Today is the reason we got a GoPro. Snorkeling in the Aegean Sea! What could be better? Well… maybe a lot. The Great Barrier Reef for example, that would be pretty great. But still, The Aegean off the coast of Santorini, not to shabby. We got on a catamaran hosted by Oia Sunset Tours at 9:30 and shipped off. After a safety briefing we were headed to the hot springs on the volcanic island that helped form Santorini and the surrounding Caldera.
Though the murky sulfur water of the hot springs is great for skin. It does dye anything white, orange. Also known as my skin and my light colored swimsuit. But no worries… memories.
We headed out on the open water with nothing but the wind to dry us. Well, Bethany had a towel but I opted for the wind due to the 90 degree heat. The catamaran, a boat with two parallel hulls and a platform in the middle, had trampoline like canopy’s between them for sun-sitting. Something we took full advantage of. Somehow my milky white skin did not get sunburned. Woohoo!!
The view of Santorini from the boat was beautiful! Huge cliff faces with churches, lighthouses and homes seemingly hanging over the edge litter the island. But the real fun awaited us at our first stop near the Red Beach. Before we saw the Red Beach from land, now we got to swim in it’s waters.
Though, not a snorkeling stop, we made the most of it and swam in the crystal clear waters around the boat and got some fun pictures with our GoPro.
When we reached the White Beach the fun real fun began. Snorkeling! I will say, I was a bit disappointed that we weren’t snorkeling in a colorful reef with thousands of fishes as I had imagined, but that didn’t ruin our fun. We swam around with joyful glee taking selfie after selfie, me mostly looking like a hairy walrus and Bethany a beautiful mermaid. After a nice time swimming we got back on the boat for lunch.
Honestly, we were not sure what to expect from lunch. Sandwiches and soda? Nope, full Greek salad, Kebabs, Tzatziki sauce, rice and more. It was a full meal and as delicious as any meal we’ve had up to this point. All cooked directly on the boat by the crew. While listening to interesting remakes of classic 90’s songs and light electronic music we sailed and ate heading back towards Oia. All in all the tour was about five hours and one of the first times in our travels that felt like vacation rather than traveling.
Sun scorched, sweaty and salt covered we arrived back in Oia ready for the next part of our day. Our hope for tomorrow is to go on a winery / brewery tour with Nick and Myriam but the brewery is closed tomorrow and they are here longer than us so we chose to stop by quickly to check it out. Donkey Brewery is one of the only brewery’s on the island and in my mind stands high above it’s competitor Volkan. The brewery was small and rather than a tour they gave us three small sips and we bought something to have back at home.
On our way home we stopped by Koloumbos beach a somewhat secluded beach that requires you two walk down a narrow overgrown path to reach it’s rock coveredcov. We sat down for Pringles, turkey and gouda and watched the waves crash in. Unfortunately, we also had the “privilege” of seeing two very confident old Greek men stroll by wearing nothing but a smile. Two for two for unexpected nudity at Greek beaches. It was finally time to shower as my hair could pretty much stand up on it’s own by now so we headed back to Oia to shower and get ready for another night with our friends.
We met Nick and Myriam at the Meteor Cafe and headed off to Strogoli a restaurant overlooking the Caldera at night.
I believe I’ve mentioned before that I do not like seafood. That is unless it’s fried. My reasoning? Well the taste isn’t normally great in my opinion but more than that it’s that seafood looks so much like it did while it was alive. Knowing that you may be surprised to know I ordered stuffed squid. I know, I’m as surprised as you. But when on a Greek Island… am I right? Mostly this was at the encouragement of Nick who loves seafood, especially octopus, and had never tried squid. I decided I would join him and further our bond of friendship. I mostly don’t regret the decision. I would love to say it was the best meal I’ve ever had, but momma didn’t raise no liar. What I can say is it was good, very chewy and now I’ve eaten it. Not a glowing review, but hey #yolo. Bethany got a King “Cramb” salad that was anything but a portion for a king. It was however good, though she probably wouldn’t get it again.
From where we sat we could easily see the aftermath of tonights sunset along with the Moon, Venus and Jupiter high above in the dark night sky. Photos couldn’t do it justice. Before heading back to our place for drinks and a card game on our deck we stopped by a local shop where you can create your own necklace with beautiful local stones. Bethany made a necklace with a large turquoise teardrop centerpiece that looks very beautiful. It was made in front of us by this lovely woman who has worked here for seven years. Her skill is evident.
We finished up the night with more laughs and discussions, what a great couple! Tomorrow we plan to spend all day driving our ATV’s, they rented one too, and experiencing the island together. We cannot wait!
Cheers,
B&B
