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FTER about six hours on a ship, we were feeling woozy and sleepy. Our arrival at the harbour of Santorini woke us up.
Suddenly, we were surrounded by thousands of people who were there for the exact same reason we were: to soak up the sun with an amazing view.
We were told (through hand gestures, because no one speaks English) to catch a bus up the steep slopes of what used to be the volcano. The narrow and windy roads added to the wooziness. Higher and higher we kept going and my paranoid husband commanded himself not to look down.
Santorini was as beautiful as you could imagine, postcard-perfect. It looked exactly as it did in the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants and put us in mind of Mamma Mia, which had us singing the entire time even though that film was made on a different Greek island.
We rented a quad bike and explored the small island over the next few days. It was possible to see the entire island using the quad bike — they are allowed on the main roads and every other tourist was doing the same thing. We zoomed around in constant need of a swim, the mercury around 35°C.
We decided to go to Perissa, also known as the black-sand beach, which was lined with restaurants and sunbeds under umbrellas. For à10, the bed was yours for as long as you liked. Alternatively, you could spread your towel on the sand and enjoy it for free.
The vibe was fantastic, there was music playing and everyone there seemed to be having the best time.
The black sand was shiny when wet, sparkling like jewels, made from volcanic stone, hot to the touch because of the sun. This made it necessary to use the walkways provided or wear shoes.
The seawater in Santorini is warm and calm. Not a wave to be seen and absolutely no reason to stick your toe in first, with temperatures well above 25°C. We put on our shades and floated in what felt like a large, heated pool.
Wet but content we got back on the quad bike and cruised around the island, making sure we ended up in Oia for the sunset. Oia’s sunset is known to be one of the most beautiful in the world, so it did not come as a surprise that everyone else had the same idea. The area was packed. There were people standing in every open piece of land. But it was worth it.
The sunset made the already dramatic landscapes glimmer. The crowd was silent and we watched in awe. At the very last second, clouds ruined our long-awaited sunset. Murphy’s Law. Even so, the red, yellow and purple haze over the horizon was beautiful.
Since the Greeks are awake after dark, Fira was always buzzing, with great views of the island and with the best restaurants, we always found ourselves returning to it. The narrow, cobblestoned walkways were perfect to wander around, while shopping for volcanic ash soap and drinking Greek coffee. Even in the heat of summer, the black, sweet coffee was a treat. — © Shameez Patel Papathanasiou
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