Greece: Santorini
Santorini was our 5th stop during #FLeuro2016, my backpacking trip across Europe. When you think of Santorini, I hope you think of blue roofs and white buildings along the cliffs of a blue ocean because that is exactly what Santorini was like.
Fatima and I stayed at a hostel near Perissa Beach, commonly called the “Black Beach” because the sand there is black or dark-grey coloured. From the airport, it took around 2 hours and 2 transfers to arrive at our hostel, which isn’t the nicest I would say since it was close to the beach. You cannot drink tap water in Santorini either, so I was prepared to be dirty and dehydrated for a couple of days.
Staying right on the beach had its perks. We woke up early the next day to be a beach bum and it was still very warm. After so many stops on Fleuro2016 already, we were ready to just lie down and do nothing.
Along the beach, there are many restaurants and stands. If you purchase food or drinks from them, you are allowed to use their branded beach chairs and beds on the shoreline, and most importantly – you get free wifi right on the beach!
While we were lounging at the beach, something in the sky caught my eye – it was a group of people paragliding! I turned to Fatima and said, “Wow I want to be those people over there” to which she said, “Hey, I’m down to do it if it’s not too expensive.”
The water paragliding cost about 60 euros for 2 people and we were allowed to use our own filming devices at our own discretion. Like a loser, I took my pink selfie stick with me and prayed I wouldn’t drop it into the water.
I didn’t and now we don’t need to pay for photos.
The next day, Fatima and I, along with our hostel friend, Kelly, took a bus to
Fira and Oia, which is where the picturesque white and blue buildings are. You could take a photo anywhere and have that in your background.
Everything was much more expensive in Fira. I was hoping to eat and drink in Fira during the sunset, but Fatima’s flip flop broke and she returned back to Perissa area before the sunset. I had walked around alone by myself but didn’t find it particularly fun anymore, as Kelly also left to go on her boat cruise to the 3 different beaches (white beach, black beach, and red beach). The stairs had a lot of donkey poop too.
I returned back to Perissa beach for the sunset, where Fatima and I relaxed with seafood and drinks. The sunset was beautiful at Perissa as well, and we frolicked and talked about how our trip had been going so far.
Santorini was beautiful but full of couples and honeymoons, so if you are less into that and more into partying, I would recommend the island mykonos.
The airport was a total gong show as well. We headed to the Santorini airport 2 hours before our flight as usual, and our airline wasn’t even there. A bunch of us sat on the floor and waited until they arrived to work, in which a chaotic line was created full of antsy passengers who had been waiting for 2 hours. In the end, we were able to leave after multiple delays.
Santorini was still one of my favourite spots and next time I would like to stay at a hotel in Fira instead.
Sincerely, Loewe