Today I woke up around 8;30 my plan was to take a boat trip out to one of the volcano islands near Santorini- however the weather was overcast- an it had been raining on and off- so I decided against it. Instead I trekked into Fira I wanted to pick up a few more souvenirs- problem was is that I have bought so much stuff here- I needed to buy an additional suitcase- So I also had to look for that! Luckly I found a wonderful retro looking one for 25 E so that was fairly cheap. No one will mistake it for theirs!!! On the way back to the hotel- I was out for about 3 hrs. it was now noonish- a random stray dog adopted me. We walked in the direction to the hotel together- this dog was hilarious- he would march on ahead of me- but he would always look back to make sure I was still there. When I went in a shop- he would wait patiently for me outside. So I made it back to the hotel- this time w/ out getting lost!! I changed into some warmer clothes- got my snacks out of the fridge, and my maps. My dog buddy was resting outside my hotel room- it was so cute! I want to bring him back to the US!!!
So I decided to rent a car and drive around the island. I was really scared to do this because I was so sure I would get lost and the roads are soooo narrow and curvy. But otherwise I wouldn't be able to see most of the island. There are supposedly buses here- but according to most people they are very unreliable. I see bus stops everywhere- and I even see people waiting for the bus- but for the 8+ hrs of walking around Fira I have yet to see 1 single bus. I think they are a myth :)
So I rented the car (see above- it is plastered w/ ads for the car rental place!!!) - thinking I am going to die driving on these roads. However, because it was Sun, it was actually the perfect day to drive- because not that many people were on the roads. So I am leaving Fira- thinking I am heading off to the red sand beaches. However- after about 10 min of driving I haven't seen a sign and I have a suspicion I am going the wrong way. I go into a coffee shop and the guy tries to give me directions to where I want to go- however, he was not sure on the directions- meanwhile his sister shows up and she tells me to follow her- and directs me to where I need to turn! The people here are so nice. So I make it Pyrgos! which was a cool little village- I drove around for a bit and then chose a random main road and started driving again. This time I ended up at Prissa beach- which was one of the black sand beaches- however Ancient Thira is there as well- it was pretty cool. I had lunch at a vacant little diner place where I had a decent greek salad. Then I was off again. The waiter was wonderful and had wrote out a map for me to follow to Akrotiri. Amazingly I found Akrotiri easily.
The roadsigns here are hilarious- I mean there is only one sign that directs you to the village- and if you miss it- you won't see another sign- they are also posted right before the turn. So it is so easy to miss.
The countryside was amazing. Then after seeing Akrotiri- which was around the red beach- oh I took a path off of the parking lot here- and hiked up to a viewpoint that was beautiful. And on the drive back to the main road- I saw a donkey in a field- I love donkeys and I was very excited about this!!! My little car- handled the curves marvelously. The posted speed limit most places was 30 km/hr. but I typically was going about 50 km/hr. The car just wanted to cruse at that speed. It was so good to drive again- I haven't driven for over a month- and it was wonderful to have the radio on crusing around a very beautiful place. There are no street signs so driving is very amusing- I didn't even try using the map- I would just take a random road and when I didn't see a sign for a long time I would pull over and ask for directions.
I drove up to a lighthouse and hiked up to a little lookout point. However getting out of the parking space was a bit nerve racking- the road was so narrow- you have to back up to where your rear wheels are on the edge of the cliff- and unless you have someone outside the car it is almost impossible. Luckily some other kids were able to tell me how far I was from the edge and directed me! So I am travelling back down the mountain- it is gorgeous- Everything is green - and there are wildflowers all around- the cliffs that surround the sea are amazing. It is a very majestic island. However I am glad I was not there during tourist season!!! I can't imagine how crazy it is to drive then with so many people on the island.
I headed back around 4 because I didn't want to be driving at night or even dusk- there are no lights- and it gets pitch black and there are cliffs that I could just go over. So I returned the car w/ no problem and walked back to my hotel.
Tonight we had torrential rain- it was raining so much that water seeped in under my door and in my room and I have two towels hopefully to catch the excess during the night!!! What an adventure!!!! Tomorrow I hope to take the tour to the volcano! that should be cool- although the weather isn't supposed to be much better. I slept through dinner once again- I took a nap from 6-9 so I am once again relying on my fridge to supply me w/ fruit, yogurt and milk for my meal!!! thank goodness for my fridge!!! I found a channel on TV that was playing the Wedding Planner in English w/ Greek subtitles- it is the first English thing I have found on the TV, besides BBC news! I have watched the same news over and over again and it was nice to see a bit of the movie.
Today was a huge success- mainly because I forced myself to drive in a foreign country- and it was fine!!! I am off to try to get a bit of sleep!
That's an interesting church and colors. Is it Greek Orthodox?
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