Santorini

5 nights in Santorini was exactly what I needed! I wanted to see if it really is as beautiful as everyone says it is. And it is. As I said in my Athens post, I think I am done with Greek cities, but I am not done with Greek islands. So far I have only been in Crete and Santorini, but want to explore more of them, maybe do an island tour next year... A girl can dream!

I stayed in Kamari, which is quite new area since it was almost totally destroyed in 1956 earth quake. My hotel was Villa Irini Studios, lovely family run apartment hotel close to the beach (just across the parking lot). Some hotels and restaurants were still closed and social distancig was very easy, so it was just perfect for me. In the evenings hardly anyone was out. I don't know how the tourism industry there will survive this, but I hope they do. There was also a lot of Greek tourists, I don't know how it has been before but I was surprised. I thought it is mostly foreign tourists, maybe I had the wrong idea or maybe this year people do more domestic travelling. 

I wanted to see as much as possible of this beautiful island, so I did a day tour. It took 11 hours and cost 50 euros, money well spent! In the bus it was marked where you could sit, hand sanitizer at the door and in the bus we wore masks. The first stop was the village of Pyrgos, and old village with very narrow paths and lots of stairs! Wear comfy shoes. The day was very warm and I even got a sunburn on my shoulders (not bad, just a little bit and it turned into a tan).

He played traditional instrument and sang traditional songs (amazing voice). We stopped there for a few minutes to listen to him. 

Next stop was Red Beach, kinda obvious why it is called that... We didn't go down there though, just a short stop for pics. 

Next stop was Emporio, another old village and the paths very ridiculously narrow! Again, lots of stairs as everywhere in Santorini. If you have some disability in moving, Santorini is not the place for you. Or if you are afraid of heights. Even though tourism is a big industry, these villages are very authentic and original. And gorgeous <3. 

This one I saw at a door and it just looked beautiful to my eye

I love bougainvillea and yu can see it a lot in Mediterranean area. 

Winery and wine museum! We had some wine tasting; white, red and dessert wine, it was included in the tour price. The wine museum is actually underground. Santorini has lots of wineries even though it is a small island. 

Then Oia... Magical place. I totally fell in love with Santorini. Some places just feel right for you, and for me this place just felt right. I know some people who also have visited, and so far everyone has liked it. I have never heard or read someone saying "yea, Santorini was not that great". Go and check yourself!

First thing the hotel owner told me to see in the island, was to see the sunset in Oia. Here it is :). Unfortunately a few other people had the same idea, and it was totally packed! No social distancing then. It was still worth it. 

The beach in Kamari, middle of the day, high season, sun is shining... this is how empty it was. Social distancing very easy, would be difficult to find a crowd. In the evening, even on Friday when I was walking to my hotel, it was about 10 pm, and I saw maybe 5 people. I think my chances of getting the virus were lower there than at home. 

Perissa Beach, and the lovely dish I had there! I don't take food pics that much but just had to take a pic of that. And it ws yummy too!

My studio at the hotel, it was nice to sit outside at the terrace, take a little swim, have a glass of wine and enjoy the soft and warm Mediterranean breeze... sigh. 

Writing this post and looking at all the pics again made me miss it SO much. I miss travelling, but now it is on hold for a while, and can't really plan anything right now. We will see, at least I can do day trips and weekend trips in Slovakia. Going to see Sandberg on Saturday, will do a little post about that, hopefully it won't take 2 months... I have also been thinking about pros and cons of the 6 countries I have lived in, and my friend suggested I could do my top 5 destinations. Lots of ideas, just too lazy to do them :D. 

Right now the numbers are up again in Slovakia, and in many other countries too. I am still working from home, and I still love it, and don't miss the noisy office at all. I am hoping to work remotely in the future too, at the moment I don't know when we are supposed to return to office so this will continue for a while. Mask is still mandatory in shops and public transport, but many people just don't bother anymore. Although now that numbers are up again, I have seen people wearing it more, and wearing it correctly. Hope the numbers will go down again and there will be a vaccine soon .