Side trip to Santorini

You’ve seen the postcards as well as the photos uploaded to social media and “Yes!” It’s just as beautiful in real life and no filter is required to make it look amazing! Santorini’s picturesque scenery is one to commit to memory. It will take your breath away the minute you touch down on the tarmac. While Athens holds such a profound history, Santorini exudes a charm all its own. Yes, there is still history on this island but the main reason to come here is to live the island life. This means, finding a spot on the beach to sun bathe, a nice restaurant to eat at, walk through the unforgettable foot paths of as many of the small towns that you can and of course, watch the sun fade just slightly past the Aegean Sea as it reveals the sparkling beauty of the night lights on the sloping hills.

Of course these sights of the sunset are wonderful to witness from both Fera and Oia but make sure you secure a good spot sooner than later. Our hotel was located in Kamari, pretty much on the opposite end of the island and even though we had a pretty good view of the sunset, a tall mountain gave us a premature show and to truly appreciate this sunset, we had to venture to the other side of the island in Fera or Oia where an unobstructed view will leave you in complete content. That being said, we did manage to get prime seats for the alternate show and if you’re an early riser, the sunrise is equally as spectacular and will most likely be less crowded.

Fortunately for us, we were there toward the end of the summer season and tack on a pandemic, it’s a heck of a lot easier to do touristy things. That’s not to say that it wasn’t busy on the busses to get to the other side of the island to watch the sunset because they were still packed but it just wasn’t AS bad waiting for one of those sought after city busses. We managed to get onto every bus we waited for and apparently, during the summer and no pandemic, it wasn’t unheard of to have to wait for the next bus or the following one after that because of so many tourists but as I said, it was totally worth the hour long bus ride to get there.

At our hotel in Kamari, it was a completely different story as it often felt like we were the only ones there and although we had our pick of any restaurant and did not have to wait a single second to get a seat, the food seemed to be very generic amongst all the choices of restaurants; we were simply renting out real estate to watch the water methodically make its way toward the shore, lapping up and down the sand, which was perfectly fine by us.

The culinary choice though would have to be the Kastro Kafe in Oia and although you are paying a lot more for dishes that sometimes resemble the menus in Kamari, the difference in quality is apparent. Much more care and consideration were given into the preparation of the meals and it only made for a more memorable dining experience. Couple this with a sensational sunset view and the night couldn’t have been more perfect and only added to a five star dining experience. Even the kid had fun and found something good to eat! As well, I think this was the only restaurant that gave an unimpeded view of the entire sunset. Numerous people were attempting to get a spot at one of their tables by simply ordering a drink but they reserved the seats for full-dinner customers only which made us slightly feel like high rollers!

Time seems to slow down here on the island and we savoured every last minute of it as it is easy to lose track of what day or hour it is but make no mistake that it will always leave you wanting more. Island time will have you feeling like you can always get to what it is you needed done, tomorrow or next week. That is until you check your fight ticket and realize that you’re leaving tomorrow.

We are grateful that we did not have to contest with thousands of thriving tourists as the time of year we went, along with the pandemic, had filtered them out. So, go! Enjoy the island when you can and when you do, try and sit on the left side of the plane so you can see the small white and blue houses, nestled on the slopes on the hills of Santorini and get ready for an unforgettable experience that you will want to return to sooner than later.

We were more than glad that we altered our decision to come here and even if you don’t necessarily enjoy the beach itself, you might find yourself sharing in all of our enjoyment of the island’s laidback atmosphere and beauty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moD3kR4VgoE