Mama Oía!

Hello from Santorini!!

This morning, Ray and I checked out of our hotel in Athens and caught the 4:30 AM (yes, AM) bus to the airport for our 7 AM scheduled flight to Santorini. We got through security pretty quickly and picked up a light breakfast upon arrival. When we got to the gate, people were lined up to measure their bags for both cabin size and weight. As we thought it was a requirement, we decided to wait in line. Unfortunately both Ray and I had to check our bags, but because mine was overweight I had to pay to gate check… Our 7 AM departed at 7:50 (past the scheduled arrival time in Santorini) and was a quick and easy jaunt across the Med. It was really neat to fly over the island and towards the mountains!

Upon arrival, we grabbed our bags and caught the bus to Fira from the airport. Our room wasn’t ready yet at the hotel but they gave us some coffee and a place to store our bags while we waited. 

We decided to explore Fira, passing some really fantastic viewpoints along the way. We couldn’t stop taking photos! We stopped at Crème de la Crepe for a sweet crepe (banana and chocolate) and a savory crepe (spicy feta cream cheese, mushrooms, tomato, ham, cheese, and peppers).

We went back to the hotel and along the way got stopped by a shop owner to try some local wine, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil lotion. We may go back and purchase some! Then we spent some time by the pool for a bit.

After lounging for a while, we caught the 4:30 bus to Oia. It was crowded and we were lucky to make it on! We found several beautiful spots around the city, including stopping at “Instagram Central” to get the iconic Santorini photo with the blue domes, only to realize we could have probably gotten the same or a really similar photo close by. Still worth the wait! 

We then took the Oia steps down to Ammoudi Bay at Ammoudi Fish Tavern. They were a bit slippery and I may have lost my balance at least once… We passed by a fleet of donkeys on the way down and got some really nice views looking back at Oia. For dinner we got grilled octopus, red snapper, local white wine, and bread. The food was pretty good but the views were better! We enjoyed boat watching, noting at least 15 different catamarans that passed through the bay and two matching yacht tenders. It was spectacular!

After dinner we made the trek back up the 300 steps to Oia and enjoyed a few moments of golden and blue hour.

We caught the 9:20 bus back after an exciting and busy day on Santorini! We are so excited for the next couple days here!

Amy