well that was in 2010! So don’t ask my why it took me nearly 4 and a half years to make it to number one on my to-travel list but I finally got a chance to spend a lovely sunny week in Santorini, Greece.
I must say although I didn’t get to see much of Greece itself, sailing around the islands was a good way to start!
We set off from a place called Plateria on board the ERMOINI (which I tended to call Hermione) with a crew of 5 in a tiny little sailing boat. I had never sailed before and our captain hadn’t sailed since primary school so I must say it was a bit of an adventure! The first day was really rough seas and after about 10 minutes we were all soaking wet and sick of sailing. It took us 5 and a half hours to do a 4 hour trip due to the rough seas. After that I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it through the rest of the few days. Thankfully some drinks and food at a local taverna certainly helped me feel better! That night we ate a delicious Greek meal with tzatziki, Greek salad and grilled meat followed by traditional Greek dancing. It was a great introduction to Greece and I must say that I’m completely addicted to their food.
The next day we set of from Petriti to Corfu Town. This day was much better, the water was a lot calmer which meant that we actually got to put up the front sail for a little bit. The highlight of the day was definitely stopping the boat in the middle of the ocean and diving off into the clear blue water. It was chilly but we had all stocked up on floaties so we just bobbed around and caught up on all the news from the other boats before sailing off again. This was the day that we started beer o clock at 11 am so after a swim we had a bit of a snooze on the bow of the boat followed by a few more bevvies before we docked in at Corfu Town. We spent the evening eating and drinking our way around the gorgeous place.
The next day we set off with sore heads and sunburn back to Plateria. In my time I’ve tried many a hangover cure but I would have to say the best one yet is diving into cool blue water and floating around on flat water. After our last day of sailing we arrived in Plateria and while I was sad it was over I was also relieved to have a proper shower and no more sleeping on a cramped boat. I don’t think I am made for the seven seas but I am glad I can add sailing in the Mediterranean to my bucket list.
Eat Well Travel Often 