Santorini (19th may-20th may)

19th may 2009 - Santorini

Took the 5.35am Aegean Airlines plane down to Santorini & caught sunrise on the plane :) we'd slept over at the Athens airport the night before, there was a cosy corner near the chapel in the airport where we could lay our sleeping bags and rest.

View from the cliffs of Santorini. Santorini is really one of the great natural wonders of the world, and its main attraction lies in its landscape & seascape.

"The configuration of the present, roughly semicircular island is the result of an enormous volcanic explosion which occurred probably around 1630 bce, literally blowing the top off the island and changing what had been a typical half-submerged mountain of an Aegean island into a flooded crescent caldera, in the middle of which a few small smoking islands still bear witness to volcanic activity." - wikitravel

taking a ride on the ATV(all-terrain vehicle). damn fun. if only we rented one for ourselves so i could totally try riding it up the hills!

San Giorgio Villa (very good hostel in Santorini with a extremely good & helpful host, George)

Streets of Fira- the stunning cliff-perched town of Santorini

Lunch with the whole gang at Naoussa(Lonely planet recommended reatsurant) in the Capital of Santorini, Fira

i have an obsession for white cats...i like the mysterious and slightly aloof nature of these feline creatures...aren't they the cutest? i know jess would definitely raise an objection to this, lol.

sitting on the edge, drinking mythos (addy's fave, lol....actually all beer/alcohols are Addy's fave)

Artificial windmills, wait till you see the ones at Mykonos!

What's the best thing about Santorini? Honestly...the doors!!!! *Gasp* I could barely breathe when i saw all the blue doors along the white cobblestoned streets, if i had my way, i'd dismantle one and bring it back home. How's that for a souvenir!

headed down to Kamari Beach(black pebbled beach) & Perissa Beach(black sand beach).

I liked Perissa Beach better because the sand was less coarse and as you can see, the wind was chilly and it was rather cold at the beach. which explains why i'm wearing a sweater at the beach. After visiting the beaches, it was time to head down to the lighthouse along the southern tip of Santorini to view the sunset.



Despite the blistering cold wind and cloudy sky, i thought the sunset at the lighthouse was the most memorable and captivating moment of the entire Santorini trip. There was a french couple cosying up on the cliffs, with a bag of olives and white wine, anticipating the moment of sunset. We managed to chat up with them and it was such a tranquil and peaceful moment. No wonder Santorini ranks among top wedding destinations for at least 4 years. It was such a romantic spot.

Heading back to Fira for our dinner, the restaurant people were a warm, friendly bunch!

20th May 2009

Guess what?! we got fined! 80 darn euro! but if we paid within 10days(i'm guessing, forgot the time limit), we would only hafta pay 40eur. -_-" all this just cause we parked along the cobbled streets of Fira. we had to make a detour down to the post office to pay the fine.

Wei Dian showing the finger after paying off the 40eur. lol. damn parking fine.

me at the crepe shop near San giorgio Villa, buying crepes for breakfast :)

went to visit Ancient Thira, where we climbed a crazy loada slopes up a mountainous area. which probably explains why i look dishevelled. 3 hours of climbing later and i had yet to reach the top. before i gave up and decided to just sit and laze around. lol.

we then took a 18eur tour to Nea Kameni volcano by a traditional ship. if i'm not wrong, the volcano is apparantly one of the top 10 most active volcanos currently existing. Volcanic rocks are black and the island was just stunning with its sulphuric rocks. it looked like a scene from Lord of the Rings or pirates of carribean.

The ship then headed down to the hot springs(Palia Kameni) for those who wanted to take a swim. The ship anchored offshore, in the midst of the sea, a distance away from the hot springs. Addy & Wei Dian then took the plunge. The currents were so strong and the water so cold, it was highly recommended that only strong swimmers should visit the hot springs. Jon tried but he panicked a bit while in the sea and was called back by the boatmen. Swimming in the sea is seriously no joke. the water was absolutely chilly.

We rode donkeys up from the Port of Fira to the town. It was literally a "shitty"ride, because the entire pathway was covered in donkey poo. gross. it would have been a nightmare walking up the path...thankfully being separated from the ground by about 1+m helps to nullify the smell.

took our car down to legendary Oia for some legendary sunset, except we didn't quite manage to reach Oia in time because our car was running low on petrol. and Oia had not a single petrol kiosk!




21st May 2009 - Final day in Santorini

Visited the Red Beach, why is it Red? because it's literally red...the cliffs were red. has to do with the volcanic contents of the rocks i think.



We love Greece!