After a quick Greek-style breakfast at our accommodation, we were packed and on the way to Athens airport. We decided to skip the train and took a taxi, as the train was only every half hour and we didn't want to miss our flight.
It was only a 30 minute hop by plane to Santorini (better than an 8 hour boat trip), but it then took us awhile to sort out (and find) our hire car. With Kerryn in the (left side) driver seat, it was our first go at international driving, and the 5km trip from the airport to the parking near our accommodation “only” took us 30 minutes as we tried to “acclimatise” to everything being back-to-front in the car and on the road! To her credit, Kerryn didn't succumb to Greek road-rage but was heard to mutter “what the frick-frack” more than once. That said, I was very glad that Kerryn was doing the driving as I was completely discombobulated and mildly terrified….
Our lovely hosts, Maria and Panayotis, met us in Fira and helped us haul our bags down the steep steps to our suite - an amazing and opulent "cave" set in the cliff side.
After walking with our hosts back into the village, via the not so steep route, and getting lots of tips and advice from them, we grabbed a few supplies from the supermarket then headed back to our suite to make a late lunch and take in the amazing views of the caldera from the patio at the front of our cave - breath-takingly beautiful!
The cliff face is lined with a maze of walkways and narrow alleys with villas, suites, restaurants, shops, churches and even an outdoor cinema. The locals just call it the caldera. So we went for a walk to explore, enjoying the spectacular views along the way and managing to find the Three Bells of Fira - one of the iconic sights of Santor
We sat on our patio with a glass of local Volkan beer (Andrew) and white wine (Kerryn) to watch the sunset over the caldera, but the wind had picked up and the cloud blew in just as the sun was dipping - oh well, can't have everything….
Our hosts recommended trying the fava bean (mashed broad beans), tomato balls and Santorini salad (cherry tomatoes, capsicum, cucumber, olives, capers and local feta) at at local restaurant, Naousa. While the service was slow, the food was amazing - we had their delicious moussaka as well.
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