Explore Santorini
Yet another perfect morning on Santorini. The folks who were closing their shops
yesterday could be making a few bucks today but they probably have history on
their side. They could also be cleaning
up on the cruise ship tour groups that magically appeared this morning. This has to be close to the end for them.
We have our one simple plan for today but it is different
for each of us. John is going to do the
6 mile cliff hike from Oia, our home base, to Fira the “big” city of
Santorini. Mary is going to get some
shopping done this morning and then she will take the local bus to Fira to meet
up with John for lunch. Backpack, water,
phone all accounted for so Mary walks with John to the start of the trail. No point in going if you can’t find the place
to start.
It’s one of those days that you aren’t sure if it is hot or
cold. It is certainly warm in the sun
but in the shade and breeze if feels pretty chilly. John stows the sweatshirt even before
beginning and heads uphill over the first of three pretty big peaks to be
encountered today. He is figuring 2 mph
uphill and 3-4 downhill making it about a 2-1/2 hour walk. The path is sometimes stone pavers, sometimes
loose gravel, sometimes packed dirt and once in a while just loose rocks. It wouldn’t be considered difficult and the
fact that a chubby old man can do it would seem to bear that out, but it isn’t
just a stroll around town either. There
are no flat parts, it is either steeply uphill or steeply downhill, and you do
have to be careful where your feet land.
The views however are spectacular.
Looking back on Oia gives a great perspective of our position on the
island and the caldera as a whole. On
the other side is the valley where we sipped some wine yesterday. The sea is of course the back-drop for all of
it.
There is a young couple from Bellingham, Washington going
the same way as John and they join up for a bit to hike and chat. They are here on the cruise ship and opt to
do the walk rather than shop in town with all the old folks on the cruise. They have been in Europe for about 6 weeks
and may stay for a bit longer. There
might be a volunteer opportunity for them in Norway that includes room and
board and could keep them here indefinitely.
Good for them. After John
separates they still leap-frog each other a couple more times which is like
chatting with someone at the grocery store and then you keep running into
them. Oh, hi.
John drags his sorry butt into Fira pretty much on schedule
and Mary is waiting at the bus terminal, the agreed upon meeting place. With some extra walking through Oia to get to
the trail and through Fira from the end of the trail John’s watch said the
whole trip was 7-1/2 miles. He’ll feel
that tomorrow.
Mary had a good morning wandering around town and
resupplying our breakfast items. (Wordy
Mary has added this in-depth description of her morning.)
We had an old recommendation for a place for lunch in Fira
called “Lucky’s.” We found it in the
next block up from the bus terminal. It
was a tiny place with a few bar stools, maybe three tables and a little
take-out counter. You order your food
and pay Lucky who is at the register while holding court for all within hearing
range. He is a jovial fellow and good
with the few kids who are in with their parents. The food is just what we have been looking
for. There is lamb and chicken spinning
on vertical spits, pitas on the grill and all the extras. We each have the “Chicken Pita” which is
shaved chicken on a tzatziki lathered pita topped with tomatoes, onions, and
French fries all wrapped in a paper cone and washed down with an icy cold
beer. Perfect. We wish Lucky was in Oia so we could go every
day.
We do a little walk around Fira and except for Lucky’s we
are happy we’re in Oia. We take the 2:30
bus back to our little town just in time for a break for John while Mary
does a bit more grocery shopping.
Nap, eat, nap, eat.
Here we go again. There is still
a low cloud bank on the western horizon so we are not optimistic about a sunset. We will only have one more shot at this
tomorrow. There is one more restaurant
that has been recommended and we search high and low but can’t find it. It is in one of the little alleys that wind around
and stop and start throughout town. The
alleys don’t have names and there really isn’t a good map so you just have to
wander and search within a reasonable quadrant.
Since we have committed to go to a restaurant away from the water
tonight and do our last water dinner tomorrow, we settle on Roka again.
We don’t have the large American group in tonight which
means Roka is quiet but welcoming. Mary
goes appetizer route with a spicy cheese dip served with bread and another
cheese pie. The cheese pie actually turns out to be sweet little turnover things. She wanted the “Green” pie
thinking spinach but of course they were out.
John finally goes for the octopus tentacle. He has been looking for an opportunity to
have grilled octopus but time is running out and settles for this sautéed dish. It is coated with a dark sauce that is sort
of sweet almost like hoisin. It is served
with a mashed fava bean puree which makes for a nice combo.
It’s been a busy day for being on vacation and we hustle
back to bed. No strolls around town
tonight.
What did we learn today? A guy like Lucky who
serves good food at a reasonable price while welcoming his guests will be
successful anywhere.
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