I told the guy at the hotel that I had a 9am flight to Santorini and he assured me that catching a train to the airport at 7am would be enough time to get there. Oh I should never have listened to him.... I had to change trains at Monastiraki, but had to wait for one train to pass for the one that went to the airport. Then that train slowed down a lot with about 2 stops to go. I was standing on the train panicking that I would miss my flight! Not a nice feeling.
Finally, I got to the airport, ran to the check in desk – the lady there told me I had two minutes to spare before the desk closed. She checked my baggage, gave me a fast track pass through security and off I ran. By the time I got to the gate, I was coughing and spluttering and had no water to drink. I think the people waiting for the plane were probably thinking "she sounds sick, I don't want to sit next to her". I managed to get my breathing under control and boarded the tiny little plane. I was off to Santorini.
I landed at the tiny airport there and caught a public bus all the way to Finikia, a little village just off the main tourist area. I'd booked an apartment with a swimming pool and it was possibly the loveliest place I've ever stayed at. The owner was very nice and helpful, and they delivered food in the afternoon for you to eat for breakfast. The apartment had a balcony, kitchen, daybed and loads of space.
After settling in, I walked to Oia, one of the main places in Santorini where you see the houses, hotels and swimming pools clinging to the edge of the caldera. On the way, I had a quick look around the top part of of Finikia - it was so nice!
The walk to Oia was a hot one. Even though it was about 5pm, the sunlight was really strong and the white paths with white walls either side did nothing to shield you from it. Then I had to walk a short distance along a road. So I got to Oia rather warm! Oia was a lovely place but it gets very crowded, especially around sunset, where everyone crowds in to see it (I went back a few days later to experience this!). But it was also very typical of Greek islands - white buildings with blue accents and pink bougainvilleas EVERYWHERE! Not to mention the amazingly blue sea below. It was honestly heavenly, it was so beautiful.
After having a look around, I walked back to Finikia (about 20 mins) and had a simple dinner at my apartment while watching the sunset. A perfect end to what started off as a stressful day!
