Morning again in Santorini. It was a wet one, with rain having fallen for most of the night. However, while it was overcast in the early morning there was a promising warmth in the air which had been absent for the last couple of days.
Would tonight be the night I would get to see my spectacular Santorini sunset?
Nick and I both lazed around a little this morning, feeling like we weren’t in too much of a rush to rise and shine. Those holiday feels are finally kicking in. Eventually we headed out for a late breakfast at To Briki where Phil had had his breakfast the previous morning.
We ordered breakfast, Nick choosing some pancakes smothered in a hazelnut praline and crushed biscuits while I chose eggs, bacon and asparagus for my meal. We were joined by JB and Phil who had already had breakfast and just came to share a coffee and share the news that their ferry would be proceeding as planned so they didn’t have to delay their plans to get home.
JB took some artful shots of our breakfast and once we were all done with the food and coffee, we headed back down to Phil’s rooms at Agali House to farewell Louise and Bethany and wish Phil and the group safe travels.
It had been really fun catching up with them while in another country and I was quite sad to see them go. If you read this one guys – thanks for putting up with Nick and I gate-crashing the last few days of your holiday! You were so welcoming and fun – we really appreciated it!
Left to our own devices, we headed back to Villa Tania where we checked out and then had to kill a couple of hours. We grabbed another coffee at Bloom Greek Deli Room and shamelessly used their free wifi for a while.
We then noticed that the weather had indeed fined up as promised, so headed outside and cheekily sat in the sun in the McDonald’s courtyard (and even more cheekily, also latched onto their free wifi). The McDonalds was shocking busy though so I don’t think anyone would have noticed our loitering. Nick tried to sneak in to use their bathroom but was thwarted by their sneaky door code system which ensured you would have to have a receipt to use the facilities.
Nick felt a bit peckish and so went and grabbed a gyros from a nearby place. I was happy enough to eat later after we had checked into the new hotel.
Soon enough, we had killed enough time and so wondered down to Villa Galatia which was actually very close to our original Fira hotel, Stella Apartments. We had almost come full circle!
Villa Galatia was a happy surprise to both of us for a last minute booking. The room is very private, accessible by a private stairwell and features a bright living area and double bed. Up an alarmingly steep flight of stairs outside our apartment is a rooftop Jacuzzi (though not a headed one unfortunately!) and the streetscape outside is mercifully quiet.
We relaxed for a while and then decided to get a (decidedly late) lunch for me as I was missing my daily gyros hit! Amazingly, Nick and I had managed to miss checking out the Fira main square for the entire trip up until this point. We headed there first for a bite to eat at Good Mood Food and then headed onwards to just explore and enjoy the first really warm weather day we have had so far in Santorini.
We admired the caldera (which is a large volcanic crater, this one was formed by a major eruption which has formed the island of Santorini) and wondered the cobbled streets rather aimlessly. Eventually we headed back to the hotel where Nick decided to take advantage of the warmth of the day and headed up to the rooftop to jump in the Jacuzzi.
I continued some blogging but it wasn’t long before Nick came back down to deliver some news. He had just been texted and advised that due to “inclement weather” the ferries would not be running tomorrow. Our holiday to the Greek Islands just became a holiday to one Greek Island. However, if you’re going to be stuck on an island during your holiday, there are definitely worse places than Santorini to be stranded.
However, we did have to devote some time in the afternoon to organising refunds and (once again) finding new accommodation in Fira. Thankfully we managed to find accommodation for our remaining two nights that would have been spent in Naxos before moving to Oia. All up, we will be spending six nights in Fira in five different hotels. Bit hilarious (but moving all our stuff up and down the many stairs and hills of Fira hasn’t been ha ha).
We decided to have a very easy dinner of savoury and sweet crepes at the place where we first had breakfast at Fira, Creme De La Crepe. Mine was a cheese, tomato and salami concoction while Nick was feeling more of a sweet craving and had a chocolate filled crepe instead. We wondered the main square for a while, enjoying the sultry weather and the bustle and comings and goings of other people having a good time. It was actually a somewhat romantic walk with soft street lighting and the low murmur of the activity around us.
We later retired to the hotel once again and packed up for the next day’s move. As we know we’ll be spending the next few days in Fira, we have made some loose plans to check out some local ruins and attractions in the time we have left here before moving on to Oia in the north.
Km’s walked: 10.9
Flights complete: 4/10
Tomorrow: Even MORE Fira!
Soars: Above the Clouds 