October 18, 2017
As you saw, I was writing yesterday's blog at the Athens airport. So I will pick up from there.
At 4:30 AM, went to the Sky Express checkin counter. It was a good thing as they gave us First Class seats. No...just kidding. They did give us row 2, A - D. But this was a prop plane and the idea of first class for this plane was not happening. As the gate agent checked us in, she gave us a free pass to a lounge area where we could get a free breakfast. It was really nice as we waited an hour for our flight to depart. The flight left promptly on time and from wheels up to touch down, it was about 50 minutes. We were in Santorini at 8 AM.
We immediately rented a nice rental car. It is a Jeep and accommodates us all nicely. We then managed our way to our BNB, which feels like it is at the end of the airports runway. It is really close. But, it is really nice and big. We are really going to enjoy it.
Denise and Michelle took a nap until about 10 AM'ish. Scott and I laid around after showering waiting to go out to see the sites. At around noon, we went and bought some groceries at a little market. As I drove, I wondered what the heck I was thinking...they drive crazy here. I could not find a parking place so I let them out and drove around and around. At one point, I met a very large bus coming down a narrow lane head on. The driver yelled something at me. But I kept going and eventually maneuvered around it.
After getting the groceries back to our apartment, we headed out to Fira, the capital of Santorini. It is the port town where cruise ships dock and tender thousands of people to Fira. But Fira is mile up the mountain...or so it feels. There is a switch back trail that goes up the mountain. There is also a tram that takes people up for 6 euros. So after walking up into the main area, we went over to the tram to see if we wanted to take it down. We decided to walk it down and then take the tram up.
The trail down should be called the 'Donkey Poop' trail. Since mules will take people down and up this path, it is full of their waste. It smelt horrible and in some places it was very slippery. Scott and I agreed we would NEVER do this again and NEVER take a mule down or up it. Anyway, we made it down with out breaking an ankle like my favorite boy, Gordon Hayward. Sad news about him. Upon get getting down and wandering around, we decided to see what the tram cost. At that point, we decided to go buy a ticket for the Tram ride back up. However, the line was SOOO long that it was going to be hours before we saw a tram car. Together, we made the majority decision to ride the mules up....well there was one 'no' vote but it was overridden. I won't tell who voted no. Off we went to get a mule. A guy coming down the trail said he had mules and would have them take us up for 20 euro for all 4 of us. He took our money and told us to go up the trail a bit and wait for him. After a few minutes, we started thinking that this guy pocketed our 20 euro and we'd never see him again. But he eventually showed back up. We all boarded those poor mules and off we went. These mules were all over the trail. They were not connected and their leader stayed behind at the bottom. But these mules knew exactly what to do. They would walk a ways, stop and rest, and then go again. It was amazing. It was more amazing that our 'no' vote got on and ended up thanking her mule profusely when the mule ride was over.
To close the night off, after touring around the island looking at many of the villages, we ate dinner at a wonderful restaurant that overlooks the valley out to the sea. It had high Trip Advisor review marks and it did not disappoint. It was so good and fairly reasonable. And the view across the valley down to the sea was awesome. It was called Metaxi Mas.
Well...I'm tired and going to bed.
Pictures;
More to come...Pictures:
Size of luggage is key on these airlines. But we are passing so far.
Zonked out! Good little sleepers they are... :-)
On our way to Santorini!!!
The outside of our BNB. It is really nice with lots of interesting plants all around it.
The front room...
Walking down a Fira street....
Happy shoppers....
Finally, Greek Gyros!
Scott had mule gyro....yuk!
City of Fira.....
The caldera.....the body of water formed by a volcano.
Lots of these little churches everywhere...
A true mule girl!
This is a picture of a picture. They snapped pictures along the trail up. You can see the sheerness of the cliffs. And it was pretty scary when that mule took you right to the edge. And, there was no human leader. He just said go at the bottom and the mules would start walking. They would go a while then just stop to rest...then go again.
Thanking her pony!
Nice pick looking back at Fira....
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