Island Paradise
Trip Start
Apr 01, 2008
1
44
59
Trip End
Oct 05, 2008
Santorini,
Cyclades,
Greece
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Santorini is a unique island because it has been create by volcanic eruptions. It is known for cliff-top towns of whitewashed buildings and being incredibly beautiful. I still had my tent from Pukkelpop, which allowed me to stay in the campgrounds; this was very good because accommodation in Santorini is very expensive.
For the rest of the afternoon on my first day I lounged next to the pool and enjoyed the sunshine. I met a group of guys from Australia that night who had been travelling around Europe with a van tour which had more than 50 vans and 200 people on it! I think this would be a fun way to travel, but I think I am learning more and having more of an adventure going it on my own.
The next day I went on a boat trip which took me to the volcano island in the ocean which is responsible for creating Santorini. Hiked to the top of that which gave some fantastic views of Santorini's cliff caldera (the rim of the volcano). Afterwards the boat took me to the hot springs, where I took a mudbath and had a mudfight with some new friends. Next, we went to another small island where I rode a donkey to the top of the mountain to a restaurant with fantastic views and a jolly, little, greek owner.
That evening I met a group of young, greek guys at the campsite. They were very excited to meet someone from California because they were obsessed with our movies. For several hours they requested me to teach them California slang and say things like "thats awesome dude" which they found truly hilarious.
The next day I rented a quad bike to explore the island with two Italian girls. We visited the monastery which was perched on the highest point of Santorini from which we had fantastic views of the island and surrounding area. Next we stopped at a local vineyard and did some free wine-tasting. Afterwards we went to visit several beaches. Spent that evening meeting more people and relaxing at the campsite.
The next day I still had my quad bike so I went to do some more exploring with a German couple I had met the previous day. We went to several beaches including a very famous red sand beach on the southern tip of the island. That night I went out with the two Italian girls from the previous day and danced until 7 in the am. Woke up 2 hours later to catch my ferry to my next greek island destination: Ios. Unfortunately the bus to the port was already full, taxis expensive, so I decided to try to catch a ride from another person. I was lucky to meet this great, old Greek man who gave me a ride all the way the to the port for free!
