Santorini Beaches & Wine With the Cooks

Boarding the ferries in Greece is crazy, there isn't much organization. 

They just keep everyone back till the boat is almost tied to the dock and eventually the sea of oncoming people collides with the stream of passengers and vehicles exiting the vessel. Somewhere along the way we showed our ticket and were directed to a concierge that provided our key, and showed us to cabin #157. It was much nicer than we had expected, on the front corner with windows facing fore and port, we immediately discovered even the shower was awesome and washed Athens off of our weary bodies.

I hadn't traveled like this, my bag was not my backpack, we were both rolling luggage and checking in as tourists before doing anything else. Of course I still perceived everything as a backpacker, so I was curious how all the backpacks with sleeping pads that boarded the ferry with us were spending their night. When we explored our floating hotel I realized it was really more of a floating Hostel, the backpackers had rolled out their sleep systems in the hallways, under stairways, pretty much everywhere hoping for a night in AC. These ferries had only topside outdoor amenities and focused on accommodating indoors, very cool that they encourage this type of passenger, they paid about a third what we did for a ticket. (I was still pretty happy about that shower.) We familiarized ourselves with the ship's layout and made our way back to the cabin, it was time for a little sleep.

According to the intercom, the boat had docked briefly in Milos and we were departing again. The color streaming through our thin curtains was enough to roust us out of bed, and onto the deck. We took pictures of the rising sun and our approach to "Thira" (the ancient volcano now known as Santorini, the Jewel of the Mediterranean) - the views were amazing and knowing we would be above these bright red cliffs most of our stay we milked our vantage for the maybe once in a lifetime brilliance. Our ship motored into the huge crescent that is the Santorini group of isles, between the northern tip of the main island, and Thirasia, one of the smaller members. The white buildings of Oia seemed surreal perched on the cliffs reflecting the early golden light. We continued to experiment with our camera snapping shots in every direction as we trolled past the center of the caldera, it's hot springs and steam vents evidence that this only erupted 3500 years ago.

Eventually we made our way back below deck for some tea and packing, it was time to vacate our quarters and make our way through the disembarkation chaos onto our home for the next three nights. We rolled our bags down the gangway and I immediately knew what I wanted to do for transportation: Scooter! This island had mass transit but not frequent enough, for 15 Euro/day I could have my own wheels, Budget Backpacker Jason had departed with the ferry! It was time for some practical fun, our only challenge was getting our luggage up the steep hill, into the main town and delivered to our Villas. Rena's Villas to be precise, we obtained an island map from our rental agent and found a cafe for my baby to wait - our plan: she would enjoy a coffee while I took the first load up the hill.

Ferry Port

She blew me a kiss as I putted away, I was feeling weighed down wearing a 50 pound duffel on my back and a backpack on my front, yet the little red scooter kept on truckin' up the switchbacks. Sometimes larger vehicles having an even harder time climbing would pull over for me to go around and after ten minutes we (the scooter & I) were looking at the amazing view from the top. It made me think of Dorothy, Shit, Dorothy! I verified on the map that I needed to keep going north, made it into the town and started looking for signs. I continued to look for signs and ask around with no luck, after almost an hour away from my love I gave up and found an abandoned house to stash the luggage in, I needed to bring her up the hill so we could figure out where this place was together.


Once reunited with each other, and our gear, we (Dorothy, the scooter & I) made our way into the center of town. Trying to navigate safely with all the luggage was impossible, Dorothy chilled with the bags under a tree while I continued to look around with no luck. I searched the village of Fira up and down several times, hit back roads and asked every taxi driver and concierge I could find during the "siesta" portion of the day. I had lost the paperwork I'd printed stateside that contained the contact info, so an internet cafe gave me some sight, but not a tangible address!

When we finally found an attendant that understood our English she contacted Rena's to come get us, she shared that they usually instruct their guests to call when they get to town, they don't usually direct people to them as it's so difficult to find. Right, we had gotten the reservation from the friends we were meeting, and had never corresponded directly with the Villa's figuring "How hard could it be?" About three hours from arriving on Santorini we were picked up & ferried to our Villa's, checked in with a glass of white by the pool waiting for Nora & Roy who were arriving from Paros - Dorothy's college roommate and her new husband were touring Europe for their honeymoon and we'd coincided our Santorini time.

Our Villa

I was really starting to appreciate a certain part of college, a part I rarely remember, pledging Phi Kappa Theta. My Junior year I became a Fraternity Brother, and that membership required I know the Greek alphabet. 

Wine Run

Learning that meant I could read here, and I couldn't help myself, I felt like I was six trying to sound out every character I could decipher. Dorothy had no idea, surprising since English is her second language - the character names usually were how they sound so I could take what was described to me and hopefully find it on a map, or a menu.

Share the Road

I was explaining this to Nora & Roy at dinner, we were pretty fired up having intercepted each other so far from home. They had arrived earlier and after briefly catching up, Donia & I checked out the sunset while they unpacked and got cleaned up. Before dinner the four of us downed some incredibly cheap wine and made our way to Dionysus, a traditional taverna, and after a few more carafe's of Santorini White we were plotting our next move. We wandered the narrow streets during the high part of the night and eventually got spit out on the western edge looking down and across the caldera & the Aegean Sea, mostly entranced by the lights up this side of the cliff.

This place was all color & energy, everyone was so enthusiastic and happy, usually eager to answer your curiosities and helpful if you were confused - really in Vacation... actally Honeymoon-land were we expecting something else? They coupled things like the historic Donkey rides & hand-made crafts with fresh fish & veggies to create the traditional Mediteranean ambiance that we had come here for.

We strolled back towards our Villa stopping by the crowded Murphy's Pub before returning home, a few more hours of sillyness and what will always be remembered as "The Hat Party," we finally called it a night promising to get up early for our self-guided island tour.

Today is July 18, 8 days married, 4 days in Greece, 2nd day in Santorini, we woke up and the Cook's had already handled their transportation by renting a 4-wheeler, awesome. We stopped by a market to grab supplies for lunch, you know, basics like feta, salami, tzatziki, olives, a few beers :) We were livin' Greek. I was the navigator, a job I enjoy, utilizing my map, compass & road signs to get us to "Kokkini Paralia," one of the unique beaches we planned to see today. We parked our rides and found an interesting sun-dried tomato vendor in the lot, for like 2 euro we could have a bag of these tasty treats I'd never seen sold fresh before. I bought a bag and added it to our lunch menu.

A short hike later the beautiful contrast of red cliffs over blue sea was our reward, we made our way down through the forest of umbrellas and found a comfy spot for the four of us. We'd found the only red beach on the island, and so had most everybody else. The water was refreshingly cool and the red pebble beach was hot, the girls sunned themselves in European fashion beneath the magenta walls. About two hours later we packed our bags and made our way north towards Perivolos Beach, reputed as Santorini's "Best." Frozen cocktails were in order, and would feel better than more time in the sun. Our decision: the "Best" beach could do better, and continued north towards the last village on this side of the island, Perissa.


"Best" referred to the size & population, the beaches on the south-facing shores were all connected creating miles of black-sandy coastline, naturally drawing an attractive Bohemian crowd. We motored slowly past the afternoon dance party eventually coming to the end where a mountain dropped down dividing this side of the island from Kamari. Road end, time to turn around. Our party was going back to the villas, the sun was getting to be too much, an hour at a time in bathing suits on a scooter had worn us out and it was time for a nap by the pool. Some down time was in order since we planned on hitting Oia tonight for dinner.

Navigating the island had been easy so far, so once freshened up we looked at the map and decided back roads would be our best route to the northern tip, things moved a little faster than we liked on the main road. We wound our way north on the outside apron of the ancient volcano keeping an eye out for a nice restaurant. Soon the road was ascending towards a village which didn’t offer much hope so we continued through and began dropping into the crater towards “Ammoudi Bay”. We rounded the corner and discovered several restaurants at the base of a switch backing stairway, we had found Oia’s waterfront and the dining opportunity we’d been hoping for.

“Excuse me sir.. Sir!” A woman was beckoning for me in English, I glanced beyond her up the steep hill noticing a Peugeot perpendicular to the retaining wall across the road. “Can you help us?” She continued to explain that none of her party were very experienced with stick-shifts and they hoped to find help before something bad happened. One wrong move and they could have ended up over the edge, they were between a rock and a drop, not 10 feet behind their bumper the cliff fell into the sea. I obliged and maneuvered their vehicle into a safer circumstance, understanding their paranoia when it comes to driving alien vehicles.

We wandered through the restaurants noticing “reserved” signs on each of the waterfront tables, you see, the sunset was the primary draw at these establishments and we were lucky to find a spot with such short notice. We settled on a tapas place, the cats were mellow on the rocks in front of it. The fable says if the cats, an inevitable sight in Greece, seem well behaved the kitchen cooks have treated those strays with respect, therefore hopefully prepare their food with that same compassion. 

Best Feta Stuffed Pepper EVER!

So many cats in Greece, we quickly learned to appraise their appearance when deciding on a taverna.
 Sunset, Vino, a short hike by the water and we were back on the scooters. (That sunset, by the way, is the image at the top of this blog) We could see Fira, its lights twinking in the distance seemed to spill into the sea. The wind was cool but not cold as we glided through the night along the craters rim, we were heading back for some gelato before stocking up on supplies and heading home. We were living the dream on a Grecian isle, once the scooter was safely parked we drank some Retsina, a traditional Greek drink, and celebrated. 

Aphrodite & Zeus acting
out some tragedy

Our evening ended with the four of us in togas having adopted Greek nick-names, I was Poseidon, my wife Athena. Good times.


The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. — Marcel Proust


I had been day-dreaming, everything today up until this point had been auto-pilot, if one could actually engage that feature on a scooter, or their mind. I was going about 40 mph and the first thing I noticed was the stop sign, it was located about 30 feet to my right.


Time slowed down, I thought "Why is that sign so far off the road?"
And then I thought, "How did the street get so wide all of a sudden?"
And then, "I hope nothing is coming on my left..." as I shifted my eyesight there it was, an enormous "Limo" bus was bearing down at approximately the same speed.
The driver and I noticed each other at the same time and maintained eye contact as we braked, I could hear that squeaky stutter sound large vehicles make when stopping all of a sudden, Dorothy's grip tightened around my waist as I leaned forward and placed my hand on the bus.
We had both come to a complete stop one inch from each other.


Time sped back up, all of a sudden the bus had pulled forward and the door was open, I was getting yelled at in Greek. The bus driver had every right to let me have it in front of 50 passengers, I had made a very serious mistake. Almost throwing us in front of a moving bus had scared my wife as well, as we started back up she enforced the "slower" rule I've become used to on my motorcycles in San Diego, all the way up the switchbacking road to Ancient Thira.


The day had been great so far, we had breakfast by the pool & found a mellow sandy beach down the hill from our place to hang out. The days agenda was simple, check out the sights on this side of the island, seafood lunch, and maybe find a winery. While we were enjoying "Monolithos Beach" it looked like Roy had fallen asleep, and a masseuse offered me her services by showing a sign. I pointed to the cartoon "Foot" and indicated that she should work her magic on my buddy. The "Sneak Attack Foot Massage" was born, and a minute later after his initial surprise, Roy relaxed and enjoyed the entire leg rub she provided.

And then lunch, Santorini style fish are grilled over coals and served whole, what we had yet to discover was the prices were per kilo - which is why everything seemed so expensive, usually Greeks order fish for their whole table and its served on a platter. We were at Mario's, a beachside establishment and ordered the "fish for two", it was seasoned up and fell right off the bone, I was finally tasting this traditional preparation I'd heard about and it was worth the wait. Yeah Greek Food!

Ah yes, we're on top at Ancient Thira looking down at the road we took here after the bus had almost made us memories, or at least very tan vegetables. That was our day so far, beach, food, bus event, now were were here, Santorinis outer high point.

Towards Kamari

I could see back down to yesterdays beaches, Perissa through Perivolos, we had just climbed this mountain on the scooter. We could see where we had come from, the restaurant, the sight of the "event", the airport, and one more beach we hadn't explored, Kamari. We coasted back down the hill and made camp in the shade, the sun has been blazing so I welcomed the break and took advantage of the cliff jumping for an afternoon dip.

We rested here during the hot part of the day but when the sun started to dip jumped on our rides seeking a vineyard with a view. We found the Santo Wines Winery and promptly ordered a flight with cheese to sample as the sun went down, still pretty full from our afternoon fish. The view of the caldera from this sight was incredible, and we over documented it with our Rebel, I think there were 150 shots of this single sunset before I edited down.

We eventually made our way back for a relaxing night in, we'd been going pretty strong and it was time to relax, our boat to Crete was the next day, or so we thought...

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