Santorini day 2 started out with an early walk from Finikia into Oia. After seeing loads of people cramming the small walkways last night, it was really nice to see it empty and peaceful in the morning. It was also a little bit cooler than it had been in the evening which was nice, as I've obviously acclimatised too much to cooler weather since living in London!
The plan for the day was to explore a quiet and tourist-free Oia, before heading to Fira (the main city of Santorini) for a look around.
I waited around at the bus stop them jumped on the regular bus service to Fira. The ticketing system on these buses is SO complicated. You get on and sit down, then the ticket man walks up and down the bus and sells tickets to people. He has to both remember who he's sold a ticket to or not AND navigate through the crammed bus (and I mean, crammed), pushing through people standing in the aisle and rearranging them so he can get through. It would make so much more sense to buy tickets off the driver when you get on, but hey, it's Greece - nothing makes sense!
I had a little bit of time to kill in Fira before the bus to Perissa, where the black beach is. Fira is a lovely place too, a little bit less fancy than Oia in terms of the shops and restaurants - it caters a bit more to everyone, while Oia is a bit more posh. Like Oia, Fira also has an amazing view from the edge of the caldera of the endless ocean. Its just so beautiful.
After exploring for a bit, it was time to catch my bus to Perissa. The black beach on Santorini was made of black pebbles, unlike the black sand that I'd seen in Iceland. Silly me didn't wear my swimmers though, so I couldn't go in the delicious blue water. My plan for Perissa was to hike up this hill to the ancient Greek settlement. But I didn't plan very well - Ancient Thera was closed today! Which I found out while I was looking up the route and eating lunch.... oops. So with that, I ordered a cold glass of wine and enjoyed the view. I was quite grateful, as it was scorching hot - too hot for a hike up lots of stairs!
After my lunch, I went back to Fira on the bus and wandered about there a bit more. There was this giant staircase that went from the town all the way down to the ocean. You could walk it, OR you could have a donkey/mule ride up or down. A lot of people seemed to do this, especially those who came off the huge cruise ships that were docked off in the deeper ocean. I caught the next bus back to Oia then walked back to Finikia.
The plan was to go back and eat a quick early dinner before going back to Oia to watch the sun set. This was quite the attraction in Santorini, and you have to get there early to get a spot. One advantage of travelling solo is that people don't seem to mind when you politely squeeze through to get a good spot because there's only one of you! So I got a prime position on the castle.... surrounded by a whole heap of young Aussies! And there's a reason why the sunset in Santorini is famous - it was bloody beautiful.
Lots of sunset photos below... don't say I didn't warn you.
