I dropped in to ask if, despite check-in not being until 2pm, I could at least leave my backpack behind while I explored the rest of the city. There was an older man behind the counter and we hit it off straight away! His name is Mike and he owns the place. He instantly made me feel at home, insisted that I could check in and even get into my room at that very moment, and then started making suggestions on where I could go in my explorations. I ran back to Youth Hostel Anna, picked up my stuff, and returned.
Mike, it turns out, has family that lives in Colorado, and he's driven through the state himself on a trip from Detroit to Salt Lake City (his son wanted to watch a Jazz game). His daughter, who looks like she's about my age, spoke with no accent whatsoever and we three chatted it up like old friends for almost an hour before I realized how much time had gone by. I had intended to catch a bus to the city of Fira and do a hike to the far-north city, Oia -- its a hike that I've heard about, both for its beauty and for its toughness. It's a 16 km trail that curves around the famous western cliffs of the island and is definitely not for the soft. He suggested I take a walk up to the ancient ruins nearby as a wqrm-up and, when I declared my intentions to do just that, even gave me a lift through town to the start of the trail.
The trail up to the runs is a 4.5 km hike that, in some spots, goes almost 100% vertical! I felt like I was almost rock climbing, and I certainly felt like a mountain goat. The view absolutely gorgeous and only got better the further up I got. At the top, the rush of the wind made me want to stretch out my arms and soar away. The haze of the ocean made the horizons seem to evaporate, giving it all a feeling of mysticism as if truly nothing existed beyond.
By the time I made it back down and into the city's outskirts, it was approaching 1:30pm. I spotted a us stop and happened to glance at the times for the next run up to the north end of the island and the capital, Fira City, thinking to get in the hike from Fira to Oia. As luck would have it, the next bus was scheduled to arrive within five minutes. Within the hour, I was in Fira City asking for directions to the start of the trail. Some people looked at me like I was crazy and one man even asked why I didn't just take the local bus, but I insisted.
The hike was absolutely beautiful. I took about a thousand pictures but I don't think any of them will be able to do those cliffs justice, or be able to convey how peaceful the terraced landscape was with the rush of sea wind soaring through the golden grass. It was also unbelievable how! I'm pretty sure it hasn't gotten under 90 F since the sun came up, and hiking on the western side of the island in the afternoon meant that I had the full sun's glory blazing down on me the entire 2.5 hours I walked. It wasn't as intense a hike as the one up to the ruins. The trail between the two cities, for the most part, was a steady and gentle rise/fall cycle between hills. There were parts where my legs screamed bloody murder for me forcing them up ridiculously steep steps, but that didn't last too long.
I got into Oia at just before 5pm, having fallen only once and only barely scrapping my knees. My chest and shoulders, unfortunately, were back to beating beat-burnt-red and I dragged myself through the town just looking for some shade and something to eat. I grabbed a bag of sesame crackers and found a cool, shady cement sidewalk to collapse on.
For over an hour, I relaxed there, watching people as they passed, eating my crackers, and even pulling out my phone to read some Nietzsche. A pack of three stray dogs came nearby to investigate me and eventually decided I was all right enough. They lay down nearby me and kept me company. I intended to stay there and watch the sunset, since the sunset in Oia is world-famous and largely declared as being the best sunset anywhere. However, as time went on and the sun appeared to have no intentions of setting ever, I started getting very restless. At 6:30, I couldn't take just waiting around anymore and got back to the bus stop just in time to start heading back to my base city, Perissa.
I got back to my hostel, showered, and headed out to the beach for an evening stroll, realizing that during my shower the sun had indeed set without me. After walking for a it, I made a pit top at the local grocery market, grabbed some food for dinner and cereal for breakfast, and got back to my hostel just a little before 10pm.
There are three other girls sleeping in the same dorm as me. One of them in from Australia, one is from Canada, and the last one speaks so quietly that I have no idea where she's from. I talked with them for a bit, then went back out to the hostel reception to get some wifi signal. Mike saw me there and we had more laughs and more jokes. H really is a great guy and I think I made an awesome decision with this hostel. I got back to my room and chatted with the Canadian girl a bit. She's been traveling Greece for the last month and intends to spend another month here bore going home. And the Australian girl has been traveling for 28 months! I have no idea how you ca be away for so long or manage to travel for such an extended period.
All in all, it's been an awesome day. I think I'll try to sleep in tomorrow and take it easy, but I really do feel wide awake even now, like my feet don't want to stop walking. I didn't like Santorini very much when I first got here -- it's too dry, too much of a desert climate, and too ugly after beautiful Kos. Now, though, I'm very happy again! Kos is still, by far, much more beautiful and I would love to be back there, but I'm falling for Santorini I think. The next few days will tell!
Location:Perissa, Thira, Greece
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