In this article I will be sharing with you my special relationship with this wonderful island. I have visited Santorini three times, everyone of which makes for a different story to tell. In my first visit I didn’t really have any tasting experience, it was a lot of fun though and was of great tourist interest.
Quite a few years ago, when I had just turned 19, there was some of the money my parents gave me for summer left, after my vacation to Paros island, so I decided together with my friend group, to take a day trip to Ios and Santorini. Different ages, different times. We took the ship to Santorini early in the morning. We arrived at the now “Old Port”, which fortunately had shade. Hence we decided to lay on the small beach next to the port, using our backpacks as a pillow and our towels to sit on. We were in a deifnate need of a nice breezy nap, as we didn’t manage to have any sleep in Ios. A couple of hours later, we boarded the bus and headed to Fira, the capital of the island. There, we booked a tour to “Nea kameni”, the volcano and hot springs of the island. Our allowance was pretty specific and we also had to calculate our food, transport, heading back to Paros island and even water expenses. That’s why we decided to go back to the port by feet (which would of cource be free!), where the little boat would be waiting for the tour. The view was truly breathtaking! The smell from the pour donkeys though, that you meet on your way down and are also used as an alternative solution for you to head back to the port, wouldn’t allow us to truly enjoy the dream we were living. After 30 minutes of walking, we arrived at the port and sat down to refresh ourselves, ordering a juice. The sandwiches we brought with us, and our only meal for the day, would be enjoyed when returning.
10 minutes after boarding the boat, we reached “Nea Kameni”, at Eirinia. We only had a few time we walk down the path on the volcano island and enjoy the scenery. While walking I noticed crystal and sulfur elements on the ground, which I found extremely impressive. At ceratin moments you could see smoke coming from the ground and it truly fet=lt like we were on the moon. Not that I’ve ever traveled there but just guessing. Unfortunatelly we didn’t make it to the craters, inspite the rest of the group did, cause I’m kind of fearful too. What I had seen so far was enough for me, so I decided to head back to the boat.
Little did we know soon there would be a surprise waiting for us. As we were visiting “Palia Kameni” we swam in the warm full of sulfur water, played in the water and got to truly enjoy volcano mud. The water there was of 30C degrees temperature! That was our last stop with the boat.
Once we were back at the port, we ate our delicious sandwiches, since we were starving after so many hours in the heat. It was time for us to go back to Fira with the donkeys this time. I had just managed to ride it when the owner gave the command and our journey back to the capital had started. The steps leading to Fira are made out of rocks, meaning they are not even at all. The pour donkeys, were losing their balance on the slippery rocks and every now and then I felt like I would fall. And as we were moving forward climbing even higher on the island and with my donkey walking on the edge, I just completely stopped looking down. As you understand most of the people couldn’t stop laughing at my reactions and that’s definitely a story we all remember. Thankfully I didn’t fall and it truly felt like I managed to escape death. In order to go back to Paros where we would spend the night, we had to again take the bus and ship. If you asked me, I would definitely do it again, just because such experiences are the ones making our lives fun and us wise. The second time I visited Santorini, adventure knocked my door again keeping me on my toes. The third time though was a true charm.
