Santorini - Day 5

  Perissa beach, Santorini, Greece
Wednesday, May 23, 2007

On our last day on Santorini, we decide to just kick back and relax on the beach. We retained the car for one more day so we could lug the various accoutrements of the kiddos back and forth. By the time we left the hotel, after an upma breakfast, it was close to 11 am. M, C and R went straight to the beach while we strolled out to the department store for some essential kiddy supplies, along with little A and litter a. We stopped off at a bakery next to the 'Big supermarket', as it advertises itself all over Perissa and got some Greek style doughnuts. A and C had picked up some baklava from this place the previous day but they had been so large (each one the size of a fist, I kid you not) and so oozy with honey that we had all felt shy of actually attempting to bite into one. The doughnuts were nice, not too sweet and we happily munched on our walk down to the beach.
 
M and C had picked a nice spot and we all enjoyed looking out at the sea and the fresh breeze which refreshed the warm day. The weather was becoming more and more perfect for a beach vacation as our departure neared. We decided to try a different restaurant for lunch, since we'd practically eaten our way through Volcano's entire vegetarian menu. The food was ok but still not as good as old V. Back to our hotel for a long snooze in the hot afternoon.
 
At five, we headed beachwards again, having planned to get back early and finish packing. En route, I remembered little A's request for a horse ride and we spotted a place that offered horse riding. We pulled into the stableyard and A and I got out to explain what we wanted. We figured little A may not be ready for a full hour's ride since it was going to be his first time on a horse. The owner kindly agreed to let him mount up and trot around the stable yard for as long as he wanted.

The look on little A's face was priceless. The most amazing blend of fear, pride, delight and sheer joy...

Funnily enough, the horses decided that our car was a different type of quadruped and one of them stuck his face right in through the window, scaring poor R. M and C were kept busy between clicking pictures and rolling up the windows as fast as they could.

Swinging away

After the horse ride, it was back to beach for some R&R - little A headed for the swings and slides, followed by his dad while I found a convenient hammock and enjoyed the view of the sunset and the sea, the mild breeze and the hushed sounds of the sea settling down for the night. Littler A was digging away in the sand, and the world had stopped spinning for one evening.

One last stop at the Volcano

The volcano

for snacks (which were heavy enough to qualify as a meal). The owners recognised us by now and the service and food were as terrific as ever. One of the things we loved about this restaurant was that the owners surprised you at the end of each meal by offering a treat for free - once it was chocolates, another time it was some small greek dessert. Tonight, to wind up a lovely week's holiday, they gave us dessert wine...

Sunset