Santorini - 24 - 26/10/2025

Kalispera Malakas - we's in SAN TOE REE KNEE!

The ferry from Naxos took two easy hours before we disembarked at Fira pier.

We'd been to Santorini 10 years ago, and I remembered the road from the pier to the town. We jumped on the coach, and then I closed my eyes as we went up the numerous switchbacks to the top of the island. A bus change, a 5-minute walk and we were on top of the island - literally - and looking at the first of a hundred staircases at Andromeda Villas.

A quick Mythos to settle the nerves, and we were ready for dinner in the cafe.

This was probably the poshest dinner that we ordered so far. A salad was accompanied by a stuffed chicken breast with pesto cream, a swipe of celeriac mash, saffron and burnt lemon. It was posh, it was small, it was delicious, and it filled me up for 15 minutes before I got some Ketchup flavoured Ruffles from the Mini-Mart!!

The next day we had a buffet breaky with an ancient, impatient Chinese tour group - many yells to the hosties of "Hurro Rady" - before we set out for our hike - and the reason that we had come here - the 10km Fira to Oia walk. Hurro Rady, ret's go!

What can I say about the hike? We prepared well with lots of water and snacks, comfy light clothes, good shoes, sunscreen, hats and a positive attitude. We took our time, stopped when we needed to and made the walk - about 15,000 steps - in 3 - 4 hours. We were pretty pleased with ourselves at the end and treated ourselves to 14 Euro Tanqueray G&Ts. 

We then spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Oia, meeting new exotic friends from the U.S., eating, drinking, window shopping and more walking. 

After a glorious sunset seen from one of the many sunset bars, the line-up for the last bus back to Fira was ridiculous, so we splurged on a taxi back to our resort - we even arranged for old mate to drive us to the airport in the morning.

By this time, our tummies were rumbling, and we went to a cool restaurant above our villa called Avocado. We shared marinated octopus, a chicken breast dish and golden rice. We finished with desert wine and then rolled into bed after a long, hot and sweaty, but rewarding 25,000-step day!

The next day, we had a buffet, bade the staff adieu, and old mate drove us to the airport, where we caught the 25-minute flight to Athens and then the 35-minute flight to Crete.

Santorini was brief, beautiful, and another bucket list item has been ticked off.

Yamas.