Vip Suites Oia

... was getting squashed! Just near there is the Red Beach. This is an impressive location, with towering red cliffs hanging over a beach of black sand and pebbles. We had a bit of a look around and then headed off for our next destination.

I saw a sign saying lighthouse. Ever a sucker for a lighthouse I turned the car in that direction. We came to the far end of the island, yet another location with stupendous views. Although the lighthouse itself is not accessible you ...

... the time we made it to Oia. Sadly, Oia was virtually shut down. It was a shame to see what is clearly a beautiful village present itself as a virtual ghost town. We eventually found one place where we could eat and we relaxed with a wine to distract us from the pain our feet were feeling. Unfortunately the famed sunset did not happen due to some low lying cloud. We’ll try again another day...

The next bus back to Fira was nearly an hour away so we called a taxi to take us home.

... stop at 5 in the morning. It was pretty sketchy, but we made our way to Piraeus, the port. From there we took a ferry to Santorini at 7:30am and we got here at 3:30pm. Lets just say we felt bad for the guy who picked us up at the port to drive us to our hotel cause we didn't smell the best. =P

Yesterday was our first full day here, and we rented quad bikes for the 3 days that we're here cause its the best way to get around the island. We went snorkeling and checked ...

... coming ashore from the tender boats, we had to make our way to the rim of the caldera. We could do this one of three ways: walk, ride a donkey, or take a cable car. Walking looked to be pretty strenuous, riding the donkey looked to be pretty messy and riding the cable car terrified Joe. We rode the cable car and Joe just held his breath. This was one of the excursions that we spent with our new friends ...

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We were too tired to climb up the journey, so we took the cable car instead.


















These are some of the fine art works on displayed. I was tempted to try to put on the life size Leonidas helmet :p








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Best part, lunch ...

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We had our dinner onboard the boat. The dinner wasn't that good. It's buffet style, with no tables, and drinks are extra... But the sunset view are magnificent! The sun slowly disappear into horizon, and the colour of the sky slowly change from blue to yellow, to total darkness, till the only light you see are the lights from the caldera.

... thought we could save a little by renting a scooter. So, to make sure I still know how to ride a bike, I gave it a try. I let Ai Ling wait, while I ride for a short distance. It's kinda uncontrollable for me, scary scary. A couple saw the way I ride, and told Ai Ling they don't think it's safe, doh! Ok ok... I must admit I myself don't feel confident of riding around ...

... to ride we took a bus to Oia to watch the sunset. Apparently Oia has one of the best sunsets in the world. It's about 12 km from Fira and is a very pretty little town with white washed houses with blue doors and shutters and is made up of very small winding pathways. The sunset was nice but it was a little cloudy so the sun disappeared behind low clouds before it reached the water. The next morning we caught the 7:oo am ferry to Ios.

... repeated what he'd just said, followed by 'good morning' in english. He had to do it a few times before I caught on (it was early!) but I eventually got it. I was on the ferry until three in the afternoon. Somehow I'd miscalculated and thought it was a four hour trip, rather than the eight hours it actually was. There are few things less pleasing than the realization that you have to spend twice as long as you thought in a stale ferry with loud greek talk shows playing on the overhead ...

... hazy and the dome had been re-painted. Our challenge to find this church was done and we were ready to take a break. We headed back to our room, had drinks, and chatted with Lisa and Simon. For dinner, we dined at Nikolas, a very good restaurant and very inexpensive. There are no menus, but a large blackboard at the back of the room listing their limited, but delicious, menu. The place was filled of lots of hungry diners. We'd ...