Today, we didn't really do anything at all in the morning! And then left our hotel around 1pm to catch a tour to the Volcano & Hot Springs, that left from the Old Port of Fira. To get to/from the Old Port, you have 3 options: 1) Take a quick cable-car ride up/down the cliff, at a cost of 4 euros 2) Ride a donkey up/down the pathway, at a cost of 5 euros 3) Walk up/down the pathway that the donkeys frequent. We figured since we were going down, walking down the pathway should be relatively easy, and then we would save money! Boy was that an interesting experience! As we entered the pathway, it started to smell, and we could see trampled donkey poop along the pathway. I was like, wow that's a lot of poop! But whatever, that's expected, when there are donkeys, and we had always seen some on our walk into town from our hotel. Then further down, we saw a line of donkeys and their owners advertising donkey rides down to the Old Port. Holy shit there were a ton of donkeys lined up! And they took up so much space you were really only left with a narrow passageway. AND there was literally a ton of shit everywhere. It was sooo gross! I tried to walk fast so I could get to the part of the pathway where there would be less poop, but IT LITERALLY WAS LIKE THAT THE WHOLE WAY DOWN (minus the donkeys in the middle). It smelled, you had to watch your step to avoid the fresh poop, and I literally breathed through my mouth the whole time to avoid the smell (although then it's like you're literally inhaling the air... >.< Dunno which is worse) Can't say I regret our decision to walk down, since we did save money and it was an interesting experience. But we didn't even think twice about taking the cable car on our way back!
At the Old Port, we boarded the 2pm boat leaving for the tour. It lasts from 2-5pm, and takes us to the Volcano, and the Hot Springs just off the coast of Santorini. It was pretty cool because our boat was an actual sailboat! And it was called Princess haha. The boat ride to the volcano took about 20 min, and then we had about an hour to explore the volcano. It was quite a hike up to the top, and then there really wasn't anything to see (except nice views of the ocean/surrounding islands). I kind of expected a more exciting volcano....
Afterwards, we went to the Hot Springs, which was another island adjacent to the volcano. How it basically worked, is the sailboat docked a couple yards away from the hot springs, and everyone had to jump into the water and swim to the springs. The springs themselves were orange/brown from the sulphur and mud, though they were warm, they weren't actually that hot. So because there was a lot of mud there, the ground literally was SQUISHY! Stephanie was SO grossed out hahaha. (And it also died our swimsuits orange >.<) While the swim there was fine, the swim back was actually super tiring! (Because you're swimming against the current) And I got mouthfuls of seawater >.< Once everyone had gotten back on the boat, it was back to Santorini!
Once we had gone back to our hotel and showered, we headed to Oia (again) for the sunset! It just so happened, as we got to the viewpoint we wanted to take pictures from, there was a bride and groom getting wedding pictures taken there! So we kind of had to wait for them to finish before we could use that spot. (Although that led us to walking further down the steps and finding an even BETTER viewpoint for pictures!) I'm super happy with our sunset photos! I guess 3rd time's the charm!
On our way back up to the bus stop, we stopped by Lolita's again for another scoop of Visanto gelato! Yummm. Then when we got back to Fira, we bought gyros and headed to the entrance of the Old Port for a night view of Fira. It looked really neat as well! (And the sailboats are also lit up at nice, and look really pretty!)
And on a completely random note! Today Stephanie rubbed off the Superman temporary tattoo she had put on with Alejandro in Brussels, and NOW THERE'S A TAN LINE! Sooo funny!
Woops, was too preoccupied trying to avoid donkey poop to take a photo on my cell phone >.< Await photos from my camera on FB.
At the Old Port, we boarded the 2pm boat leaving for the tour. It lasts from 2-5pm, and takes us to the Volcano, and the Hot Springs just off the coast of Santorini. It was pretty cool because our boat was an actual sailboat! And it was called Princess haha. The boat ride to the volcano took about 20 min, and then we had about an hour to explore the volcano. It was quite a hike up to the top, and then there really wasn't anything to see (except nice views of the ocean/surrounding islands). I kind of expected a more exciting volcano....
Hiking the Volcano!
Afterwards, we went to the Hot Springs, which was another island adjacent to the volcano. How it basically worked, is the sailboat docked a couple yards away from the hot springs, and everyone had to jump into the water and swim to the springs. The springs themselves were orange/brown from the sulphur and mud, though they were warm, they weren't actually that hot. So because there was a lot of mud there, the ground literally was SQUISHY! Stephanie was SO grossed out hahaha. (And it also died our swimsuits orange >.<) While the swim there was fine, the swim back was actually super tiring! (Because you're swimming against the current) And I got mouthfuls of seawater >.< Once everyone had gotten back on the boat, it was back to Santorini!
The hot springs are the orange/brown part!
I'M ON A BOAT!!!
Once we had gone back to our hotel and showered, we headed to Oia (again) for the sunset! It just so happened, as we got to the viewpoint we wanted to take pictures from, there was a bride and groom getting wedding pictures taken there! So we kind of had to wait for them to finish before we could use that spot. (Although that led us to walking further down the steps and finding an even BETTER viewpoint for pictures!) I'm super happy with our sunset photos! I guess 3rd time's the charm!
Woops my phone is not horizontal... lol. But famous blue-domed churches!
On our way back up to the bus stop, we stopped by Lolita's again for another scoop of Visanto gelato! Yummm. Then when we got back to Fira, we bought gyros and headed to the entrance of the Old Port for a night view of Fira. It looked really neat as well! (And the sailboats are also lit up at nice, and look really pretty!)
Fira lit up at night! (Kinda looks like it's floating since the mountain/sea/sky are so dark!)
And on a completely random note! Today Stephanie rubbed off the Superman temporary tattoo she had put on with Alejandro in Brussels, and NOW THERE'S A TAN LINE! Sooo funny!
Forever Superwoman!
Also, found this funny store name in Fira :P (Also, there are SO many Chinese tourists here!)
Haha, is that even allowed? (The Big Bang sign). Someone in Fira is a K-Pop fan!
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