Santorini

A few days ago we arrived in Santorini to a sea of blue and white buildings hanging off the high cliffs. The island is dotted with small towns which we explored in our rented Jeep,  quickly falling in tune with the 'relaxed' Greek driving rules as we made our way around the barren roads to the picturesque town of Oia.

We arrived down at the old port of Ammoudi, where a collection of seafood restaurants and boats lie in a bay at the bottom of a long winding marble stepped road up to Oia. 

For some people it's the sight of a sunset or a beautiful seascape that takes their breath away; for me there is nothing better than a line up of restaurants calling my name.

Our restaurant of choice was the Red Shark and Lobster, where we sat under the cool umbrellas hiding from the scorching sun. We were all weary from a few too many cocktails the night before, so slowly sipped our beers, eventually coming back to life.

We were presented with the day's fresh fish, and choose sea bass to share. To start we had grilled haloumi (which is one of my all time favourite dishes), delicious grilled lemony octopus and tuna salad.

When the fish arrived a space was cleared and our waiter set to carefully filleting it, leaving us in hungry suspense. It was worth the wait; the freshly grilled fish was charred, tasty, and perfectly cooked.

After filling up we wandered down to the pier where we lazed in the sun and dipped into the crystal clear water. By this stage any weariness was long forgotten as the Greek sun beat down on us.

As we lay on the pier where Lena and Kostas first met (excuse me those who have no idea what I'm on about here), we looked up at the town above, contemplating our journey. With full stomachs and midday heat the decision was easy- we would bypass the walk and hitch a ride up on donkeys.

  

We hopped off at the top of the steps, feeling only slightly guilty as people huffed and puffed their way up in sensible walking shoes and backpacks. 

Oia is beautiful in the kind of postcard perfect way, a place were you stand gazing at a blue rooftop wondering how the colour could be so perfect, and where light carries itself through the white cobbled streets in a beautiful pink hue.

We wandered around until we lost ourself in a maze of tiny streets where shops sold beautiful jewellery and white linen dresses. We dodged the tides of tour groups and found ourselves on the other side of town, until eventually we weaved our way back and walked down the steps to the port.

After a long day of restaurant hunting and donkey riding we eventually returned to the town of Fira (rental car intact), where we sat with a glass of wine watching the sunset- which I'll admit looked a lot better than any restuarant.