Day 10 - All day Santorini Tour

This morning Moishii decided to learn from his previous experience and had instant noodles for breakfast, saving us a good 45mins in the morning. We got dressed in our swimmers, shorts and singlets, big bottle of water, snacks, sunscreen and a fully charged camera with heaps of memory sticks. We walk to the front of our apartment where the tour bus "Blue Waters" is supposed to come and pick us up saving us the walk into town. We stand by the side of the road, getting excited everytime a bus drives by only to be disappointed when its a different tour company. Finally our bus comes trundling along the road. We wave at the bus driver who started to slow down, but as he bus neared us, he floored the accelerator and drove off leaving us there to eat dirt. I quickly run into the travel agency to confirm that they ARE supposed to pick us up from the front of the apartment and that we didn't need to walk to town. She quickly called up Blue Waters, rambled alot of greek and turned to me and said "He'll be here in 5mins". I run back outside, making a bet with Moishii that the guy drove off and forgot to pick us up. Lo and behold, we see the same bus come back for us after going around the block. The bastard forgot to pick us up!! And we were standing there waving at him as well! FFS!

Finding comfortable seats, we spread ourselves out ready for the all day tour. First stop, Akrotiri. Akrotiri is one of the most important ancient settlements of Greece. Archelogical excavation of the area began in 1967 where they uncovered a huge city/town completely buried under the volcanic material from a huge volcanic eruption around 1640BC. Because of this, the town is completely preserved. The site itself is huge. According to our tour guide (Which Moishii had an obsession with because he insists that she is missing a neck and spent the whole time trying not to wet himself from laughing every time he looked at her), they have only uncovered 3% of the entire town. For something that old, the town was extremely advanced with complex plumbing systems, double story houses with 14 bedrooms etc. It is believed that all the inhabitants of the village had warning of the eruption and managed to leave the island before the eruption occurred. Most of the houses uncovered had all their pottery and furniture neatly stacked, waiting for their owners to come back. However, this eruption was so big, it blew the centre of the island up, leaving the volcano in the centre that is surrounded by the outer edges of the remains of the original island. This eruption is also hugely linked to the sinking of Atlantis. Unfortunately for us, when we went, they were in the process of builing a protective roof covering for the excavation site meaning alot of the places were inaccessible, and any pottery and furniture has also been moved for safe keeping.

At Akrotiri, they have also managed to uncover many wall paintings which include two boys boxing, one of which is wearing a pair of boxing gloves. The earliest recording of the boxing gloves. They also found a wall painting of women who has red finger nails (Nail polish) and perfectly tailored eyebrows (Plucking). Now if that isn't a sign from the ancestors that women should spend more time pampering themselves with manicures and facials etc, I don't know what is. :D

Next stop was to the new port where we will catch a wooden tour boat to the volcano. Before that, we took a bus tour along a few vineyards. Santorini apparently has some of the best wines as all their grapes are grown from the rich volcanic soil. But one of the problems they have is the strong winds all over the island. So unlike all the vineyards you see at the Hunter Valley, these vineyards look like someone had done a piss poor job at digging out the weeds in their garden. The vines are planted on the ground, and all you see are little mounds of green bush on the ground. The reason for this is that by keeping the plants low, theres less damage done by the winds. The second thing they do is they trim away a majority of the branches leaving a few main ones to weave a basket out of. This helps the vines continue to grow into little baskets that dot the ground, and within the centre of the basket contains all the grapes. It was absolutely fascinating to see, but unfortunately I couldn't get any decent photos except this one:

After touring the Vineyard, we stopped the bus in the middle of a dirt track road where our tour guide jumped off our bus and ran onto another tour bus. Who the hell swaps tour guides in the middle of no where!? One person lighter, we continue down a very, VERY steep and winding road down to the new port. We hop onto our vessel and was on our way.


The view looking back at Fira is absolutely amazing. I keep getting reminded again and again that we are staying on the remains of one of the biggest volcanic eruptions EVER. As we neared the volcano, we noticed that there is only ONE pier...with about 6 boats tied to it. Basically they tied the boats side by side, and we had to climb through all 6 boats to actually get onto land. The next 45mins is the best butt workout you will EVER have. We had to climb from the base of the volcano, all the way up to the crater, which is about 200m UP. The worst bit was, because it is a volcano, there are no paved roads. All roads are made up of loose volcanic rocks and gravel. Which means, at times when you are climbing with all your might up the volcano, the rocks keep moving underneath you making it feel like you are on a stepper. Forever climbing, never getting anywhere.

Pulling up to the Volcano

The view from the top of the volcano was one of the most breathtaking things you will ever see. Of course being out of shape, dehydrated and climbing 200m above sea-level helped us having our breaths taken away...nonetheless, it was well worth the climb.


We collected a few pebbles as momentos and hiked our way around the crater, where you can still see smoke rising from the ground. Now don't worry, they have equipment located all around the volcano to detect any chance of an eruption happening, and they usually have 1month advance notice, so for the day we were going, we should be safe. Near the edge of the crater, they also dug a few small holes in the ground, and placing your hand into the holes feels like you were shoving it into a super power pizza oven. Apparently if you leave an egg in there for 20mins, it will be cooked. If only someone hadtold me, I would've bought a dozen eggs to make a cheap lunch!

The crater

We slowly made our way down the volcano, slipping and sliding numerous times, kicking up the dust so our hair started to look like cameron diaz in "Theres something about Mary" from all the dust it started to gather.

We finally get back onto our boat where we head towards the hot springs near the base of the the Volcano. I have been looking forward to this part of the trip so much! To soak in the warm waters, splatter mineral rich volcanic mud all over me to beautify my skin.



This is when we pull up to the hot spring and they tell us that we cannot drive the boat any closer for saftey reasons. We're going to have to jump off the boat and swim towards the hot spring. Although people had warned me this earlier on, I didn't realise how far it was until we got there. Not being the strongest swimmer (Haven't been swimming since year 10), and Moishii refusing to jump into the water, I decided to sit this one out. Only when the entire boat had jumped into the water and started swimming towards the hot springs did I realise how shallow the water was. By then it was too late, I had 15mins to get there and back with a bit of time in between for soaking. Not worth the effort.

You are able to stand once you swim to the brown area

Besides, at this exact moment, there was an avalanche. Ok, atleast I thought it was an avalanche.....until I looked closer. There was over 50 goats stampeding DOWN the cliff side which gave me the impression that there was an avalanche! Now I know what people mean when they say they're as sure footed as a mountain goat. The one thing I don't understand is how the hell these goats survive. Its a volcano. Theres no grass. I couldn't see any vegetation on the entire cliff side! And the scary thing is, ALL these goats are owned by ONE person. The sole occupant of the island/volcano.

All these goats are owned by the one guy

I have no idea what they eat

By the time everyone swam back onto the boat, it was time to go to the next destination. Therissa. Another island of Santoniri with about 200 people living on it. We get to the base of the cliff when we were told that there are restaurants by the port, or we can WALK the 160 steps up to the top of the cliff. Now 160 steps may not sound like much, but considering each "Step" is about 2-3m long, and will take you a couple of hundred meters up, theres no way in HELL we're going to walk up there. Ahhhhhhh thank goodness for donkeys!!! We walk to the nearest herder who takes us to the stable where he gets the donkeys ready. This is when a honkie chick comes up beside us also wanting to ride a donkey. Now let me explain, we were in a stable, the entire ground is covered in donkey poo. The only way to get to the donkey is by stepping through the minefield. This honkie chick is standing outside the stable, refusing to walk to the donkey, and starts screaming at the guy "I want a beautiful donkey!". After alot of yelling, she finally walks through the donkey poo and gets onto her donkey. As the herder leads us out of the stable, he ties my donkey to her donkey which was tied to his donkey. Now the last time I rode a donkey, I had a psychopathic one. This time, it was the herder that was psychopathic. He looked like a mexican gonzalas who kept SCREAMING the entire way up to the top of the cliff. He was even wearing the round spectacles and the sombrero. Not only was the guy so annoying that I wanted to strangle him, but this honkie chick infront of me kept waving to her boyfriend who decided to walk up the stairs and patting my donkey. So on one hand, I had the screaming herder, on the other hand, I had the screaming honkie chick. If I wasn't terrified of falling down the cliff, I would've jumped off and strangled both of them!!

We get to the top and I quickly jump off the donkey before my urge to shove both of them over the cliff gets too strong. We hike up the rest of the way and took a deep breath and this is what we saw...





Absolutely GORGEOUS!!! We just stood there for awhile, taking in the sight, inhaling the fresh seabreeze. We walk into the "town" a bit more where we found the "Panoramic Restaurant" with a balcony hanging over the cliff. (Look in the photo above)

Panoramic Restaurant

We get a seat right on the edge of the balcony so we could enjoy the view whilst we had lunch (Which turned out to be fake greek salad, bread and eggplant that should have been for 2 but was for 1). We start making our way down the cliff to get back onto the ferry. I couldn't believe how tiring it could be trying to walk DOWNHILL. God knows what would happen if we had to walk UP!! It took us about 30mins to get down to the bottom since we had to take many pit stops for photo shoots and also to avoid the path of donkey poo. When we get to the bottom, we quickly run into the first shop to buy more water and scoff an ice cream since we were about to pass out from the heat.

The "relaxing stroll" down the cliffside

We get back onto the ferry where they will drop us off at our final destination. Oia (Ia). Santorini is well known to have the worlds most beautiful and stunning sunsets. The only problem is, to get to the top of Oia, you have to climb 260 steps. Yep! You guessed it! Donkeys!! I don't understand why it is so hard to have a normal donkey ride. First the psychopathic donkey, then the psychopathic herder/honkie chick and now the bitch and the bitch. Bitch #1 thought it would be a GREAT idea to go hiking around Santorini, the island of stairs, in stilettos and a mini skirt. Hell I can't even STAND in those freakin stilettos, let alone hike in them! Of course her boyfriend had to walk up the 260 steps whilst she waited for the donkey. The second bitch was with her entire family (Indian family of 6) who wanted to ride the donkeys up because the father couldn't walk. The only problem was, the mother didn't want to pay for the donkey ride, and the girl was terrified of donkeys. After them screaming at each other for 5 mins, they decided to all ride the donkeys. When it was the mother and girls turn to get onto their donkey, the mother kept screaming at the family because she refused to walk to the donkeys. The herder finally gets the shits and starts screaming at her, only then did she follow him to climb onto the donkey. The girl gets onto the donkey next, and some how I ended up in the same group as her and her father, and Moishii. As we were going up the cliff, this girl kept SCREAMING. It got to a stage where I couldn't tell if she was screaming, laughing or crying. I just know she was hysterical, and her dad kept trying to calm her down only to end up ramming me and Moishii into the cliffside. When we got to the top, the herder ran up to her donkey and practically yanked her off the fuckin thing to stop her screaming! I have NEVER in my life seen someone carry on like that!! Like what the hell!? We quickly made a run for it.....

Well...we tried....out of the 260 steps, the donkey took us up about 230 steps, which meant we had to climb another 30 steps ourselves. Ok, I know I am out of shape, but I couldn't believe that we had THREE pit stops trying to climb those 30 steps!!!

The remaining steps we had to climb

We were huffing and puffing, drinking water and having to sit cos our legs were shaking from trying to climb those stairs!! We get to the top feeling so proud of ourselves! This is when we turn around and see this guy......

The guy carrying the suitcase and the bitch with stilettos and skirt

He's carried a suitcase AND a handcarry up those steps!! I hope to god that he caught a donkey.....but there was no way in the world he could have tied that to the donkey...

The beautiful sights around Oia

We roam around the shops in Oia before we headed to the furthest point of the island where we expect to have the best views. We get there quite early and see a restaurant. We quickly run in and got an excellent spot for the sunset with no one blocking our view. We watched the sun slowly go down whilst we enjoyed our dinner. Moishii comes out of the toilet and tells me that there is a window in the toilet where you can take some great photos since the ground beneath it is sunken and there is no one blocking the view. Thinking that I should go and take some photos as well, I grab my camera and head into the toilet. Now this toilet only had 2 cubicles. The male cubicle where it had a window view, and the female cubicle with a wall instead of a window. After taking my photos, I thought it would be a good idea to go to the toilet before the sunset.

As I am ready to leave the cubicle, this is when I realise that the door handle is loose. The fuckin door won't open!!!! I put my foot against the wall and tugged as hard as I could. I tried kicking the door, only to jam it more. I tried jiggling the door handle and continued to pull with all my might. "Why don't you call for help?" you ask? Great idea! Except that I didn't bring my mobile with me!!! Thinking that as long as someone, male or female, wants to go to the toilet, I'll be saved. In the meantime, I kept yanking on the door handle. A few minutes pass and nothing. I cannot believe this. The world's most beautiful sunset is happening right now, and I am locked in a toilet cubicle!! This is our last night in Santorini, if I don't see it now, I'll never see it again. There is only one thing to do. I had to climb the cubicle wall. I carefully put my camera on the top of the cubicle wall that is about 2.5m high. I climb onto the toilet seat and grip onto the wall with my hands. I put one foot on the toilet paper holder when the whole thing started to move. This wasn't going to work. Instead, I placed my foot onto the PLASTIC cistern and quickly pulled myself up. I managed to flush the toilet when I hoisted myself up. So here I am, in mid air, with my upper body hanging in the men's cubicle and my legs dangling in the female toilet. Thank goodness for all the donkey riding lately because I managed to swing my leg over the wall.

Imagine walking into the toilet to see an asian chick sitting on the top of the cubicle wall with her legs dangling on each side of the cubicle wall. I was sitting ontop of the wall looking at how far down the ground was. If I jumped, I'll break a leg. It was a risk I was willing to take. There was no way in hell I would miss out on the sunset. I look around the men's cubicle and see that they also have a not so sturdy Cistern. If it cracks and water starts flooding the place, I don't give a shit! If it wasn't for their fucked up lock, I wouldn't be here in the first place!! I swing my other leg over, put on foot on the cistern and try to lower myself gently only to almost smack my head into the wall when I came crashing down! I run out of the male cubicle and quickly try to unlock the woman's cubicle. I barley turned the bloody handle when the door just swung open! @#%@#!$^ The door handle works fine, FROM THE OUTSIDE!! THATS NO FUCKIN USE TO ME IS IT!?!? I grab my camera and run outside and quickly start taking photos like a madman. Moishii comes up to me and asks "What happened?! Whats wrong!? Why are you shaking? Why are you out of breath!?" SHUT UP AND GET OUT OF MY WAY SO I CAN TAKE PHOTOS FFS!!! I gave him the briefest rundown of the story. Which was "I got locked in the toilet and had to climb the wall" *goes back to taking photos*

Moishii had thought that I decided to stay in the toilet to take photos because of the view. FFS who the hell stays in the toilet to take photos when I had a panoramic view from the balcony!? He wasn't even going to take photos of the sunset cos he thought I was taking photos. Luckily he took a few shots whilst filming his video. I come out and quickly use up my memory stick within minutes. I can't believe I got locked in a fuckin cubicle. And the reason no one came in to save me was because everyone was busy watching the worlds most beautiful sunset!! Moishii kept badgering me on what happened, I was just too traumatised to talk about it. Instead, I sent him inside to take photos of the toilet so I could explain it to him after the sun had gone down.

The sun before I went into the toilet

The photo I took from the toilet

The sunset after I escaped from the toilet trap

The woman's cubicle

The cistern I almost broke

The height of the wall from Moishii's eye level (Who is taller than me)

When the sun had finally gone down, we walked to the bus stop and caught our tour bus back into Thira. Along the way, they were dropping people off. There was a bunch of chicks who were in our tour group who had been whingeing and whining the whole day. They finally get dropped off at their hotel. Hotel Margherita. The refused to get off the bus because they didn't know where their hotel was and kept screaming at the bus driver to take them to their hotel. FFS, I look out the window and the first thing I see is their hotel. After the day I had, I was ready to kick them off the bus and slam their face into the dirt road!!!! The bus driver kicks them off the bus and practically tears down the road leaving them to eat dust. 30mins later we were back in our apartment where all I wanted to do was shower and clean all the volcanic dust out of my hair and not talk about my toilet incident...