Sunny Santorini... not quite :(

With the second stage of our travels completed, we only had one major stage to go, the Middle East. But thankfully we had decided to take a week off and relax on the Greek island of Santorini before we started it. Santorini was a destination we very much wanted to visit but missed out on during our travels to Greece the year before. One of the best things about leaving Europe however was catching a flight that wasn't run by either Ryanair or Easyjet! This means lots of things, allow me to list them here for you:

1. When flying a "real" airline you are given an assigned seat (first time in 2 years). This means that during boarding people don't physically push you or try to sneak aboard ahead of their boarding call. They don't try and sprint past you on the tarmac or use their over sized hand luggage as an obstacle gauntlet (think along the lines of a Hollywood police chase; They are the criminal, I'm the cop and their over sized luggage is an innocent but precariously balanced wagon laden with fruits that are likely to explode spectacularly i.e. watermelons).

2. You are given free lollies before take off, to help you equalise the pressure in your ears.
   

3. You are then provided with a choice of beverages, FOR FREE, then served a meal also FOR FREE then provided with more drinks which are still FOR FREE!! Magic!

During the October months the high season of the island is very much over, some of the areas we visited like the black sand beaches on the east coast were so closed down they looked practically abandoned. This suited us though as accommodation was a bit cheaper and there are less tourists to get in the way! We really spent most of our time just wandering the streets and taking dozens of photographs as we rounded every corner, I think we were just delighted to see buildings and views that looked nothing like Eastern Europe!

View of Fira, the capital of the island

Around Fira

Around Fira

Around Fira

Around Fira

Red Sand Beach

We took a 3 hour walk up to the town of 'Oi' to watch the sunset (but it was too cloudy). We visited the red & black sand beaches and did our best to find the perfect shot of the Caldera. We ate some really good Gyros, some of the best I've had in Greece! Unfortunately we had to drink some rather unpleasant wines as we couldn't afford to buy the good stuff which sells for about 50 Euros per little bottle... It's only wine people! Get over it!

On the walk from Fira to Oi

On the walk from Fira to Oi

On the walk from Fira to Oi

On the walk from Fira to Oi

View down towards Oi

Oi at sunset

All in all it was a really relaxing week and Dina and George running the hostel were really friendly and helpful. It was the perfect relaxation before beginning our journey into a really foreign culture!