Santorini: Day 1

We got up at 6:45 this morning and had our last breakfast at Hotel Ideon. Sarah and I realized that we had no means of getting our suitcases back down the three flights of stairs now that they each weighed five lbs. heavier. The front desk claimed it was too early so they couldn’t send anyone to help. In the end, Katula and his son were very nice and successfully delivered our luggage to the bus.

We drove an hour to the port at Heraklion and immediately boarded our hydrofoil – “FlyingCat”. It was nothing like I had imagined. The inside looked very similar to that of an airplane, with rows and aisles of assigned seats, and big TVs on the front wall. It was even stranger once we started to move; kind of like an indoor jet-ski gliding across the waves. I loved it, felt like I was being rocked to sleep the entire two hours. It was so cool when a huge wave would splash up against the window. A lot of other people have motion sickness or felt dizzy. Apparently lots (not in our group) were throwing up. Personally I can’t wait for our next ride to Athens because I hear it’s four hours!

We pulled into the port and I was just in awe of Santorini. There are some tavernas, rental places, and lots of tourist traps down there, but nothing else because the towns are up on top of the cliffs. We immediately boarded a bus that drove us to our hotel in Thira – only a five minute walk to the center of town. Sarah and I must have finally earned our hotel karma, because we were put in the honeymoon suite! We don’t even mind that we have to share a bed. It’s a big room and the bed has one of those canopy drapes hanging above, then a hallway with a small eating area that leads to the bathroom. And we have a huge balcony overlooking parts of Thira. It’s awesome!

So we checked-in, got settled, then walked into town for lunch. I wasn’t too hungry because I’d eaten a PB&J on the hydrofoil, so just had some tzatziki and bread. Man, it is so expensive here! A Greek salad was 7 euro, when it’s been 4 everywhere else. Next we met our one-day tour guide at the Thira archeological museum, which has artifacts from the ancient Minoan civilization that is believed to have been devastated by the historic earthquake in the 1600s. Santorini is widely known for being located on a crater. One of the islands is an active volcano that we will visit tomorrow.

This guy has become our favorite tour guide, and of course he was only with us for an hour. He was funny and explained how everything originated in Santorini. Make-up did not come from Paris; it came from Santorini because there are frescoes depicting women wearing blush a full 1,000 years before anything in France. And a wood-burning grill was found in the ruins, suggesting the Greeks invented pizza; not the Italians. He was totally full of it, but it was entertaining anyways.

Then we walked up to the top of the town and shopped around a bit. I didn’t buy anything, just enjoyed the amazing views. All of these tavernas and hotels are built right into the side of the descending cliff overlooking the Mediterranean. It’s unbelievable. And we haven’t even seen Oia – the part of Santorini that you see in the movies, like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. And, even though I’ve associated Mamma Mia! with Santorini, it wasn’t actually shot on this island, but one further north. I’m so excited for Oia; we go there on Saturday for dinner and to watch the sunset.

It’s funny because I think I had a false impression of Santorini. I guess just from watching the films, I had an idea in my head of what it would be like. It’s depicted as this tiny, quiet island tucked away in Greece, when really it’s pretty big with multiple islands and villages, and crawling with tourists. I’ve seen more Americans here today than I have combined over the past month.

So we bopped around for a bit. I got some more cash from the ATM, ate some delicious chocolate banana gelato, went to the grocery for fruit and sandwich supplies for the week. Sarah and I had been planning to just grab gyros to save some money and because we hadn’t had them in awhile. But around 7:30 there was this fabulous idea that the group should go have Chinese food. I really didn’t want to go but at the same time didn’t want to eat alone, so of course I caved, knowing it was a really bad idea. It was such a tourist-y thing to do: Eat Chinese food in Greece.

Most of the group went, and Katula led us to this gaudy, decked out Chinese place. It was pretty expensive, everything a la carte, with very small portions. The sweet and sour chicken wasn’t bad, but there wasn’t much chicken in it. I was pretty pissed that I spent 7 euro when I could have gotten a gyro or 2, or even a Greek salad. Oh well. It was an experience.

After dinner, we came back to the hotel to have some of our own drinks before going out. I was sort of in a funky mood. At this point, we have been around each other almost an entire month and there are quirks people have that drive me a little crazy. I was just very irritated by everything so wasn’t going to go out. But at the last minute, one of the girls said she met a guy who got us a deal at one of the hot clubs. I decided I’d go to check it out, but I wasn’t drinking.

We got in a place called Koo Club without having to pay the 10 euro cover, and all 21 of us sat at a reserved booth. But what we didn’t exactly calculate was the fact that we were required to do bottle service. So the end result was 2 small bottles of vodka, chasers, and water for 200 euro. That’s right … 200! I only paid a few euro because I didn’t have any alcohol, but what a rip off! For 14 euro you could just have a whole bottle to yourself.

Next we went to a bar called The Highlander, which had dancing. I was totally sober but managed to pull out a few moves. I didn’t enjoy it because it was so American – American music and people. Just not very fun; we can do that at home. I’d rather find the more authentic places. But some of these people were crazy. At one point a guy stripped down to his underwear and was dancing on the bar. The bouncers jumped on him and threw him out within seconds.

About 3:00 AM, four of us decided to head home. I would have left long before but didn’t want to make the walk alone. We stopped at a gyro take out stand on the way. I didn’t have any but it looked like some tasty drunk food. I’m definitely getting a gyro for dinner tomorrow night.

There was some drama going on, so we didn’t get to sleep until after 4:30. Argh. I mean, wake up call wasn’t until 9:15, but less than five hours just doesn’t cut it for me.