Santorini

As an addition to "My Greek Retreat" where it was about Athens, I shall attempt to continue to elaborate on the second part of my trip on Santorini Island. Some of the highlights in this part of the trip includes our daily dosage Pita Souvlaki and Greek salad, the colors of Santorini, the thousands of steps of Fira (Thira) and Oia (pronounced as Ee-ya), the pothole and the black cat, ATV exploration, and a Santorini wedding.

It is best to catch the first ferry leaving for Santorini early in the morning (around 7am- 7:20am) and be the first so you can occupy a couple of seats in Goody's, which is at the back of the ferry, to yourself. It will be a six hours journey so you may need the seats to sleep. Note that the seatings are divided into smoking and non-smoking section in this back part. There 4-6 people who laid out their sleeping bags on the top deck (sheltered) of the ferry and slept through the first 4 hours of the journey. They occupied seatings that would otherwise accommodate for 30 people. It's never wrong to be early!

The Blue Star ferry berthed at Pireas lefft for Paros, Naxos, Ios, and finally Thira, Santorini.

The Blue Star ferry.

The Blue Star ferry's mid deck.

First sight of our final destination where everybody has been waiting with full anticipation. All took their camera's out and started to snap away of this sight... including me.

Of Pita and Salad
Kebab stores/shops/kiosks where everywhere on the island and everything that Greeks eat seemed to be grilled. It didn't take long to realize that that could and would most likely the type of food consumed both here on the island and on mainland. However, I never leave my traveled destination without having tasted or experienced a piece (or a slice) of local culture. It may as well be food and/or tradition. This is what I would, usually, go after if it's reasonably priced. Perhaps this may not be the best way to discover a local culture but it is definitely the gold pot of experience that I could bag up as souvenir. After all, as I have always told myself and HF, there is absolutely no point in your travel if you deny yourself to the pleasures of enjoying what you could peculiarly enjoy only in that locality even though you could enjoy the similar experience elsewhere-- it would be different and you know you would not be as satisfied.

At this moment, I very well recalled the time when we were in Venice hunting down to the last narrow streets of Venice and crossed over many canal bridges that dominated the city on water just to have that very special Spaghetti made with squid sauce/ink, otherwise known as Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia.

Spaghetti with Squid's ink, an Italian cuisine, a Venice's specialty.

We had pita's and made Greek salad simply because we didn't want to blow our budget. If it was a honeymoon vacation, having pita and Greek salad would most probably not be a daily ordeal unless, of course, I was going to let my newly wed wifey to pick a fight on topics such as stinginess, penny-wise pound foolish, or the famous 'you don't love me enough'. I don't expect to have veal-sliced-for-you-on-your-plate kind of dinner every day either.

The colors of Santorini is, essentially, the colors of the flag of Greece -- blue and white. In and around the island, buildings are predominantly white whereas the color blue is, perhaps, a privileged color that are usually found painted on domes -- chapels and/or monasteries. There are only a handful of these buildings and, in my limited opinion, I think that is the reason why these white-buildings-blue-dome stands out.

To stand out in your photos, it is perhaps best to wear bright colors (red, sky blue, pink, etc. no yellow please) to contrast the bright glaring background over midday's sun.

Landmark colors of Santorini

Click here for more photos from Santorini.

Getting around

One stretch of the hundreds of steps of Fira.

Fira and Oia is a reasonably sized city on the island that one could explore from end-to-end within a day. You have to be averagely fit as there are hundreds of steps to climb and sloping pathways snaked throughout the city. But otherwise it is not too difficult to get around. I had a theory in which I proposed to HF that we will not get lost because there are no dead-ends and every paths are connected to each other. So, we deliberately "lost" ourselves in one of the pathways and continued on the uncharted paths which led on to another more obscured way. I was right. We ended up back to a main path and threaded back to tourist hotspots.

In Fira, the restaurants are stretched to the ends of a path, while discos and clubs are placed on another. Souvenir stores are similarly located on another stretch of road but they are all next to each other. Most hotels are facing the Caldera (volcano) as with some 'posh' restaurants, where diners are willing to pay for both their food and the view while waiting to watch the sunset of Santorini.

Donkey & Pothole
It was such a bright and beautiful day to begin with on the 6/06 and we were were excited about getting on the boat from the Old Port. Tickets were bought and we were all set to climb to the summit of the caldera, swim in the hot spring of the salty Mediterranean waters, and cool off with platters after platters of fresh seafood which HF have been salivating since she stepped foot on the island. Octopus seemed to be the only thing she talks about.

Silhouette effect with sunset from Fira on June 6.

Silhouette effect with sunset from Fira on June 6.

As we descended the stairs towards Old Port, we let out excitement took over us as we have stadium-view of the entire beautiful scenery of the sea and micro islands. Well, taking pictures too. Six flights of stairs down and 10 minutes passed and we were told by people climbing up that there was going to be another 20 minutes before arriving at the bottom (where the Old Port is). Everything was going very well when my left foot took a dipping and wobbly fell into a 6 inch deep pothole, ankle in first as I descended another step down. It was analogous to deliberately twisting or dislocating your own limb. The force of gravity as I descended and "fell" into the not-supposed-to-be-a-further-six-inch-deep hole had the best of me. I thought I had dislocated, or worse fractured, my left foot. I thought I was okay but realized there I could not walk properly after 6 steps further as the pain got beyond excruciating and unbearable! Shock and trauma set in. Shortness of breath. Heart beat slowed that to the point where I thought it was ten beats per minute! Dizzy and thousands of cold needles like feelings felt in my head. HF pulled me to the side and sat me down on the donkey's poop-and-piss-ridden stinky steps. Didn't mind the skanky pungent any more than catching back my breath. Not so much of "fresh" oxygen though! But an air full of amonia oxide mixture come with bile cream of fibre (grass) wastes with distinct color that none could mistaken it for shit!

People passed by and witness my unfortunate mishap. Donkey "man" (the person who tendered to his donkey herd) passed us and did not even offer a sympathetic help. One stopped by and asked, "Donkey? Ten Euro! You two", as he pointed his finger at both me and HF and to the donkey he was to offer the ride. I said, "No, just ONE donkey. Me. One. Five Euro! One donkey!" He shook his head and raised his voice "No, no. You two. Donkey up! Ten Euro!"

We insisted that we only wanted ONE donkey for me as I could no longer walk the uneven and treacherous steps up. This donkey man walked away without regard. 15 Minutes later, the very same donkey man came to us and said, "You.. one donkey. Okay. Five Euro". I paid him and he helped me got onto one of his medium sized donkey. These donkey men are ever so persistent and pushy. When I was set to go up with his donkey, he looked at me and tried one last time, "She? Donkey? Five Euro? Donkey up!", he points upwards indicating we all should go back up to the donkey station with his donkey. We said no. So we started going up and he walked with my donkey reluctantly as though he has lost his bets on a roulette table.

We missed our rides to the volcano and other islands and the things we planned to do that day. At the Santorini Hospital was where HF was so convinced it was the black cat I played with last night that caused a bad (black) day, not just for me but for us all. I was not the only one with a twisted foot at the hospital. There were 2 others! The doctor advised that I should be able to walk again after 2 days (which will make it June 8). Fabulous! Rested for the remaining hours of day light and watched sunset from our room's balcony (silhouette pictures above).

The donkey HF was on took a very, very, very nasty beating on its ass and head till it bled.

Two days later, knowing how much this trip meant to HF, I tried to bear to pain of walking just to make it up for The Black Day. HF did everything on June 8 and had her donkey ride up from Old port. I was on the donkey again, but this time there was another nasty twist! I was on the last donkey of the entire herd. But this was not it. All donkeys were leashed with a 10ft leash (EXCEPT for HF's donkey), and the donkey in front of me had a VERY gassy stomach! Nevermind the 30 minutes stretch of steps up to the donkey station stank with poops and piss, I got farted right into and at my face by that donkey! (Because we're all ascending, the donkey in front of me is always higher than mine. So, the level of the donkey ass matched the level of my head). To make matters worst, it was a 20-minutes of non-stop fart at my face... and it left an AFTER TASTE on my face and especially on my lips! My t-shirt was all gassed up similar to how perfumes stays on your clothes.

As for HF, because he donkey was THE ONLY donkey that was not leashed, HF's 20 minutes ride up was a real drama! Her donkey, rather small or in fact, the smallest compared to the rests of the herd, was totally out of control. The donkey man of this herd had to come off from his donkey and beat the daylight out of HF's donkey just to keep it walking straight and in the organized manner as the rest of it's colleagues. For 20 minutes, HF was screaming and shouting for her life because the stubborn donkey swinged from wall to wall that HF had to lift her legs up to avoid getting bruised by the walls and rocks. She was two donkeys ahead of me and I saw the donkey bled from the beatings it took!

Look who's talking now? It's Black and White here. The cat's got to be the culprit.

It was an experience. I asked HF if she had enjoyed her ride to which I received no comments... because she was too busy laughing at me, which was good as it took her horror ride away from her mind. I smell of donkey fart, donkey poop, and donkey piss.

The Island with ATV
The next day, I bore the pain just because I did not want to stay back and regret another day. Slowly but surely, with the help of HF I limped up and down the slopes of Fira to the nearest rental shop for an ATV. HF, at this time, went paranoid about me not able to operate the ATV. I was so convinced that she had absolutely no idea what an ATV was. Having repeatedly told her it's like riding a motorcycle or a jetski, her never-ending worry never fail to break the otherwise silent air until after we hopped on it and I drove us away. She asked, "DANNNIIEEEEEEEE!!! How are you gonna stop?! Where's the pedal?!!!?" At this point, I thought a response like "Sorry baby... no pedals here! We ain't gonna stop!"

Look! This is how I bring the ATV to a stop, like brake-flaps on the wings of aircrafts. Welcome to The Black Beach of Kamari.

After the visiting the majestic Red Beach, near Akrotiri.

Touring around the island with a bandaged feet. South of Santorini.

The ride so smooth. It never came across to me how easy it was to maneuvre and operate the ATV, except that there was no reverse function. HF had to push at the front to back up the vehicle!! I only need to steer. ;) Poor girl! With it, we visited the Black Beach (Kamari), and the Red Beach (near Akrotiri). The former is a very beautiful beach consists of black volcanic rocks (pebbles), and the latter red volcanic rocks. They're just marvelous! They are both a majestic site that must not be missed! Both beaches are almost like a nude beach. We then toured around the island from the furthest south to the tip of the island of Oia. The landscapes of Santorini are, indeed, breath-taking! Especially on a beautiful day.

We called it a day after sunset in Oia. It was a bad day for a beautiful sunset as it was too foggy and cloudy. We bumped into Ace Gordon the photographer, a funny chap whom we first met at the ticket counter of Acropolis, Athens.

Sunset from Oia. Sunshade as a substitute filter.

A Santorini Wedding
They say it was like a dream to have a wedding in Santorini island. The sunset view with the occasion was beyond any words in any language to describe. HF has been ranting about this since we landed on the island. Imagine. Just imagine. I would say we were quite lucky to have actually witnessed one such occasion. It stumbled upon us in Fira on our last day in town when we did wish to see one wedding. Violà!

HF thought the groom was a Malaysian. I do not know and I cannot confirm that until I hear him speak. They walked the streets of Fira and down the steps to where their hotel is. That was also where they exchanged their vows and rings. I could only look at HF staring at them with a melting heart.

That's that now. We flew back to Leeds from Santorini airport -- the smallest airport we've ever been to.

My Greek retreat

Athens

This retreat would be one of the most memorable and joyful one we have experienced so far after Italy. We spent most of our time in one of the most beautiful Greek island in the world, Santorini. We have amply experienced numerous situations from an adventurous sort, and dramatic ones, to comical situations where we have literally laughed out our bellies, and superstitious encounter. We have been to the Acropolis, dined traditional Greek food and wine (beer for me); walked from along the mystical narrow streets of both Athens and Santorini to climbing treacherous steep steps of rocks and stones; stood with both arms stretched out in freedom on the summit of cities while feeling the breeze in the air coming from the Mediterranean sea, swam in the Mediterranean sea to one of its hot-springs with my almost broken left foot, got farted in my face by another donkey while on a donkey ride up the hills of Santorini; and finally sat in and relax to watch the famed sunset of Santorini.

The ever delicious lamb souvlaki pita wrap. In it, lamb meat, tomato, onions, french fries (optional), tzatziki sauce (Mmmm...)

The weather was superb upon arrival in Athens and Santorini. It was hot and I could feel the scorching sun in my face. As a result, the zebra-tanning I got was especially visible on both my feet. I wore sandals for the entire trip. We didn't move around much in Athens besides visiting the Acropolis, the ruins of Agora, and looking for reasonably priced Greek food by night. For the latter, the one thing that caught my eyes was the number of kebab outlets all over Athens and I was captivated by the pita wrap (a.k.a pita-kalamaki). Not knowing what it was called when I was supposed to pay for one first, we had waited for more than 5 minutes for someone to buy it so I can point to the cashier that that is what I wanted because everything on the menu was in Greek. Immediately I went up to the cashier and pointed to that customer who just walked away with "MY" dinner pita. It cost €1,70 (take out) and €3,40+ (eat in). Soon enough after I took my first bite I realized why almost every tourists have had a souvlaki pita. It was awesome! From this point forward, dramatically, we kept having souvlaki pita for the remaining days of our trip.

One of the many ancient ruins in the city of Athens.

Panoramic view of one of the temples on Acropolis.

"Athens is a dump", according to one of the many comments from forums and friends. I would personally consider myself fortunate to have heard of such comments as it helped tamed my expectations. I wasn't exactly disappointed nor impressed as a result however, I was enjoying my trip more. There were a number of amazing things and people I have come across and I guess that was what made our entire trip worthwhile. I was disappointed only because I couldn't stick a gum onto the foot of Zeus. But He's in Olympia, which we did not visit.

Anyway, as for Acropolis (as well as most entrances to historical sites and museums), students studying in any academic institutions in the EU may be admitted for free. There is no need to buy tickets as long as you produce your student's ID card at the ticket office where you will be issued a ticket nevertheless. We both went in with our expired SID! This piece of information is probably NOT covered in travel guides such as Lonely Planet Guides, and the like. It is best recommended to visit either early in the morning or a little towards the evening where there will not be many tour groups. The site opens at 08:00 and closes at 19:00. No bags larger than a reasonably sized hand-carry will be allowed on site and you must check it in a 'cloak room'. It is free. There's a water fountain on the site if you just want to travel ultra-light (just yourself, your camera, and perhaps your tripod).

Why Do I Always Bring My Tripod? (Sub-article)
So far in many of our trips, I have overheard many people noticed us fumbling about and around our camera and tripod saying stuffs like:
"Oh, we should have got/brought a tripod", in regret;
"ooh, that's very handy. Look, they've got a tripod". ETC.
Everybody takes pictures of everything to their satisfaction. When you want your picture taken because you particularly liked the scenery behind you, people would definitely snap it for you. But you will make the person you chose at random to shoot your picture feel bad if you repeatedly requested him/her to do it one more time till s/he gets it right. Time wasted. You feel bad because you can't have the picture you wanted. You don't expect anybody to know The Rule of the Third. You are always placed dead-spot on the center of the picture when the particular scene you wished to captured is actually far right of the frame.

As soon as you gave up your camera to another to snap a picture of you, you loose control of it, therefore, you would not expect the picture to turn out the way you wanted it. Well, out of 100 people, there are almost probably 43 people with an SLR camera. However, of that 43 people, I can be sure that there are less than 13 people who are actually at least semi-pro photographers OR at least understands how to should a picture be shot and where the subject (such as yourself) should be framed. If I had to choose people at random, I would begin by looking at these 13 people. Then I would look if s/he owns other lenses, in particular higher-end ones, or gears or other camera accessories. If a default/basic lens if used, that usually tells me s/he is a newbie.

However, the easiest solution to this probable issue is to bring your own tripod. Get into your desired spot and frame your scene. Tell yourself where you want to stand. If you shoot manual (as I always do), I would take my meter readings and focus on passerby -- whoever walks in my line of fire. Set timer. Release shutter to trigger timer countdown. Run to that spot where you focused. Smile! *click!* Take Control!! This is why I bring tripod wherever I go. Another reason is mainly for night shots, where you just cannot rely on another random person to stand as still as me as though frozen with a smile for a 5 seconds exposure. I love natural lightings too much that I would not use flash for any reasons. Using flash at night would only shoot me, not the background. Besides, if you use tripod, you stand out among the crowds. It's like the tour guide telling his group that that slab of stone has some famous historical facts to it and everybody starts to shoot pictures of that stone not knowing if they were bluffed. Your tripod and camera pointed at a particular direction has similar effect. It tells people you know what you're shooting! ;)

Panoramic view capturing the all-too-well-known Parthenon seated above the city.

Looking beyond the city's skyline.

Shot under one of the most beautiful stoa in ancient Agora, which was a marketplace.

More pictures of Athens can be found here.

The vast land mass of the Acropolis from Agora.

The cross section of a smaller Greek pillars that's ubiquitous in Athens.

High street of Athens.

An open philharmonic auditorium?

The crossed path.

Just a thought on the picture above. If you are single and looking you would probably understand this better. There have been countless of times when your Mr/Miss. Right walked passed you and you did not even know it happened. Maybe you will meet him or maybe you will never. No one will ever know. OR it could be that the person you just passed has a 95% resemblance to your previous lover.

This picture attempts to recreate that very moment when the two walked passed each other only to realize it could have been love at first sight, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

The famous four ladies sculpture in one of the ruins on Acropolis. Postcard shot!