Day 238 - Drink

Thought of the day: I can't believe that the Greek trip is over and we are already back in Switzerland. If life is but a dream, the Greek trip is a dream within a dream within a dream within a dream. It's a lot of layering but we'll eventually wake up from all our dreams, layer by layer, and return to eternity. Thankfully, in the same way that a bright moment makes a day special, a trip like this makes the dream of life worthwhile.

Photo of the day:

We had a late flight but had to check out at noon.  Luckily, we were able to spend the rest of the day at the hotel pool.  It was another warm day - perfect for a frozen strawberry daiquiri at the pool!

Day 237 - Moonlight

Thought of the day: Today we took a tour of the caldera on a catamaran.  We swam in the hot springs and a few beaches, took in the view of cliffs of various colors, and set sail on the ocean for a while with a silent motor. It was interesting to spend some time on a boat, as the experience on the water was completely different from the experience on the land. When the boat was sailing smoothly and the wind was blowing on my face, it felt as if I had wings and all other thoughts drained out of the mind.  I can see why some people love, or are even addicted to, sailing. I was happy on the boat for a couple of hours but I was even happier when I got back on the land. Perhaps I need the solid ground under my feet more than the exhilaration and unpredictability of flying.

Photo of the day:

If the day time in Oia seems unreal already, the night time is simply out of this world.  With the cooler summer air at night, people come into the street for dinner only after it's dark - often after 9pm. Tonight is our last night in Greece. The lights are already on everywhere. From our veranda, we can see a full moon casting an elongated strip of silky, golden light on the ocean and touching the boats docked in the harbor ever so lightly. The image is unforgettable and we're going to miss it. In fact, I already am.

Day 236 - Wine Tasting

Thought of the day: One thing we learned after coming here was that Santorini had a long history of wine making. In fact, wine making took place even in the ancient culture before it perished in the huge volcanic eruption. The region makes wines with a special quality and taste because the volcanic soil is lacking in organic materials but is rich in minerals. This morning, we visited a winery called Sigalas on the eastern plain of Oia.  It took us about half an hour to walk there from our hotel.  Along the way, we walked past a number of deserted vineyards, presumably abandoned by locals who moved into the more lucrative tourism industry.  In Sigalas winery, we tried out a few different red, white and dessert wines and really liked the white ones we tasted. In a warm Mediterranean summer day, it was refreshing to sit in the shade of the vines, sip the wine and let the cool ocean breeze wash all over you. Mr. Sigalas is clearly passionate about wine making and I hope this ancient tradition will be carried on in Santorini by him and others like him.

Photo of the day:

Wine tasting in Sigalas Winery.  Beyond the vineyard lies the blue Agean sea. What a place to have a winery!

Day 235 - Ridge

Thought of the day: We had an early breakfast this morning and then took a hike to Fira.  There's a stone trail from Oia all the way to Fira along the ridge.  Some sections of the trail looked underused and were overgrown with grass, but overall, it's an easy hike if you can stand the blazing sun - there were no shades along the trail at all. The view of the agricultural land and settlements to the left and the caldera to the right was just spectacular.  We walked past a few towns along the way including Imerovigli and Firostefani.  After a lunch at Firostefani, we walked the final leg to Fira and took a bus back.  I was surprised that during the hike of over two hours, we didn't run into any other hikers on the trail.  I guess most people come to Santorini in the summer for sightseeing and relaxation at the pool, not for hiking in a desert landscape under a merciless sun. It also doesn't help that the local people tend to exaggerate the difficulty of the hike. None of the hotel staff I talked to have done this hike, even though some of them have been here for quite a while. Now that we have done it and told them how easy it was, at least two of them said they would be eager to finally give it a try. Personally, I always need to walk, run or hike to get a better sense of a place and feel some emotional connection to it, sightseeing alone just doesn't do it for me. So I am glad that we did the hike today.

Photo of the day:

Portrait of the east end of Oia, the ridge, and myself next to the hotel pool.  The town of Fira perches high on the ridge (all the way to the right).

Day 234 - Oia Sunset

Thought of the day: After spending a couple of days in Santorini, I am noticing a few things here - some of them were expected and some of them came as a surprise. First of all, there is an abundance of sunlight here.  It's closer to the equator and the summer sun is very strong. I see a lot of people walking around town with sunburns - they are probably the unsuspecting first-time tourists to Greece.  Secondly, there are many painters here.  At any time of the day, I see painters working on the walls, roofs, chimneys, stones, you name it, until they are painted as white as fresh snow.  Even part of the cliff adjacent to our hotel is painted white. In any case, it's apparently a lot of work to keep up the impossibly white image of Oia. Thirdly, there are a lot of tourists from China. I used to run into more Japanese tourists than Chinese, but in the past few years, the trend seemed to have reversed. That's probably not too surprising given the rise of upper and middle class Chinese and Japan's persistent economic woes. Fourthly, the most frequently used language in hotels and restaurants is not Greek, not Spanish, not German, not French, but English in a variety of accents. Perhaps it's not too surprising for a tourist town, even if it's an European tourist town. What's a little surprising, however, was that even the hotel staff often talk to each other in English.  It turns out that they come from all over Europe to work here, not just from Greece.

Photo of the day:

Sunset in Oia is an event in its own category.  At around 8pm, the town empties out to the western tip to watch the famous Oia sunset.  People spill back into the streets and restaurants after the sun completely disappears into the ocean.  It looks as if the time is suspended during the sunset hour and everything can go back to normal again only afterward.  People claps the moment when the sun is completely gone - and you can almost hear the collective sigh "OK, it's finally over, phew!"  Or maybe it's just in my imagination?

Day 233 - Port

Thought of the day: Today we walked down to the port and had lunch at a popular tavern called Ammoudi. We met the restaurant's owner, a friendly Canadian woman who came here for vacation 23 years ago and never left. After settling down on the island, she fell in love with a cook called Dimitris. They got married and opened the restaurant together. Judging from their reputation and the size of the lunch crowd, they must be doing just fine. The owners of another local favorite, Atlantis Bookstore, are an American and a British who came as tourists 9 years ago and decided to open a multilingual used-book store for tourists. They have a good, tasty collection of English books and the bookstore feels more like a cozy college library than your normal run-of-the-mill bookstore. On a pedestrian street filled with glittering, colorful souvenir shops, this bookstore was a rare find. I spent a good hour there this afternoon browsing the books and took home a few with me. Oia is primarily a tourist town but the tourists are not merely the source of income here, they contribute to the local culture as well, as amply demonstrated by the owners of Ammoudi and Atlantis.

Photo of the day:

The village of Oia is built on top of the cliff.  At the bottom, it's the port which is accessible by a path with a lot of steps and a paved road for cars and tour buses.  We walked, of course.  It was fun to walk and the view was spectacular along the way.

Day 232 - Oia

Thought of the day: The Greek island of Santorini is at the rim of a caldera, which was formed millions of years ago by volcanic activities. Some 3,600 years ago a violent volcanic eruption wiped out the Monoan civilization that used to flourish in this area.  I knew before coming here that it is an arid island due to the volcanic nature but I am still surprised to see how bleak the landscape looks.  What make this island so charming, and famous, are the picturesque towns hanging on the edge of high cliffs.  Oia is one of them.  The white washed cave style dwellings, blue domed churches, narrow pedestrian streets, red bougainvillea and the Aegean sea conspire to made Oia one of the most photogenic places on earth. We took a walk along the pedestrian street and were literally rubbing shoulders with tourists, photographers, and even a film crew from the World Travel Channel. It's not surprising that tourists come here in droves, as who would not fall in love with a place like this?

Photo of the day:

View of Oia from inside a store along the main pedestrian street.

Day 231 - Book and Tea

Thought of the day: We are on a Greek island! We have had kids for eight years and this is the first time in as many years that David and I travel together on our own. The kids are staying back in Switzerland with the grandparents - not a bad arrangement for them because there are many things they can do. When we left this afternoon, Lila took it in stride, but Jasmine had a hard time saying goodbye. We are already missing them but it's also nice to have this opportunity to travel on our own.  When we travel with the kids, naturally, much of our energy goes toward keeping them safe, happy and entertained.  Traveling on our own, we can focus more freely on what's going on around us and focus more on each other. It makes an entirely different kind of travel experience.  I think all the couples with kids ought to try this once in a while, if they can.

Photo of the day:

Enjoy a fine book with hot tea on the flight from Switzerland to Santorini. The food served on the Swiss Air flight was surprisingly good - my favorite part was the ice cream and Swiss chocolate!