Mediterranean Blue

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     Off of the coast of Greece in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea sits the blissful island chain of Santorini. After 6 months of backpacking and roughing it around the world, we relaxed in the peaceful splendor of perfect weather, soothing sunshine, gorgeous sunsets, and friendly people.

      As usual, we had a blast traveling to the island. We left India at 5 in the morning, flew to London, waited at the airport for 8 hours, flew to Greece arriving at 2 am, took a 1 hour bus ride to the ferry stand, waited until 7 am for the ferry, took an 8 hour ferry ride, got a 1 hour bus ride, and just like that we arrived! 

      We stayed in the town of Perissa, and our hotel was steps away from a quiet black sand beach and a selection of incredible restaurants serving Greek and European foods. We explored by foot on our first day, getting our first glimpse of the famous whitewash with blue roofs that typified how we imagined Grecian architecture. To see in person the contrast of the white buildings against the pure blue sky was striking and refreshing. A tropical fruit cocktail overlooking the sands was the perfect end to our first day of island life.

      The peaceful and walkable town of Perissa was a great base to set off for other areas of the island. We opted to splurge for our final days of travel and, in lieu of the public bus, chose to rent a vehicle to scoot around the island on our own. We perused a few bike rental agencies to get prices and were given fair warning that ATV’s were “for old people”. Excited to be able to explore the nooks and crannies of the island we found a place who would rent ATV’s to “young people” and hopped on board. As you can well imagine, the salesperson was quick to tell us after we had signed our papers, that although it was an ATV, it shouldn’t be driven off the main roads – oh well!

      Not far from Perissa’s black sand beaches are the red sand and white sand beaches of the island. The interesting colors of the beaches come from chemical makeup of the underlying volcanic rock. The beaches don’t see big waves so the erosion of the rocks is minimal and the “sands” are small pebbles rather than fine grains.  Another interesting thing we found out: the black and red sand beaches heat up so much in the sun that there is straw on the beach to make it safe to walk on – very strange! 

      An hour’s drive away we reached the town of Oia famed for beautiful sunsets, and stunning views of classic Greek homes. The town is set on the very peak of a hill with a switchback walkway that leads down to a nearby harbor. It was beautiful to explore and take photographs of, but unfortunately was also packed with touristy shops and expensive restaurants. A favorite spot for artists, we saw many painters and beautiful galleries filled with their interpretations.  The area is breathtaking and inspires with ease. Mesmerized by the beauty of the area, we found a balcony with a view and toasted with Santorini Wine as we watched the sun go down.

      Every inch of land on Santorini that is not occupied by buildings seems to be used for growing grapes. Only here they are not grown in rows hanging from wires. Because of the intense summer sun and strong winds, farmers weave the grape vines into a low lying basket where the grapes can grow protected from the elements.  We weren’t sure what they were at first because they look nothing like the sprawling vineyards of New Zealand! 

      During a drive back to our hotel one day we stopped off at a pottery studio. Finding the owner and apprentices in the middle of an early dinner, we were invited to sample some local wine and food and stayed to talk with them for awhile. They were jolly folk having had a few glasses of their local wine, and debated where the best places on the island were for sunset watching. Armed with their insider knowledge, we headed over to Santos Winery the following night for a sunset and wine tasting. The view from the winery was stunning. We were sitting on an outside balcony atop a cliff, a 1000 feet above the Mediterranean. As we sat overlooking the harbor below, a mist blew over the lush green cliffs nearby, and clouded the sun and water below. We remained there for a few moments with our head in the clouds, an apt moment to capture the trip I suppose! 

      And so of course, what goes up must come down, all good things come to an end, and so on. We had an incredible time enjoying the food, sights, and characters of Santorini but after just 5 days our time was at an end and we had to depart. The ending was more bittersweet than the other partings of our trip since we weren’t headed to the next step of our World Trip, but were headed back and to the next step of our life in the U.S. With mixed emotions, we packed our packs for the last time and headed out the door.

      As we write this entry we are sitting back in Orlando Florida and plotting our next move. After all the months of dreaming and pre-planning, and the subsequent months of traveling, is it really over? We have spent the week unpacking and decompressing, and are caught in limbo for a few months due to an upcoming wedding in Spain. In a way, this is a good thing, since we will be easing back into life in the good ol’ US of A and not rashly jumping into anything. 

      What a trip this has been for us, and somehow we have survived it intact and with some better insights into each other and the world. Thanks to everyone who followed the journey with us, it has meant so much to each of us to feel connected to friends and family while we have been away. We hope to see you all soon!