Greece - Santorini

 

Greece - Santorini

September 30, 2024

Steps: 19,335

Our second day in Greece was spent in Santorini. This was our second and final tender port. In order to get off the ship at a reasonable time, I got in line 30 minutes before the tickets were dispersed at 6am. This allowed me to get group two and help us beat a lot of the crowd to shore!

In order to save us a few steps along the way, we decided to take the cable car up from the docks into Fira. Luckily since we got off the ship early, there wasn't a line and we could easily get up.  

Once on top of the island, we decided to take the hike to Oia. This about a 6 mile trek across the island, but hosted several beautiful vantage points!

You can see Oia all the way at the end of the island to the left.

We passed several "wellness hotels" along the way. The cave look was pretty popular among them and they all had amazing views.

This chapel was in the middle of the hike and not really around much else. It held the theme of the area well though.

These 2 random dogs joined us for the last stretch into town. (And then some) We at first thought they belonged to the other hikers in front of us, but grew less and less confident as we got further away from them.

We finally made it into town!

The crowds in Oia were insane! We took the main pathway into town, but tried to stick to side streets on the way out.

The two dogs kept me company through town. Which was fun, but unfortunately everyone else thought I was the owner of these dogs and were not happy when they chased after the local cats. (No cats were able to be pictured due to these two) They were with us for a good 45 minutes before we finally lost them while grabbing brunch. 

Kaylee's hair is a great representation of how windy it was while there! Around 20 mph with 30 mph gusts.

 

We made our way back to Fira to enjoy the sights around there prior to getting back on the ship (pro tip: the local buses are Euros cash only! We learned that the hard way)

Instead of waiting in the outrageous cable car line, we chose to walk down the donkey path. It was quite the adventure of slips, wind, and blowing debris (i.e. dried donkey doodoo) that made it unforgettable.