Long story short, my memories of Santorini from my visit in 2000 stand true - this place takes your breath away. We stayed at Ampelonas apartments in Imerovigli (still trying to pronounce this one) hosted by Chris aka "Takis" our enthusiastic guide and translator for the week. In my opinion Imerovigli was an ideal area for us to stay. Referred to as the "balcony of Santorini" it is a quaint little town sitting high on the island and jetting out over the sea. Yet again Josh's anal retentive planning has paid off. The views are breathtaking, it's quieter and in the centre of the island so easy to get everywhere.
Before I continue I should preface that I've tried to include photos that show the beauty of this place but they really don't do it justice. It's even more stunning in person so you must just go yourself.
Ampelonas and its views.
We rented a scooter for our time here which allowed us to explore almost every inch of Santorini. Our daily routine consisted of an early wake up (usually by 8am, painful for us), followed by a delicious catered breakfast (cake, hard boiled egg, ham/cheese sandwich, and greek yogurt thick enough to eat with chop sticks). Next was our daily scooter expedition (I swear Josh was trained by the Greeks) landing us at a stunning beach (highlights include Kamari, Perissa and Perivolos) for a few hours for lunch, then back to Ampelonas for poolside happy hour while watching a picture perfect sunset. Finally topping it all off with dinner at a neighboring town. It's going to be hard for me to leave this place, although we will endeavor to keep this routine alive!
The famous volcanic rock beach, known as Red Beach.
The capital city Fira.
View from Ancient Thira, which requires a rather sketchy drive up steep and windy roads overlooking the cliff, or you can walk up - this is what most people did, probably the sensible option.
One of many breathtaking viewpoints on the island. Not a good place to visit if you're scared of heights.
Enjoying many a sunsets.
One minor incident report: Mom you might want to skip over this part. Josh wanted to rent a motorcycle but they recommended against it, not safe they say. I was thrilled, Josh was gutted. Instead he rented the most powerful scooter he could find - 150 cc - mean anything to you? It's got zest but it's still a scooter. I wanted to do some of the scooting so Josh suggested I do a quick test run around the block by myself (he was obviously concerned about his own safety). All was good until I headed back towards Josh. I stopped to let a car go and thought I put one leg down to balance the bike (Josh said I used both legs but I'm too short so apparently couldn't reach properly) and the scooter timbered right over while still running. Don't worry, I managed to escape any injury but not humiliation. I had quite an audience and needless to say I did not get back on 'this' horse again.
This is me faking a smile after the incident.
A big highlight was also meeting up with our friends Rachel and Mitchell Purdy. We had a great day together yesterday including an authentic fish dinner and are heading to Crete by ferry tonight for a weeks stay in a villa in the north. The Purdy's are guaranteed to bring good times and many laughs and I know we'll have some great stories to share in the near future.
"Yamas!" This means cheers in Greek. A photo of the four of us at Ampelonas.
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