We were up at 7:30am to prepare for our hike from Fira to Oia. At 8am we grabbed breakfast at the hotel's "breakfast room" which just so happens to be located right beside our room. Breakfast surprised us as Jeff had read some crummy reviews; it had a ton of stuff!! Pre-made omelets, french toast, something deep fried that Jeff said tasted like stuffing, cereal, yogurt, toast, pastries, hot dog weiners, bacon...plus juice, coffee, cappuncino. There was no shortage of options to fill our bellies. We didn't have too much though as we were heading right out for our hike.
We left the hotel about 8:30am and made our way to the path that would take us to Oia. The hike took 3 hours and we were sweaty messes, despite being in the shade for the first half. We traversed up, down and around towns, and HUGE hills (mountains?) following the ocean. For a good portion of the hike we could see the ocean on either side of us (either side of the island as it was really narrow). The path changed often, from gravol, to large rocs, to cobble stone, to charcoal brick looking pieces... It made the hike really tough at times as we had to watch each step we took! A few times I slid and it was a little scary - especially when out in the middle of the mountains and with bad knees and ankles!! Let me tell you, it sucked to climb up - I mean climbing up endlessly. It was gruelling at times leaving us out of breath. We took water and picture breaks to keep us going. I was feeling overheated and had a headache - not a good sign. The saving grace was the view - STUNNING!! If it weren't for it, I probably would have just sat down and refused to move, lol. It was especially hard seeing how far the town was and the two mountains in between! Climbing up hurt my lungs and calves and climbing down was rough on the knees and ankles. We made it though and aree glad we did it.
At about 11:30am we made it to Oia. It was hot there and very touristy. We became sick of the crowds almost immediately. We didn't want to shop so we stopped for gelato; Jeff had pistachio flavour (his favourite) and I had coconut and lemon (light, refreshing and delicious!). We were so dirty from our hike (all the dirt and dust) that my legs were nearly black! I felt gross - sweaty, dirty and hot. We looked around town a bit but soon took a bus back to Fira. Once there, we each grabbed a chicken gyro to go and went back to the hotel; It was about 2pm at that point.
I showered off the dirt and then we headed to the hotel pool. Jeff went in a number of times but I stayed in the shade and read my book. It was nice to relax and stay out of the sun. We noticed a couple of skinny kitties wandering around the pool and they came to see us. One even jumped up next to me on my beach chair to cuddle! He nearly fell asleep! It made us think of our own furbaby, Clyde, who is getting spoiled at Jeff's parents.
We headed to town around 6:20pm and sat on a bench to wait to watch the sunset (7:30pm). We sat next to a fellow Canadian and chatted with her for some time. She immigrated to Canada from China as a teenager in the 90s with her parents. She had an interesting story to tell.
We watched the sunset and although it may be slightly better in Oia, we've opted to enjoy it from Fira only; we just can't fathom the chaos of tourists in the area and then filling packed buses afterwards. The view we've had the last two nights has been lovely.
After the sunset we went for dinner at "Momma's House" as recommended by our guidebook. The service was excellent and the food was delicious; we shared bread that came with a feta garlic spread, Jeff had moussaka again and I had an eggplant dish (eggplant "nest" stuffed with goat cheese, green peppers, sun dried tomatoes, beef).
After dinner we thought we'd try an experience that we came across the other day - a fish eating foot place, lol. This is a place where you put your feet and about half your bottom leg into an individual tank filled with mini fish that lick your dead skin off and leave an enzyme that betters it. It was wild!! lol. Jeff told me he always thought it would be neat to try (as seen on TV) so we decided to give it a go. There were two other couples in the shop who encouraged us as well. Jeff did it for 15 minutes and I did for 30. They start with cleaning your feet before putting them in the tank. When your feet go in, the fish swarm immediately. It's quite the sensation! Jeff said it was "tickly" where I thought it felt like a dozen or more small vibrations - not at all painful. It was quite the sight to watch! We had a good laugh and our feet came out softer.
We then checked out the bus station schedule because we plan to hit up a beach tomorrow.
Side note - I've been getting many compliments on my Greek! I think the locals appreciate the effort and some have said I'm doing really well - some even have asked if I was Greek!
It's now 10pm and we're pretty beat.
Tomorrow is our last day in Santorini; we hope to see a cool beach.
Until then,
Adio.
Amanda and Jeff xoxo
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