Scoot 787 Dreamliner to Athens & Greek islands: Mykonos and Santorini

[yflyer]

We had called ahead to reserve a table at Taverna Katina, one of the seafood restaurants at Amoudi Bay...



...our table was close to the grill where all manner of seafood was being cooked over charcoal...



Mrs yflyer headed to the raw counter...



She decided on Scorpion Fish...



Fried cheese to start...



...then tender, juicy Octopus...



...and then the Scorpion Fish, perfectly butterflied and grilled...



...this was served whole, including the fish head -- something that we appreciated (And picked clean...)...




A very pleasant dinner on a warm evening...



By the time we finished dinner, it was pitch dark...rather than catch the donkey, with Mrs yflyer's Fitbit step target still in mind, we eschewed the donkey ride, and stepped gingerly up the 200 or so steps back up to Oia, using my iPhone torch light to illuminate the way...

As we reached the top of the ridge, we heard the clip clop of hooves as the donkeys came up the steps...and trotted past us along the narrow pathways of Oia...it was the end of the day, and the donkeys were also headed back to their stables...

[yflyer]

The next morning, we headed into Oia again for a few photos...

The best time to take that photo of the 3 domes (The one you see in all the travel guides and posters) is in the morning, when the sun is rising from the east. In the afternoon, the sun is setting in the west which means you are taking photos of the domes into the sun.



There were professional photographers at work too...with Oia making a fantastic backdrop for the models...



It is surprisingly hard to find souvlaki in Oia. There are many restaurants, and quite a few convenience stores/supermarkets selling drinks, snacks and groceries dotting the town, but almost no souvlaki...

Irini, our hotel manager at the Anemoessa, gave us directions to one place (Maybe the only one?) at the main bus station in Oia...



Mrs yflyer and I shared a souvlaki for lunch...



This was just a light meal, as our plan for after lunch was a boat cruise on the Aphrodite, which included a trek up to the peak of the volcanic island, and a dip into the cool waters of the Aegean...

To be continued!

[SQ025]

Amazing trip report. Big thumbs up

[yflyer]

Amazing trip report. Big thumbs up

Thanks, SQ025!

[yflyer]

In the afternoon we headed to the port for a boat cruise on a traditional wooden vessel, the Aphodite, which would take us to the volcanic island for a trek to its summit, then sail to a nearby hot spring for a swim in the waters there, before dinner onboard while watching the sunset off the coastline of Oia.

We arranged this cruise at the hotel after our arrival in Santorini...given the variable weather and sailing conditions each day, it is probably best to sign up for the cruise only when you arrive, ideally a day prior, when the weather forecast is known. It was perfect sailing weather on the day we set out...



The Aphrodite itself was a fairly large, and comfortable boat, ideal for a day cruise...



Open sun deck...



...and room to sit in front, close to the bow...



There was an enclosed seating/dining area for those who preferred to stay indoors...



The vessel's bridge / wheelhouse...I wondered what purpose the iPad served...



We made ourselves comfortable on the boat as she set sail...



Of course, this vessel had an engine...the sails would only be unfurled as we watched the sunset...

[yflyer]

Our first stop, the volcanic island...



...with its otherworldly formations of black volcanic rock...



...the boat docked at the small harbour on the island, and for anyone up to it, there was a 1.5km, or thereabouts, hike up to the peak of the volcanic island, which was still an active volcano...



Mrs yflyer and I were both kitted out in hiking shoes and clothing, protected from the sun...



I was surprised to see others in swimwear and other attire clearly unsuited to the task at hand, like flip flops...but they still made it up and down again...



At every landmark on the way up, our lithe, tanned guide, Dimitra, gave a running commentary on the history of the volcanic island, and what to look out for...





Some very nice selfies and wefies to be had on the peak...

[yflyer]

Back onboard after the long hike in the sun, we rewarded ourselves with a fruity mojito and a frozen daiquiri...



...we brought our drinks to the bow of the ship and savoured the icy, sweet numbness as we slurped away...nothing quite like a cold cocktail after a long trek in the sun!

[yflyer]

The next activity on the cruise was a swim in a hot spring at the nearby island of Palia Kameni, where a dip in the brown, sulphur-rich waters of the hot spring, just beyond the small white church along the coast, was said to have health benefits...



The catch? The hot spring was a good distance away from where the boat had anchored, and getting there involved a 70m swim across a cold stretch of water -- something for confident swimmers only. A number of pax elected to stay onboard...

To help swimmers along, the boat stocked a large number of swimming noodles, which were surprisingly effective flotation devices in the dense, salty waters of the Aegean...



You could climb down the ladder into the sea, or jump straight in off the side of the boat...

I thought, what the heck...just jump...and leapt off the boat into the water...

Cold! And wonderful...super refreshing after the heat of the walk up the volcano...

Mrs yflyer climbed gingerly down the ladder into the water, complaining about the cold each step of the way...

The crew threw swimming noodles into the water, and we grabbed onto those.

"Stay and swim here...don't go to the spring, it is too far...", shouted our guide and the crew on the boat..."we don't have life guards"...

They mistook Mrs yflyer's fear of the cold to be fear of water...

"Don't worry! We will be fine..." I shouted back...

We turned and swam to the hot spring, revelling in the hot waters of the spring for a precious few minutes...



...before swimming back to the boat, where the crew clicked their handheld people counters as each passenger clambered aboard, to ensure everyone was accounted for...



Later on, we sailed to another bay off the nearby island of Thirasia for another dip in the water...



An incredible experience, swimming in the cool waters of the Aegean...I am not a particularly strong swimmer, but I found the salt water very easy to float and tread water in...very different from swimming in a pool. The coldness of the deep blue waters, bracing but not freezing, was very refreshing as well.

[yflyer]

By then, after all that walking and swimming, I think everyone onboard was ready for dinner...

A buffet spread was laid out on both ends of the boat...



Salads, Tzatziki (A cucumber and yogurt dip) and rice...



Pork and chicken rolls, and potatoes...



...with a free flow of local red and white wine...



Dessert was watermelon and a local sweet...



After dinner, we sailed to the coastline off Oia to watch the sunset...



By that time in the evening, it was very cool and a nice breeze was blowing...



What a nice day to be on the water...

[yflyer]

We sailed close to the caldera near Oia....



Where the sails of the Aphrodite were unfurled...



...and we watched as the sun did an encore performance of yesterday's glorious sunset...







...once again to the applause of all onboard...



As the Aphrodite headed back to the port, the crew turned up the music onboard and a round of not quite spontaneous dancing began around the bar in the rear of the ship, starting with a quick lesson in Greek dance from Dimitra, and then more modern pop numbers...



Maybe it was the wine and well-stocked onboard bar...it got quite lively on deck that evening...

[yflyer]

On the last day of our stay on Santorini, we headed to the towns of Fira and Imerovigli to take a look around.

We start at Fira...



...which had stunning views of the caldera and the volcanic island...



It was possible to walk all the way from Fira to Imerovigli, a distance of about 3km, and then along a hiking trail along the ridge all the way to Oia, about 6.5km away....

At that point, we hadn't yet decided whether to walk all the way to Oia, or just to Imerovigli...



We were playing it by ear, taking in the sights as we walked...



We would decide how far to press on, depending on how we felt...



The walk between Fira and Imerovigli was very picturesque...on a fully paved footpath, lined all the way with hotels/residences, shops, restaurants, churches and other buildings...



A quick pause for gelato...





...before continuing towards Imerovigli.

No map was required -- for much of the way, it was just a matter of following the paved walkway through its twists and turns...ups and downs...



Too bad we didn't have time to book dinner for two at this table overlooking the caldera...

[yflyer]

The views got better and better as we climbed towards Imerovigli...



One of the landmarks was the 3 Bells of Fira...



..a very popular spot for photos...



...at some point, we crossed from Fira into Imerovigli...





The view looking back towards Fira from Imerovigli...

[yflyer]

From our vantage point high on Imerovigli, we could see Oia in the distance...



It was time for lunch at the restaurant at the Kapari Natural Resort.



The resort had a very well known restaurant, which offered a fine dining menu for dinner. The lunch menu was simpler and more casual: mainly salads, sandwiches, burgers, wraps and pasta, but the quality of the cooking remained exceptional, and incorporated local ingredients like Santorini-grown cherry tomatoes...

Mrs yflyer had acquired a taste for Santorini Vinsanto, a well known local sweet wine...she began with a glass of that...



We shared a salad...

Kapari Salad with Santorini cherry tomatoes, caper leaves, sea fennel, and chloro cheese...



...a very refreshing dish...the local tomatoes were bursting with flavour, and taste of the cheese, caper leaves and sea fennel going very well together...

And then traditional cretan pasta in a fresh tomato sauce with basil and halumi cheese...



...which looked deceptively simple to prepare, but which revealed great depth and refinement of flavour and texture. It was absolutely delicious....

A glass of white wine to go with our pasta...





...and then a couple of coffee Frappes...



...which were almost unreal in their richness and creaminess...by far the lushest and most deeply flavoured Frappes we had encountered...

We were so energised by our lunch, and those power-packed Frappes, that we decided to continue our walk along the hiking trail all the way to Oia...

[yflyer]

The 6.5km walking trail from Imerovigli to Oia was much more of a hike than the previous stretch from Fira.



Oia is at the far end of the picture above...

There was a clearly marked trail all the way from Imerovigli all the way to Oia.



There was spectacular scenery along the way...



A cafe to pause and catch your breath before one of several uphill climbs...



A view of the flat, eastern, part of Santorini, facing away from the caldera, where the vineyards and airport were located...



...and a whole lot more walking...



...with the trail along the caldera passing by several resorts nestled along the ridgeline...



Many sections were right along the edge of the caldera, with long stretches without any fence, wall or handrail between the edge of the path and the hillside. That said, there were no steep drops or dangerous cliff edges anywhere on the route -- a fairly safe and undemanding walk, except for the physical exertion from all the walking and climbing.



One last uphill stretch...



...clambering over unpaved stone and gravel trails...



...before a final, exhausting, uphill climb to a tiny monastery, Ekklisia Profitis Ilias, on a hill overlooking Oia...



...where we took a short breather, and chatted with a couple of other travellers who had also hiked along the trail, and were also resting after the uphill climb.

[yflyer]

From there it was downhill towards Oia...



...where we ended our long hike at our hotel, the Anemoessa Villa.



The stretch from Imerovigli to Oia, shown on the map below, was about 6km...a stretch which took us about 2+ hours to do.



Including the 3km stretch from Fira to Imerovigli, this made a total hike of about 9km that day. And you could add another 2-3km to that if you wanted to continue walk right to the western tip of Oia.

Not a short walk by any means, but this was an outstanding way to take in the spectacular scenery all along Santorini's caldera. I would go as far as to say that this was a must-do activity on Santorini: A half-day hike/walk from Fira to Imerovigli and then to Oia.

We rested in the hotel for an hour or so before heading into Oia for dinner at Red Bicycle, a restaurant perched high above the caldera.

To be continued!