Our next destination was Santorini, only two hours away from Naxos in ferry!!!  When we arrived our hotel pick up service was ...

Santorini

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Our next destination was Santorini, only two hours away from Naxos in ferry!!! 


When we arrived our hotel pick up service was already waiting for us and it was then when we figure out that Santorini was very very different than Naxos. In Naxos as we got off the boat we could walk straight into the town but in Santorini we had to go up a very very very windy street and then drive for 10 minutes to the town of Thira (Fira in English.)


In Fira the traffic was crazy and the amount of people walking the streets was also crazy compared to the empty streets of Naxos.

We got to our hotel and they upgraded us to a super cute new double room. I was happy because it looked cute even though it was smaller than the 2 twin beds they showed us, I think my mom appreciated the space of the other best but she said “You pick” so I picked the cuter one, of course!

We dropped off our bags and immediately went to explore the town of Fira and I was disappointed a little bit because it was overly commercialized. I kind of expected that from Santorini but it is crazy to walk in a town 120% made for tourists, there is no Greek culture in there because no one lives there, it’s only a business place full of overpriced cute little boutiques and souvenir shops. 
Once I got to the caldera and saw the view then it was just amazing but there is no ambiance to the town of Fira, it’s just crowded with tourists, so different from Naxos!

I decided to walk down and go take pictures and even though the view was amazing, all the places were just hotels and restaurants. 


The typical donkeys taking people up and down from the old port.









 I went back up and the sunset was just beyond what words can describe! The sky turned all shades of yellow, orange, pink, and purple! So beautiful! 

Our dinner that night was just amazing... Greek Grilled cheese with honey was just divine! haha



The next day I opened the door of the hotel and was so disappointed to see that it was raining so I changed my plan and we decided to venture out of Fira and take the bus down to the town of Perissa. 
Well, nothing too exciting about Perissa and its black sand, it looked like the sand in any other beach in El Salvador. It is not beach season yet so one can not swim (not like I would anyway) so I took a couple of pictures and decided to walk away from the main beach strip and walk up towards the town. 





My mom stayed down because her feet have been hurting and couldn’t walk much but I think even if she could walk she would not like to go and hike and climb the rocks I did.

The view of Perissa from up high were worth the small hike, the water looked just so beautiful, so many shades of blue, so pretty!



After an hour and a half the bus came back and we were ready to go to our next stop… Pyrgos!

Well, the town of Pyrgos was super cute and charming!
My mom decided to sit at a cafe and drink some coffee while I went and explored the town. All these towns require a lot of walking up and down stairs so it was better that she stayed down and I could do all the walking without worrying about her feet (she really thinks she has a broken toe and it really hurts!)

Every good friday in Pyrgos they light up lights all over the town and it’s supposed to be phenomenal! I was there on a wednesday and they were putting tin cans all over to be lit up on friday. I was curious how the town would look like so I googled it and it is so cute, I was kind of wishing we knew that and could have stayed one more day to see it. 
Pyrgos was the typical island town with white houses, flowers, and a beautiful view of the Ocean! I enjoyed walking the streets and getting lost in all the alleys!!!

Tin cans to be lit up on good friday!

Amazing view



Cats everywhere!






After exploring Pyrgos I met up with my mom and we walked to Santos Winery for the sunset and had a little vino.


We are not big drinkers so we decided to share the 6 wine tasting menu. It was really really nice to just sit there and enjoy the view while we sipped on some wine and ate some cheese!
The sunset wasn’t as great as the night before but still very beautiful!




Selfie time! :)


how amazing?!?!


For our last day in Santorini we decided to take yet another bus but this time to the town of Akrotiri to see the red beach… what a disappointment!
The red beach was so not impressive! I was expecting something as beautiful as Iran but it didn’t come even close to that. I think one of the bad things about traveling is that you get pickier about what you see and the bar for things is way higher than most people. I see this happening a lot with waterfalls, once you’ve seen Victoria Falls in Zambia, or Iguazu in Brasil and Argentina, all the other ones are so not worth it! (Well, I still want to see Niagara Falls! haha)





A door in the middle of a "red" rock



So within an hour we were in and out of Akrotiri and back in Fira to have some lunch! Yumm!

My mama wanted fish!


After lunch I took a well deserved nap and then I went out to do the Fira to Oia (pronounced “Ia”) hike. 
This hike is beautiful, it takes you along the caldera through different little towns overlooking the water. I started my walk slowly and of course I stopped way too many times to take pictures, but how could I not? The view was just spectacular!



How they carry luggage down!




I past the town of Firostefani and got to Imerovigli and I think I took a little too long there taking pictures. I found a bride in a photoshoot and I couldn’t help it but snap a couple of shots!



Getting out of Firostefani I found a couple that was lost looking for the way to Oia so (using my common sense) told them to just follow the path and if it ended just go close to the caldera and it should be right there. They walked with me and I have no idea how they got lost, the path was so clear! haha They were worried that it was getting late and they wouldn’t make it all the way to Oia for the sunset. Until then I wasn’t really paying attention to the time but it was close to 6pm and a sign said that I still had 2 ½ hours to go (MapsMe said 1hr ½) so I looked closer in the map and found a bus stop and decided to wait for the 6:30pm bus to Oia instead of walking fast through the trail, missing out on the views, and not having enough time to properly enjoy Oia.






I arrived in Oia and if I thought Fira was touristy, this one won the award! They had brand name shops, like Bulgari and super duper fancy hotels and restaurants!
One could barely walk the narrow streets, people were everywhere and it was almost impossible to get a spot for sunset without people!





 While everybody stood on one spot for sunset I decided to walk around and see as many angles of Oia as I could!

The spot for "the best" pictures was super duper crowded!


This is how people watched sunset!

The sun going down









The typical picture of Santorini


This picturesque little town is well know for a reason… it was just beautiful!!!
Now time to go back to the main land!



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About Post Author

Hi! It's me... Andrea! In 2016 I decided to drop everything and take a year to enrich my life and travel around the world. It turns out the world is just too big for 12 months! Still on the road and sharing my experience as a solo female traveler around the globe!

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About me




Hi! It's me... Andrea!

In this blog you can live vicariously through my journey around the world!

Please feel free to share tips or places to go!
Contact me: andreaheartstraveling@gmail.com