We are catching our ferry to Santorini and then Sifnos today.
photo credit: Chris
Bye Heraklion
We parked/returned our rental Prius in the ferry parking lot. A weird arrangement, but it works, I guess!!
The ferry to Santorini
You are allowed to stand outside and watch as the ferry pulls out, but to be safe, with my seabands on and my dramamine in the bloodstream, I stayed inside and chilled in the comfy seats. These humongous ferries are a pleasant way to travel. The smaller one we took later to Sifnos was not quite as pleasant, but the seas were relatively calm the duration of our stay in Greece, so I am thankful for that.
photo credit: Chris
I am excited about a couple things today.
1. Santorini is supposed to be stunningly beautiful, despite being the most crowded and touristy place probably in the entire WORLD. We had approximately 4 hours on the island between the ferry arrival and departure to Sifnos. The plan was to get lunch. Walk around and see things. Possibly walk "the Caldera", mmmm, basically a path along the top of the island inbetween two cities. Its supposed to be stunning and takes a couple hours.
2. We were going to hop on a bus to the red beach/Akrotiri area and look at some old ruins there. Randomly, several months ago, I came across this video about a man and his cat. I've since enjoyed following their adventures on Instagram, and where were they currently??? The Akrotiri area on Santorini living and working at a kayak place. Dean & Nala. I wanted to go visit them!!! The kayak place is right next to the red beach. We could just pop right in, have a chat with Dean, and cuddle Nala!!!!!!! omg.
I was super excited for this day. But, traveling doesn't always go as planned. So, a couple weeks before our trip, like, a road FELL off the side of the island, basically..... Which completely clogged up the only other road that goes between the ferry port and the rest of the island.
So we exit the ferry and find a taxi guy to take us up to all the stuff. And there's just cars and people EVERYWHERE. Its a mess. I'm starting to get nervous about our timeframe. I suggest that we skip the side-excursion to Akrotiri to visit my beloved Nala. :( :( :( :( And we decide to just chill in the city that we are currently headed to. (Fira, I think.)
So then, we head to a place that will keep our luggage for a few hours. They also happen to provide transportation back down to the ferry. Great, we'll do it. Except, you have to be back here by 1:30 so that we can get you down in time for your 4:00 ferry. Wait....so over 2 hours to get back down?! Are you serious?! That gives us approximately 45 minutes to grab some lunch, maybe explore for a second, and then freakin' leave.
So, the lunch we had was actually quite tasty. I had tomato balls, a specialty of the island. But hella expensive (as I'm sure everything is on this island, the most crowded and touristy place in the entire WORLD).
1. Santorini is supposed to be stunningly beautiful, despite being the most crowded and touristy place probably in the entire WORLD. We had approximately 4 hours on the island between the ferry arrival and departure to Sifnos. The plan was to get lunch. Walk around and see things. Possibly walk "the Caldera", mmmm, basically a path along the top of the island inbetween two cities. Its supposed to be stunning and takes a couple hours.
2. We were going to hop on a bus to the red beach/Akrotiri area and look at some old ruins there. Randomly, several months ago, I came across this video about a man and his cat. I've since enjoyed following their adventures on Instagram, and where were they currently??? The Akrotiri area on Santorini living and working at a kayak place. Dean & Nala. I wanted to go visit them!!! The kayak place is right next to the red beach. We could just pop right in, have a chat with Dean, and cuddle Nala!!!!!!! omg.
Follow him on Instagram! @1bike1world. They are the greatest little duo. They have since left Santorini and gone to Athens for a bit. And I think TODAY, they are catching a ferry to Turkey.
I was super excited for this day. But, traveling doesn't always go as planned. So, a couple weeks before our trip, like, a road FELL off the side of the island, basically..... Which completely clogged up the only other road that goes between the ferry port and the rest of the island.
So we exit the ferry and find a taxi guy to take us up to all the stuff. And there's just cars and people EVERYWHERE. Its a mess. I'm starting to get nervous about our timeframe. I suggest that we skip the side-excursion to Akrotiri to visit my beloved Nala. :( :( :( :( And we decide to just chill in the city that we are currently headed to. (Fira, I think.)
So then, we head to a place that will keep our luggage for a few hours. They also happen to provide transportation back down to the ferry. Great, we'll do it. Except, you have to be back here by 1:30 so that we can get you down in time for your 4:00 ferry. Wait....so over 2 hours to get back down?! Are you serious?! That gives us approximately 45 minutes to grab some lunch, maybe explore for a second, and then freakin' leave.
So, the lunch we had was actually quite tasty. I had tomato balls, a specialty of the island. But hella expensive (as I'm sure everything is on this island, the most crowded and touristy place in the entire WORLD).
tomato balls. A Santorini specialty. They were delicious.
photo credit: Chris
photo credit: Chris
So we hop in the stupid van and start the long and arduous journey back down to the ferry port. About 10 minutes into the journey, they transfer us to another van, which was really weird, but whatever. And then 10 minutes later, we are THERE! AND NOW WE HAVE 2 HOURS TO KILL IN THIS STUPID FERRY PORT WITH NOWHERE TO GO, BUT SIT IN THE HEAT WITH ALL THESE PEOPLE. PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE.
After exchanging salty words with each other and with locals harassing us for our business (they called us names! Bad word names!! they may or may not have been provoked....), we find a place to chill. I order a coffee with ice cream, because nothing else is going to make me happy at this point. No Nala. No beautiful hike. No picturesque village wanderings.
Sigh.
Grumpy freddocino
Finally 2 hours crawled by. I read my book. I posted pictures on Instagram. We made friends with our waiter, who was having a much better day than the employee two businesses down that called us "Disgusting F___ing Tourists." I think I gasped aloud. It was quite the moment, and no trip will ever be complete without having that kind of story to tell.
photo credit: Chris
Ferry to Sifnos
And then we pull into the port of Sifnos. And the foul experience we had on Santorini quickly faded away. Kamares, Sifnos, I love you.
Hotel
Hotel
Scenes of Kamares, Sifnos
photo credit: Chris
Dinner in Kamares, Sifnos. I discovered my favorite dish in the whole entire universe, which is a specialty on Sifnos. Chickpea Soup. Chris bought me a baking pot for my birthday, so we can make our own Chickpea Soup. We tried to shortly after we returned, on the stove. And it wasn't the same. It was too.....SOUPY. The true way, in the oven, in a pot, is more like a stew. And it is the ULTIMATE comfort food. Omg. I also had some Black Eyed Pea soup later in the trip that was similar.
CHICK PEA SOUP = SO DELICIOUS
cute pottery
photo credit: Chris
Then we wandered around Kamares and discovered a secluded beach spot, marked with a heart. Chris and I decided we would do some beach time there tomorrow.
Gorgeous Sunset
Handsome Husband
photo credit: Chris
Sifnos, I love you.
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