Exploring Santorini

Today we hiked the bulk of the island of Santorini, walking from our hotel in Imerovigli to Oia, which was around 13 miles round trip.

We started our day with breakfast and coffee on our balcony, and it was fantastic!

Next we started our hike, walking along a super scenic view lined with white painted houses. Once we reached the edge of our town Imerovigli, the terrain turned to essentially rocky desert. Santorini is one of the largest ocean calderas in the world(caldera being sunken volcano) so walking along the rim gives a very impressive crescent view.

Eventually we reached Oia, which we knew was a tourist hotspot from YouTube, but boy was it packed! We hit all the scenic spots in town, and then hiked the 250 steps down to Amoudi Bay. This bay is very picturesque, with views of the volcanic mountains supporting Oia. We learned that this bay was actually featured in the movies Mama Mia and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

After trekking back up we went off the beaten path to find a restaurant, and found a fantastic rooftop perch where we got to chat with the owner whose wife was from Cyprus. They had fantastic Cyprus influenced Greek dishes that wowed us!

After eating we headed on the long hike back. Before leaving Oia we stopped at a cute cafe on the edge of town and sampled some homemade Baklava(it was good but needed more honey!). Next we hiked home. We saw some very cute stray dogs journeying together on our walk; they actually walked on the wall alongside us for a bit.

Once we made it back into Imerovigli we relaxed for the rest of the day. For dinner we grabbed takeaway gyros from a local spot, and we enjoyed those on our deck. We then stayed on the deck and enjoyed a glorious sunset as well!Read more