At the Holiday Inn in Athens, we find ourselves in the lobby at 7:15am as told. Monique stayed up late to post a third day on the site - we’re tired but very excited - sleep will happen later. The hotel shuttle drops us off in front of the airport. Because of the small size of the plane we are forced to check our bags. We find the lounge and grab the free food - this is becoming our airport routine, check-in, find the free lounge, scarf some food and drink, pee in the nice bathrooms, stash some snacks for the flight, fill our water bottle and go. Through the gate onto a bus that drives the passengers out to the tarmack to load the plane. Forty-five minutes later we touch down on the Greek island of Santorini. Santorini is a very dramatic island with a flooded caldera (a collapsed volcanic crater) that creates a steep, multicolored arc of cliffs that reach up a thousand feet. Whitewashed villages with azure domes hang on the cliffs making this one of Greece’s most scenic spots.
We wait for our luggage but only half of the luggage shows up. The one and only baggage conveyor stops. Everyone looks at each other and thinks, hmmmm? No announcements are made, which is probably a good thing - maybe the bags are on another plane and will be here soon. After about ten minutes it begins to move again and the rest of the luggage finally appears - as we like to say “normallay”. Monique has arranged for a driver to pick us up to take us to our villa. It is a thirty minute drive to the town of Oia (pronounced ee-ah). It lines up along the cliff and is a myriad of winding pathways that lead to every size and shape of whitewashed building. We learn later that the amount of steps down is an important factor. This place is undeniably, one of Greece’s most scenic spots.
We are brought to an office on the main pedestrian walkway called Nikolaou Nomikou and meet the owner of the villas. His name is Triantafillos (this means “rose” in Greek so he says just call me Rose) and he has all the time in the world to talk - so talk he does. He proceeds to draw every place we need to know about on a small map explaining in precise detail what each has to offer. After about thirty minutes he walks us down to this amazing place on the cliff. We learn the whole story about him building this place with his own hands. He lives just below where we will be staying and his sons live here as well. Rose points across the cliff and let's us know there is a different place available if we want to look. It’s the same price and since we arrived before the other people, we get first pick. Of course we will look - why not! We walk back up the stairs, cross the walkway in the other direction and follow a winding path of stairs and finally arrive at the other villa. It is a tough choice be we stay with the first one - there are fewer steps which we learn later was a good choice.
On the walk back we learn the history of the area from his point of view. There was a time when the government came in and and tore down beautiful traditional buildings saying they were unsafe. They dumped the rubble in this area then sold new building materials back to the people to rebuild. It was a racket to make money. He told us a story about an old man that was an architect and when they tried to force him out of his home he went to the back room and came out with a two barrel gun loaded, hands shaky, but resolute, and he forced them out. To avoid the bad media that might occur, they stopped the practice and moved on. Triantafillos then had to clear the rubble from the site we are staying in and rebuild it by hand. He tells us about the times now and how they have changed. The government will be taxing him double very soon. This will push people like him - who worked their whole life to build something - into the red. We placed a deposit of half to secure the room via paypal. In his own way he hints at the hope of a cash payment for the balance - of course we will.
We like him right from the start. He goes out of his way to make a reservation for us at a traditional restaurant and also schedules a catamaran trip for us in the morning. He is genuinely a nice guy and even stops back to remind us of our 8:30 dinner reservation. He is the real deal who cares about people.
After our 45+ minute check-in process we venture out to pick up a few things. The bakery provides a light lunch. We need to get cash so we locate the bank ATM and make a withdraw. We make a stop at the grocery store for wine, beer and water. We have a refrigerator so we can keep things cold - bonus! The sun is hot and we are baking. We head back to our cave house where it is nice and cool. I think a nap is in order - what a nice birthday gift. A couple hours later we are awake and refreshed.
We move out to our amazing porch to begin catching up on our blog. As we work different people stop to talk. A couple tells us about a wine tour they just went on. Then a group of four women stop and take a rest. We are located right on a corner of the path which turns out is a nice resting place. They are staying below us - many steps below. Their names are Julie, Sara, Gina, and Dianne and are from London. They met twenty years ago after their children were born. Over the years they have grown quite close and decided they should do something to celebrate their 20 year anniversary. It started with going out for a nice dinner and magically grew into a trip to Greece - they all smile. Everyone is friendly in a place like this and we feel we are lucky to be in such a setting.
For dinner we have reservations at Skkala. It’s real close, in fact we can see the lights from our porch. Monique places her order - the fish of the day - so the waiter goes to kitchen and brings three fish on a plate and asks her to pick. She does and it goes back to the kitchen to be cooked. Dave orders Kelftiko, a traditional dish of fresh lamb baked in parchment paper with tomatoes, green pepper, and feta cheese served with baked potatoes. When the meal comes we are both very happy. It is fantastic.
After dinner we wander the pedestrian walkway to find all the stores open with bright lights shining - they stay open late - until 11:00 or 12:00. We go down into a cave-like studio/gallery. The father and son paint traditional icon paintings here. The are really exceptional and very expensive (10,000 euros and up) They start on a old wood panel or door and apply cloth with rabbit ear glue. Then multiple layers of a type of chalk is applied and sanded down to a perfectly smooth surface. Then gold leaf is applied. Only then the painting begins. They have religious iconography yet they are contemporary with elements of surrealism inserted. Very unique for sure. The son likes the fact that we are not the usual tourists and invites us back when his father is there - that sounds great - we will come back. The son doesn't know it but we both like one of his works and we discuss the purchase as we walk back to the villa. We will see.
We finish the night laying on the reclining chairs on our porch looking out to sea - a final cocktail in hand. Monique gives Dave a simple birthday gift and we both realize we had a great day. This place has a certain magic to it. We must get to sleep because a new adventure awaits in the morning - the red catamaran.
The check-in process - Triantafillos explains how things work - this is something we need to know. Monique is a good listener.
The view from the walkway outside of our villa - are you kidding me!
Happy Birthday Dave - lucky…
A view of our cave villa from the bedroom looking out. Notice Dave on the right - sleeping on the blue day bed - another birthday gift - a nap!
This is the place where they pick you up and drop you off when you do any excursion or need a ride anywhere - transportation can also be a mule.
The grocery store across the road - think about dodging scooters, motorcycles, buses, cars, trucks, quad ATV’s in too narrow a road with parked cars along the way. There’s beer and money over there so this must be done.
Birthday dinner at Skala - a toast to Dave - Happy Birthday!