We needed to find an internet cafe and an ATM, so we went up on the main road and pulled down this side street to park. Kayla was bringing up the back and didn't see us pull over to park so she kept driving down the street. It was a one way so by the time she realized we had stopped she couldn't just come back up and rejoin us. Sienna was freaking out because Kayla was all alone and hadn't really been navigating so she was the least likely to know where she was going. Sienna and I walked up and down the main street hoping to see her and flag her down, but no luck. Then we waited by the ATVs hoping she would come back. No luck. Then we decided to drive down to the gas station where we had been earlier and see if she was there. No luck. Then we decided to go back to the place we parked and wait it out and we turned the corner and there she was! Hallelujah! So we made it to the ATM and got some computer access after 45 minutes of searching and then headed down to see the red sand beaches in Akrotiri.
It was quite a drive to get down there and a little scary since we were on the roads with all the other drivers and had no idea where we were going. Good thing there are only about 10 roads in Santorini or we would have been SOL. It was really fun to drive the ATVs though. I forgot how much I like to drive. And we felt super badass and powerful driving them; like we could take on anything. We didn't get lost on the way down there, but we did have to ask for more specific directions one we got into the town. Then we got there and it was super rocky, not at all like a beach. Some guy that was there saw that we were looking super confused and disappointed and told us that actually you have to hike up a little path and then you get to the beach part. We made our way around and then saw the actual beach. It was so red! so red! We ate our sandwiches on teh beach and then decided to head back up the island since it was going to be about and hour and a half drive on the ATVs and it was already pushing 2pm.
On our way back, we got to experience all that is crazy greek driving. It's not nearly the level that the Italians were at, but still nuts. We had people zooming all around us and honking and waving. Sometimes they were being flirty, but other times they were just frusterated by how slow we were driving. One took a particular affection to Kayla and decided to show it by kicking his legs out of his moped and laughing.
We got to Oia around 4. The drive to get there was beautiful! We took little roads near the coast line so we got to see all the fields and terrain. I had this picture in my head of what Santorini was like, little white houses with domed roofs and blue doors all built into the cliff. There are pockets of Santorini that look like that, but most of the island looks a lot like Arizona. It's desolate and rocky with no green grass insight. The cliffs are a brown-red color with prarie-like grasses growing on them and there are huge expanses between towns.
Oia is one of the paces that looks straight out of Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. Houses are the stereotypical whitewashed concrete and they are packed onto this cliff. There is literally no private space. From where we were sitting looking out at the water, I could clearly see into multiple family's homes. This would have been perfect if I was still in my Harriet the Spy phase of life, but since I left my notebook and toolbelt at home... But really, everyone has to be in everyone else's business all the time. There is just no other place to go.
We climbed around a bit and did some shopping. There was this little dog that climbed up on one of the houses to take a nap and enjoy the scenery. Gutsy dog, we were really high up!
We were going to find a place to eat dinner and watch the sunset, but the only place we could find with a sunset view was a bajillion dollars a plate. Figures. So we climbed around in the neighborhood. On our adventure, we ran into Jacquie and her mom and grandma. Jacquie cam with us and climbed up this old fort looking thing to watch teh sunset while her mom and gma rested. There were some really interesting people up on top of that fort. Lots of tourists and lots of crazies.
We had heard that the sunset in Oia was supposed to be the most beautiful in all of Europe, that why we hauled our butts all the way out there. It was just our luck that as the sun was setting a band of clouds decided to set itself right at the horizon. So the sun set into that insead of actually going down and turning pretty colors. Kind of really disappointing. But still nice.
Once the sunset ended with its lackluster finale, we were starving. We contemlated finding a place in Oia for dinner, but it was getting dark quick and we (I) thought it might be better to start our drive while there ws still some light in the sky to help us since we still didn't really know where we were going. It got dark really quick and we ended up going a different way, not on the calm little country roads, but on the main highway between Oia and Fira. In the dark. Not fun. We had to make a turn in this little town and as we were sitting at the stop sign, what crossed front of us, a giant parade of donkeys! Sienna just turned around and started laughing.
We finally got to Fira and wandered around trying to decide on a restaurant. We were all feeling super apathetic and none of us were willing to make a decision about where to eat. Flash forward 45 minutes and we're still wandering. We narrowed it down to two and were running back and forth looking at menus and trying to decide. It was a slow night in Fira so the restaurant guys were trying so hard to get us to eat there. We were persuaded by stuffed peppers and free sangria. Yum..... We took a picture at the table and the guy at the restaurant across the street tried to get in it. Our waiter joked that he'd take another with this guy in it if he paid our tab. We were so close to a free dinner, but this guy "forgot his visa card". Dang it.
After dinner we wandered around and found this delicious bakery place. Sienna was off looking at earrings while Kayla and I were gawking at all the goodies. The bakery lady noticed how much we were staring and started talking to us. She didn't have to work too hard because after she said caramel, cake, and pastry puff we were sold. THIS CAKE WAS DELICIOUS. I would actually consider buying a round trip ferry ticket and enduring the 6 hour ride just to get another piece.
We hopped back on our ATVs and rode back to the hotel. We had delusions of going out and finding our Kostases, but after taking a look in the mirror and seeing our windblown hair and faces and realizing how tired we were, we just decided to play games in our room. Kayla taught us one where you write down random words/people/inside jokes on paper and then pick one, but it on your forhead (so you can't see your own, but you can see everyone else's) and then try to get the other people to say what's on thier head using one word clues. Rule #1: you can't tak off your helmet. It was helpful for keeping the paper on our heads and surpirsingly comfy to sleep in :)
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