Santorini, Greece
You may or may not know, is that at one time I was traveling around the world every year. Summer in Italy, living in Spain, or a quick trip to Morocco. I hope to continue traveling around the world my whole live, and to capture all those moments here on Observant Nomad. Call me sentimental, but I want to collect my past journeys here as well. So every other week I’ll reminisce about the places I’ve been and what I loved most about them. Enjoy!
I never planned to go to Greece, or even expected to. It all began with a late night phone call from one of my best friends.”Hey, would you ever think about going to Greece?” My first reaction was “Of course, you know how much I love to travel.”
“Well, how about soon, like really soon?” I was caught off guard, this friend had never been to Europe and she didn’t travel that much to begin with. But she continued to surprise me by telling me that her friends had found tickets from Denver to Athens round-trip for $600. You can safely assume, we jumped on it.
It was my first trip with two of my best friends. We spent the first few days in Athens, but decided to meet up with other friends who were traveling the islands. Santorini was where we landed. It is a small Mediterranean island south of Athens, where the water is crystal clear and the jagged rock faces remind you of the ancient tales of mythology.
We stayed in a small beach side hostel in Perissa, which you can see above on the left. The courtyard was small and romantic with flowing vibrant flowers over all of the stucco buildings.
One night while staying on Santorini we visited Oia, a small town known around the world for her sunsets and set-in-the-cliff dwellings seen below. I fell in love with the blue and white stucco churches. The sunset kissing their tops and set their white a lovely range of blush and sherbert colors.
Oia was a wonder all its own. Set high atop the highest cliffs of Santorini, shops and homes have set themselves into the cliff face. Almost creating a whimsical Dr. Seuss land of white buildings stacked upon one another and children playing on the rooftops. We ate out in the open air at a big dinner with eight of our travel companions. It was a wonderful night of laughs and talking, which ended in tradition by sampling the local raisin liqueur made in Santorini.
Every corner and edge of Santorini offered exploration and charm. The foliage was almost desert like with plenty of bright Mediterranean flowers. We explored the island and snorkeled into the small crevasses of the island making friends with bright tropical fish and the sunlight blanketing the water with warmth. I felt like a pirate swimming for lost treasure.
We spent our days at the beach soaking up sun on black sand. At night we wandered the open cobblestone streets for bars and waffle stands. The food was spectacular and fresh. Creamy tzatziki covered cool cucumbers and bright tomatoes over beds of grape leaves, couscous and warm pita bread. The Kalamata Olives were plucked straight from the trees and were brined into a wonderfully salty treat, I’ve never enjoyed olives the same after these.
We were all sad to leave this little heaven of an island. My friends and I joked about moving there to open our own hostel and restaurant. I think at the time we were all completely serious. Maybe one day we’ll get drawn back there again…
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