Well, after three days in Athens and five days on the island
of Santorini, I will be the first to admit I am burnt to a crisp, should never
attempted to tan in a bikini on a black sand beach ever again and I do hope I
remember this lesson next time I am offended at being called ‘pasty’.
Athens was awesome (apart from our hostel!) We explored all
the cliché stuff – Parthenon, acropolis, temples, theatres, original Olympic
Stadium, Temple of Zeus, and Hadrian’s Arch. All of them were just spectacular.
Interesting they chose to do up the Olympic stadium by reflooring it with what
looked like black rubber (similar to a kid’s playground). They obviously
weren’t going for the ‘traditional’ and ‘original’ look. While it was hugely
touristy, they are obviously the main attraction of the city. They were equally
spectacular and I can now tick them off the Bucket List! We also trekked to the
top of Lykavittos Hill for the best view of the city – we were not
disappointed. From the top was a beautiful 360 view of endless white rooves
dotted with historical buildings and the odd patch of greenery. It really did
take my breath away. I didn’t realise the city was so big. Do not worry, we
took lots of photos! There were guards, similar to those outside Buck Palace,
out the front of the Greek House of Parliament. Like in London, they also had a
change of the guard ceremony. We managed to find time our busy schedule to
check it out and it was bizarre. It took about ten minutes for two guards to be
officially replaced. Between lots of stalking like birds, reminding me of a
Chinese man about to take a karate kick, scuffing of shoes, what looked like
yoga poses and the occasional bumping together feet, they were inspected for
both uniform and weaponry by a military officer.
Our hostel in Athens was 8 euro a night and we got what we
paid for... a dark, musty, cold room down an alleyway where we had to pay 50c
for a luke warm shower and a huge 4 euro for use of the washing machine! A guy
not too much older than us managed it, and while he tried to be friendly and
crack a few jokes, this mainly resulted in him insulting the three of us and
numerous periods of awkward silence.
Anyway, we then caught an eight-hour ferry to the island of
Santorini. Being a musical fan, I expected to be exactly like the set of Mamma
Mia! Initially I was disappointed, as there was no sign of beaches or weddings
or donkeys or people bursting through window shutters in song. However, it
didn’t take me long to find the Donkey Station nestled among the hundreds of
white houses built into the cliff face! Just around the corner from there was
one of the dozens of little blue domed chapels. There were even lots of girls
in pretty white dresses. The sun was shining, I was on a Greek island with my
friends and the showers were free and toasty warm - I was in heaven.
The next day it rained – hahaha! That did not dampen our
holiday spirit though and we booked a boat trip out to the volcanic island
called Nea Kameni and the hot springs on Palea Kameni. Something that did
dampen my spirits a wee bit was the half hour trek down the cliff face to get
to the dock. (Travelling on a budget was a bit lame sometimes – we were forced
to turn down the 5-euro donkey ride!) We finally got to the island and had an
extremely blustery 3km, one hour self guided walk across a non-volcano looking
island covered in loose gravel, which turned out to be unique volcanic rock.
This fun fact did not cheer up Emily in the slightest. The only thing keeping
us going was the thought of the hot springs! As we approached Palea Kameni, the
engine stopped and the anchor dropped… this was about 70m off shore. Our guide
explained to us that if we wanted to swim in the hot springs, they were
perfectly safe, but it was 10m deep so she advised us not to swim if we were
tired or suffered from a heart condition. I was slightly confused. Then, the
penny dropped. We had to jump into the Aegean Sea and swim ashore to the hot
springs because there was nowhere for the boat to tie up. The lovely lady told
us the water was about 15 degrees – think Lake Wakatipu in summer. Being the
only Kiwis on board and not about to destroy the hardy reputation of the
nation, we took the plunge with the motto “You only gap once!” As I was about
to jump off the boat, the guide told me I had to start swimming as soon as I
hit the water. When I questioned this, she just smiled and said I would find
out for myself. I was quick to start swimming once in the water, and a few
colourful words had slipped out, as we didn’t want to be at risk of
hypothermia!! The hot springs weren’t even hot and I nearly drowned on the swim
back to the boat (like the Asian couple who required life rings) – but hey, I
have swam in the Aegean Sea among the Greek islands which is more can be said
for the twenty people on the boat who still haven’t!
The next day was a stunningly sunny day. We thought we’d hit
up the beach via the traditional Greek village of Pyrgos. It was super cute,
but very similar to a labyrinth – everything was white and blue with the
buildings all being separated by little alleyways. This was living proof that
the donkeys and scooters weren’t just for show. There was one pack-donkey tied
to a house heavily laden with goods. He was only up to my elbow in height, but
had the roundest tummy I had ever seen. Being good tourists, we all had a photo
taken with the little mite! It was time to venture on to the beach, so went up
to the bus stop, thinking it wouldn’t be long. Sure enough it wasn’t long
before a bus came up the road. As it approached, it became evident that he was
not slowing down to pick us up. Another went past and did the same thing, so we
moved to a different stop. This happened again, but this time the driver made a
doubling back signal… only he didn’t come back. A third went past and had no
idea what we wanted so did about a twelve point turn at the end of the road to
come back and ask where we wanted to go. It was such a hassle, especially with
the constant glares, once-overs and horn tooting from male passers-by. It was
worth it though – the beach was lush… beautiful black sand surrounded by huge
white cliffs and turquoise water lapping onto the shore. Hello Lobster Steph!!
Luckily for me, mine was not immediately obvious – unlike poor Jem. She had
turned a lovely shade of beetroot as we waited for the bus to take us back to
our hostel. As we waited, I serenaded her to the tune of ‘Hey There, Delilah’ …
“Hey there Jemima, what’s it like it
sunburn city? I’m a whole six feet away but I can still feel the heat from your
thighs… And also your tum.” It was
very witty on my behalf. Even Jem laughed through the pain.
The holiday would not have been nearly as delightful without
our hostel manager on Santorini. Mrs Poppy took extremely good care of the three
of us. She always making sure we were organised for transport, taking us
herself if she could. She would ask us to sit and wait for the bus inside while
she “had something to off you.” This normally turned out to be homemade slice
or a plate of noodles – the most decent food we had. On departure she called
our hostel in Athens to tell them our ferry was running late before she sent us
on our way with a bottle of Santorini red wine in our wee hands. Seriously, if
anyone is thinking of going to Santorini, give Villa Manos a look. She even
made our beds for us!
We spent a lot of time eating, drinking, shopping and
chilling. It was the perfect ay to spend a week off work, but I am looking
forward to going back. Routine and variation in diet will do me good.
Seriously, there is only so much nutella on bread that a girl can eat!!
The best things: chicken pita and a beer for 4 euro, Mrs
Poppy, the sun and being able to wear shorts and Yogolicious.
Things to remember: budget more strictly, no that skirt is not
necessary and do not forget your camera.
Things I found odd: the only black people I saw were men and
they were only ever trying to fob off shitty quality fakes of hand bags and
glasses, no single storied buildings, most tourists were Asian or American,
there was a guy with a ferret on a leash and everyone was a European
doppelganger… Fergus Scott and Jono Gale included.
Things to avoid next time: booking a hostel for six rather
than three and paying 2x the price, 10hr stopovers on both the to and from
journeys, sitting next to couples on the plane who enjoy to canoodle and
sunburn!!
Rome is next on the last – I have never been so excited to
see my parents in my life!!
