Into the 5th

Our hotel in Fira, Santorini

On August 7, Mike and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. We were supposed to go parasailing at the Perivolos Beach but it was too windy. I called Costas from Wavesports twice checking on the weather. It was negative. Therefore we decided to walk to the nearby village, Imerovigili. In the afternoon, we took the bus to Oia in the north of the island. Oia is supposed to have the world's best sunset. Oia itself was very pretty and had multiple Greek Orthodox churches in the typical white body and blue dome. We waited at the top of the caldera patiently for sunset. The cliff side view of Oia town was even prettier than that of Fira. There were windmills among all the little white traditional houses. Oia's blue domes. It was breathtaking, the white walls and blue domes against the blue sky and blue sea. Everyone said Santorini was the most beautiful Greek isle of all. I saw it immediately. Oia itself was less busy and more quaint than Fira, the latter being the capital of Santorini. All the bus transfers are in Fira so traffic to Oia or the red and black sand beach in the south of the island all starts in Fira. If you prefer quieter nights and nicer village view, then Oia is the place to stay. We were glad that we stayed in Fira because of the convenience and more stuff happening but nothing beats the cliff side view of Oia.
Sunset was beautiful and romantic on Oia's sunset point but we really could have seen the same just from our terrace in Fira. It was a mad scene on the sunset point. People started waiting around 6 PM and the normal sunset time is a quarter past eight.
On August 8, not giving up with our parasailing plan, I called Costas again. What a joy when he said "Yes Lei. Today is OK." We took the next bus from Fira to Perrisa and landed on the black sand beach of Perivolos. In front of the Chili Bar, Costas was fixing his boat. A warm greeting later, we doned our life jacket and were out to sea.

When we were far away from the beach, we walked up to the bottom of the boat and were individually hooked up to a steel bar that would hold both our weight. The bright red parachute was already open behind the boat, swinging in the air with the word "Chili" on it. Costa was driving the boat and his helper released the rope initially tied to the boat. The parachute went up in the wind taking us with it side by side under the steel bar. The wind was strong and in no time, we were above the sea about 300 meters. We could see the beach afar, some houses on the island but mainly the dizzying blue whirlpool of sea below us. We kissed in mid air.




The boat twisted and turned and broke through waves. A few minutes later, we started to descend, so close to the water, I started to wonder what was going on. Then suddenly we were dropped and my bottom dipped into the cold sea. I screamed with excitement. The next second, we were lifted all the way and up we went again straight into the air. Costas did this trick three times while swirling the boat so that we would drop, dip, turn and shoot up again. On the real landing, we were pulled back to the boat. It was very soft, we were able to both squat for a half second then stood up with the parachute still lifting our bodies.


We then went jetskiing. The water was extremely chopping because of the strong wind. I held on to Mike for dear life. The wave runner hit all the big waves and sometimes we were so high in the air, we bounced far from the seat, we'd drop so hard back down that I thought we'd bounce off into the waves. The sea water was all over my face. I had to close my eyes half the time to avoid the sting.

Back to the beach, I could hardly stepped into the blisteringly hot black sand. It was the lava sand that absorbed so much heat under the sun. Everyone on the beach was on a lounge chair. It would be impossible to lie down on the sand here.

Every morning over breakfast, we looked at the cruise ship docked in front of the Big Volcano. Boats came back and forth sending loads of passengers to Fira. During the day, the town is incredibly busy.

We spent a good part of the first two days of our fifth year of marriage at Enigma over Fira's caldera, chill'n and enjoying each other's company. I even, for the first time of any of my travels, finished reading a book. One third at least in the jaccuzi tub on the terrace overlooking the volcanos, cruise boats floating and the georgous Fira town. It dawned on me that the success of marriage (in my shallow experience), maybe is simply sharing and wanting to share.

Fira, Santorini

The Flying Cat 4 sailed into the crater engulfed by the huge caldera of Santorini around 7:30 PM. We were in this tiny ferry swinging in the gigantic waves which formed a crib. After waiting for the never coming boat, we were roasted at the Mykonos dock, hope dwindling. The past few days, the boat was not able to operate due to strong wind. Three hours and a long nap later, we were staring in amazement at the reddish, brown, and black tone of the cliff soaring hundreds of meters above us and the whitewashed houses at the edge of the cliff. About 1700 BC, the volcano erupted and the center of the island sank into the sea leaving the crater of today of 10 km in diameter.

The caldera

When we arrived at Enigma, our hotel at the top of the caldera in Fira, capital of Santorini (aka Thira), the western sky turned orange red. The hotel receptionist told me that the normal sunset time was 8:15. I looked at the watch, it was 7:55. We had time for the famous Santorini sunset.

Sunset Fira from the hotel terrace

Our hotel is built on the cliff, stepping down to about five storeys. Our suite was 3rd storey down. The terrace was facing the big and small volcanoes and the sun was still in low sky. Without unpacking, we situated ourselves on the patio and watched the sunset. Everywhere I go, I always love watching the sunset. Sunset over the sea is the best of all since there is nothing blocking the view and the sun always seems so much closer. I looked around and saw all the whitewashed houses turned golden under the sun. The surface of the caldera became even more multi-colored.

Holding the hand-drawn map from the hotel, we explored Fira in the evening. First we had dinner at Ouzeri, a local taverna. Then we trailed the cobble street of the Gold Road (named so because of all the gold shops along the street) all the way to the Cable station. The cable goes from the top of the caldera to the old port below and it only runs in summer. Lots of restaurants with volcano view are at the top of the cliff. It was a great vantage point for me to take night pictures of the Fira town below with thousands of lights, blue pools of the hotels, and bustling restaurants and lounges. Around 12 AM, people were still eating dinner. Night clubs just started to become busy. Shops were still all open with tourists picking out handmade jewery and souvenirs. I had the largest ice-cream ever since it was not scooped into the cone. Instead the shop girl gave me two huge wooden spatula-full of the cold treat.

Night View near the cable station

Next morning I got up really early and walked my way down the steps to the old port. The Gold street that was bustling the night before was quiet and still asleep. The steps went winding down to the bottom of the caldera and smelt quite bad since this was the donkey route to the old port so it was full of donkey droppings. I had to tip toe around at times in my flip flops while taking in the fresh morning view of the sea. The sun was not even out yet but numerous boats already started their morning commute.

Around 7:30 when I started to walk back, I heard bells and hasty steps on top of the cliff and out went a train of donkeys led by an old man wearing a blueish grey hat, just like coming out of the picture books I had seen of Santorini. I was so excited I started waving to the man saying hello and good morning. He waved back and said hello. The cute donkeys walked by very obediently with their heads down one after another.

Very soon, herds of donkeys came down, among which were also horses. The stairs became obviously crowded. At one point, I was backed into the corner, hanging half way outside the trail, holding my camera tight. I looked down, the stairway had formed a busy traffic jam.

Santorini, here we come

We got up this morning for breakfast by the pool. The sun was scorching already at 9 AM. The wind continued to blow. The sunburn on my shoulders were painful. I decided I'd spend the rest of the morning reading under the shade.

Our hotel reception called the old port who confirmed that the Flying Cat was going to depart Mykonos today since the wind condition definitely improved. So here we are come Santorini.

Delos, the Sacred Island

Delos is the birth place of Apollo and Artemis. According to the Greek mythology, Zeus had an affair with Leto who got pregnant with twins. Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus tricked the god of birth so Leto could not give birth for days, years and then centuries. Poseidon took pity on the poor woman and offered his hidden island of treasure, Delos for Leto to give birth. Delos was originally submerged under water, thus the name "adhilos", meaning invisible in Greek. When the island appeared, the name became "dhilos", visible in Greek. It was inhabited five thousand years ago and by association to the gods, it was always famed as the sacred island. Even the Persians who invaded Athens and burned the Acropolis, only came on Delos, paid tribute to the gods and left without destroying anything.
We boarded the 10 AM ferry from Mykonos and arrived on the island around 10:30. The tour guide was a middle aged woman who walked fast and talked fast. Out of the many interesting historical stories she told us, the most intriguing ones were that Delos was the world's largest trading port for centuries, it had the world's first military treaty, the island's residents were up to 25,000 and all were rich therefore no social uprising despite its mix of culture and cult development. Delos had a mixture of people from Greece, Egypt, Italy, France, Syria and etc. each speaking different languages, using different currencies, practicing different religions and worshipping different gods. For example, the Temple of Isis is still standing today marking the Egyptian glory.
After the tour, we had our own free time to climb Mount Kynthos. There was a fabulous view of the nearby Cyclades once we got to the summit.

The past few days were so windy. The Flying Cat, a fast ferry that travels from Mykonos to Santorini was cancelled. It is not possible to know the weather and ferry travel forecast until 6 hours ahead of time. I have my fingers crossed since we are leaving Mykonos to Santorini tomorrow.

One other note is about the Greek yogurt. It is not sweet but is very creamy. Served with honey, it is perfect for breakfast. So far all the lamb dishes have turned out great. I had grilled octopus for dinner once but it was not remarkable.

Mykonos Blue

Mykonos is the first island on the Cyclades that we are visiting. We went to the old town from the Platis Gialos beach by bus. The old town of Mykonos has convoluted streets that were built to confuse the pirates in the old times. It was like a dream walking on the narrow streets flanked by white houses typical of the Cyclades with bue shutters, doors and domes. The scenery was whimsical as if coming out of a fairy tale.

We walked around the old port and later ended at the famous windmills and the Little Venice. The colorful houses were built right on the edge of water, hence where the name came from.
In the afternoon we went to the beach and baked in the sun for five hours. The water was gorgeously blue and clear. It was still cool. The sun was fierce but it was extremely windy so the breeze helped us cool off. What usually took me to tan in an entire summer was achieved in one afternoon... and now I am suffering from 'severe' sun burn.

The Acropolis

We got up at 6:15 this morning to make sure we could make it to the Acropolis by 8 when its gate opens. By the time we got there, there was already a full bus waiting. We quickly passed all the crowds who stopped by the first sites such as the Propylaia and went straight up to the Parthenon.

The ruins of the Acropolis were as dramatic as they could be. Even though we've seen them so many times on TVs and magazines. Seeing the real thing was still a "WOW!" The Parthenon was half covered by scaffolding. On the way up, I quickly took off jumping to supply shots for our newly launched blog "happy jumps". A few of us from work started this site to collect photos of jump shots around the world. Kiat already took one in front of the Potala Palace in Tibet. Soon will jump at Machu Pichu and Smitha in front of the Taj Mahal. I cannot miss the shot at the Acropolis. Two rushed attempts later, the crowd took over. We then hurried to the highest spot of the Acropolis before everyone else. There the bird's eye view of the entire Athens was breath-taking. In the wind, I could not even hold tight on the camera.

With the jump shots out of the way, we took it easy and just roamed around. There were ample ruins. Athena and the Poseidon were worshipped in the ancient temple of the Erechtheion. The Porch of the Caryatids held the statues of six tall maidens. The gigantic marble columns and gateway were preserved well. It was hard to believe that the Theatre of Dionysos could hold 17000 people.

After the Acropolis, we headed to the temple of Zeus, the Hadrian's Arch and the national garden. On the way to the Sydagma metro, a band of soliders and traditionally dressed men went marching by. We were not sure what the occassion was.

This afternoon, we might go to the Port of Piraeus.

Athens Impression

Athens, since seeing it on TV during the 2004 Olympics Game, I've made a mental note that it had to be a place to visit soon. 9 hours flight via US Airways and a bumpy landing later, we arrived. The transit signs were all very clear. We took the metro straight to Monastiraki, the center of Plaka where our hotel is.

Even though we could see the Acropolis from our sixth floor balcony, we resisted the temptation and decided to stroll the streets in the afternoon, knowing that Acropolis would be way too crowded and hot. The National Archeological Museum was our destination after eating a ham and cheese sandwich and a peach ice shake at a corner bakery. It was about 88 degrees outside but was very windy. The breeze kinda cooled off everything so Mike was not suffering too much. I loved the heat so was enjoying the weather.

The museum was three-storey tall, modest but full of treasures. The most impressive of all was the bronze collection, out of which the most gorgeous piece in my opionion was the bronze figure that depicted the idealized youth. I was mesmerized by the facial expression and his gaze. It was pure perfection. Another piece was the statue of Poseidon, also thought to possibly be the statue of Zeus instead. This was created in the 15th century B.C. The god was perfectly balanced in an athlete's body, poised and powerful, demanding attention of all passer-bys.

A nap in the mid afternoon later, we headed out to the pebbled hills towards the Acropolis and watched the sunset over the ancient Agora (market). Restaurants filled the hilly roads leading up to the Acropolis. We chose Zorba. Mike had lamb stew and tomato salad. I had veal souvlaki and sardine/olive appetizer. I liked his food better as usual. The owner gave us two Ouzos for free. It was served with ice cubes inside so the clear liquid was also milky white when it came to the table. Ouzo was supposed to contain 40 to 48 percent of alcohol. I knew it would taste just like raki from Turkey so I expected the heavy anise flavor, which always reminded me of a Chinese cough syrup. It was not my favorite drink.

The streets were crowed and welll lit even at 10 PM. We walked around Plaka. There was a perfect night scene of the Parthenon perched up on the rock. A lonely star shone brightly in the sky to the left of the parthenon. Music came with the breeze from nearby restaurants. The ancient sites were a lot quiter at night.

At 11 PM, we found Ice and Grill in our neighborhood, a shop that had dozens of ice-cream selections and grilled food. I had my second servings of ice-cream of the day. Kiwi and lemon, wonderful before bed time.

After a day in Athens, I would say I liked it more than expected. Everyone told me I would hate it because it was supposed to be dirty, dusty, crowded and boring. I seldom hated any place I'd been, let alone hating a place I haven't yet visited. I guess side by side with the beautiful Greek isles, Athens faded in comparison. But I liked its solid sense of history, its bustling night life, and the friendly people who told me the next stop was me before they got off to their own station.