Early in the morning, we woke up, had a quick breakfast in the lounge, and went to the gate. Passed security and customs with almost no wait, and took the flight back home.
Boeing 747 at Athens Airport
BTW, I asked at the gate for a print out of the tickets. It's actually not easy to go around with just the 'electronic' tickets. Also, I realize that we would have been left outside if we didn't have carry on bags and had to check them in (we would have had to wait until the departure desk opened at 6am!)
There are still too many interesting and amazing places in this country, left for a future trip...
We woke up early in the morning, as the tour departed at 8am. I ended up contracting a tour for this Meteora trip, as they had a great 2 day package including transportation, hotel, and meals. After looking several days, I ended up finding a website with lots of tours for Greece, good prices in US dollar.
The whole morning was dedicated to Meteora, what an amazing place. We visited a couple of monasteries. Originally, there were about 26, but only 6-7 remain. Initially, I thought that visiting only two was too little, but this seems to be enough.
Meteora
Meteora
Great Meteoro
Great Meteoro
The first monastery to visit is Megalo Meteoro, the biggest and oldest one.... just try to figure out how the built all these monasteries, by using ropes to lift the construction materials. The first constructions started around 1400, but there was neither road, step, bridge to this place until 1800s. In old times, up to 300 monks used to leave here. Currently, only about 20-30 monks can be found.
The second monastery visited is St. Stephen, for nuns only
After the visits, the tour stopped for lunch and later drove 5 hours back to Athens (with a couple of small breaks on the way).
They dropped us at Syntagma square, where we took the Metro to the airport. Since the flight departed at 8:15am and we would have to be there at 6:15am for an international flight, it looked better to try to sleep at an airport business lounge, rather than staying at an hotel for a few hours. By the time we got there (after 9pm), the airline had closed and we didn't have a way of checking in to go through security into the lounge! Fortunately, free wi-fi is available at the airport , but just for 60 minutes, and we could go through security by showing the boarding pass on the laptop screen. I would recommend making online check in and printing the boarding pass before hand. It took me a while to get the whole thing done.
Last year, I signed to a promotion from Priority Pass which gives world wide Lounge access. The plan was to spend the (few hours left from the) night in the lounge, avoiding paying one day of hotel and having to wake up at 4am, and find transportation to get into the airport. Priority Pass charged $54 for two people (this is going to be billed to the credit card associated to the account, no payment is due when entering the lounge).
Only two lounges, both from Olimpic Airlines but serving other companies as well, are open 24 hours: Aristotle Onassis Lounge and Melina Merkouri Lounge. Aristotle Onassis Lounge is closer to British Airways, which was going to take us back home. This lounge doesn't have shower, offers drinks and snacks (cookies, sandwich). But at this point, we mainly wanted to sleep on the Sofa (they are small, but can put two together in a row).
The last two days of this Greek trip are going to be spent in a tour that goes to Temple of Delphi and Meteora. I usually prepare the itinerary by myself, but for such a long trip (around 800 km.) in only two days, and having to be back on time in order to take the plane, I preferred to take a tour and not to have to worry at any schedule or preparation details. There's a pretty nice tour that I could book online from this site (add link).
The tour is two days departing from Athens, stopping at the Temple of Delplhi (3 hr drive from Athens) and then at Kalambaka (4 hours from the temple). In this town, we overnight, and the 2nd day we are taken to two monasteries. I'm typing this text after visting the Temple of Delphi. So far, excellent. They picked us up at the hotel on time (they offer free pick up/drop off to a broad list of hotels). The tourist guide is very fluent in English, and spent a big part of the first 3hr ride describing places, and telling interesting Greek mithology stories.
Some comment the guide make, unrelated to the tour, was that the traffic in Athens improved a little in the last year. With the cost of a gallon of gas at €12, lots of people reduced driving considerably. In comparisson, a gallon of gas costs about €4 in USA.... what a difference!
The coach bus from the tour is in good condition clean, with air conditioner, but restroom door is locked not sure whether it works. The tourist guide asked to tell her in case of need to have an 'emergency' stop.
Temple of Apollo in Temple of Delphi
The ancient greeks believed built the temple at a place they belived was located the center of the earth, and constructed the temple of Apollo where the oracles would give answer to questions about the future. Quite an interesting history. It should be well documented somewhere on the web.
We spent about 1 hour at Temple of Delhi, and the passengers in the 2 day tour were taken to a near by hotel. About half of the initial group remained for a longer time on the Temple of Delhi, where they would visit the museum, and then have a long lunch. For the 2 day tour, the lunch time is at around 3pm, and we get about 30' minutes only. Before reaching the lunch place, we stopped for 5' minutes at the monument to Leonidas and the 300 Spartans that died in the fight with Persians. The brief story is that the 300 Spartans knew that they weren't going to return from this fight but they also expected to have to fight the Persians in the future. The Spartans decided was to send soldiers, who had at least one male child. The idea was that the children would replace their parents as soldiers in the next war against Persia. Another interesting item is that the ocean was much closer than what we see nowadays (several kilometers closer to the monument).
On the lunch stop, we could get some sandwiches (€4 each), and a scoup of ice scream (€2 , same as in other places). After a 30 minute lunch, we continued the trip towards Kalambaka. This is a modern town, with view to one Meteora monastery.
We stayed for a 30' stroll in town, but there aren't many points of interest compared to other places visited so far. Kalambaka downtown has the shops expected from a regular town (ATM, supermarket, bar, restaurant, bank, etc.).
We got taken to Amalia Hotel, located outside town. This hotel is very nice, rooms are big and hard wood furniture is old (but in good state).
The hotel includes dinner and breakfast. Dinner is at 8:15pm (the guide actually asked the group for a dinner time of our choice), and on the morning they pick us up at 7:30am. The room had 3 beds, and TV with English and Spanish channels (I didn't mention so far, but of course, every hotel had channels in Greek). Wi-Fi is available for free, but only works outside the room. Ask the password at the front desk.
The next morning, after a relaxed breakfast, we went for a walk until checkout time (noon) . We intended to walk to the beach, but although it is probably only 2 km away, the way is on hills. TIP: Later, we learned that renting a motorcycle was about €20 /day, somebody told us he got a car at €15/day, and this would have solved the up/downhill problem. But then, there are others such as safety for the motorcycle as Greek drivers are known for being pretty reckeless, or place to park a car (there are some, but not many). However, in the time spent so far here, I haven't seen any car accident or reckless driver. Actually, it seems pretty safe to drive so far. Still, bus is cheaper of course. Also, the few buses we took have been on time, although we were warned that they could delay 20-30 minutes from the scheduled time.
We spent the rest of the day walking in OIA , enjoying every inch of this place. The front desk of the hotel has a schedule of buses on display, and we started walking to the stop about 30' before departure. The bus was on time, we drove to Fira and from there we would take the bus to the New Port, where the Blue Star ferry to Athens departs . The next bus, would leave at 2:30pm and our ferry departed at 3:30pm. We had arrived shortly after 1:30pm to Fira, and it was going to be a long wait. But also, I had been told by the Blue Ferry agent that we needed to be at the port one hour earlier, so we just took a cab (€14 from bus station in Fira to the new port). The taxi stop is around the corner from the bus stop. TIP: Since many people will take the ferry at the same time, it is easy to find others willing to share a cab ride and slit the costs. Somewhere I read that the taxi driver would charge each party the full fare, even when they ride the same trip. Therefore, it might be better to make as if all of passengers were part of the same party. We arrived to the port early, giving time for a quick lunch and beer.
Blue Star ferry
A reference fost for the restaurant is a 12'' pizza for €10, and a 500ml beer for €4. TIP: Try Mythos beer, available almost anywhere. I tried 3 different types of Greek beers, but Mythos is the one I liked the most. The cost of Mythos is between €3.5 - €4 in restaurants, and €1.2 in small convenience stores or kiosks.
Mythos - One of the Greek beers
Also, now that I remember I should mention that the tap water in Santorini is NOT potable. It is potable on Athens and other places, but not on some islands. Santorini has a water shortage, they either gather rain water in cisterns, or bring it from somwehere else. This is something for considering, showers should be short, and water saved. Almost everywhere (Athens, islands) a small bottle of water (500 ml.) is €0.5, and a large one (1500ml.) costs €1.
The ferry departed on time, and it arrived at 11:30pm to Athens. On the way, it stopped at a couple of islands.
It's interesting to see the whole loading/unloading process. Also, we could see a very nice sunset on the way back, however, not as good as the one that can be seen from OIA.
The quality of the ferry trip exceed my expecations. Some highights:
Ship looks pretty new
Clean
Safe
Not crowded (we're still on low season; it isn't Summer yet)
WI-FI available (although I didn't try it): 120 minutes for €3.
Fast food restaurant on board, having sandwich, hamburguer, gyros among others. Average price is around €7 with a soda. They also have beer for €2.2 (quite good price for a ship, actually).
The ship offers business and economy class. The benefit of business is access to the business lounges, which are nicer, less crouded, and have comfortable seats. The business ticket cost is €52, about €14 more than economy. We actually spent the time on economy area, talking to other travelers and looking at the sea. Economy should be just fine for the trip.
Something I read on the guide books, and confirmed by other travelers that went through the experience, is that ferrys will cancel the trip in case of bad weather conditions. If this happens, somebody would get stuck at the departing port, or at an island on the way to destination. Passengers can remain and sleep on the ship, or go out to town until it departs. Also, it's hard to find a central place with the latest schedules for all ferries. For my trip, I just took the chance and purchased it online some weeks ago, without any problem. There are two ferry lines. Helenic Seaways and Blue Star. The schedules are available online.
In Athens, the public transportation stops at midnight. The ferry arrives after 11:30pm, and there's little time to catch the last train to the city. It can be done by just walking fast to the station, but although we were able to get into it , we had to stop at Plaka and walk, as we missed our connection at the metro. TIP: If taking a late train from Piraeus, make a hotel reservation close to a green line stop of the train green).
The next hotel, were we would overnight and leave early in the morning, wasn't at the most convenient location for us. From Monastiraki metro station at Plaka, we had to walk about 40' to the Acropolis Select hotel, which lies two blocks away from Acropolis. Although it was late at night, it didn't feel unsafe at all. Also, there are many cabs on the way.
Hotel Acropolis Select - Athens
Hotel Acropolis Select - Athens
The Hotel Acropolis Select looks pretty new inside, perhaps recently remodeled. But it has one big drawback, the rooms -at least the 506 that we got- face an avenue that has traffic the whole night. We were pretty tired after a long day and could sleep, but the place is quite noisy. Besides, the hotel includes TV (also some in English, one in Spanish) , air conditioner, includes good and abundant breakfast, safety box in room, and other standard amenities. TIP: the hair dryer is under the desk!
We stayed at the hotel in Firestofani during the morning, slowly taking breakfast and enjoying the awesome and relaxing view of the Caldera. Later, we took a bus to the south of Santorini with the intention of visiting the Akrotiri ruins which reopened just one week ago. From Firestofani, just walked to Fira and took the bus there (€ 1.8 per ticket). Unfortunately, on arrival to Akrotiri, we found out that it, as all museum in Greece were closed on Monday. Boomer. We missed this one. There were a bunch of people on the same situation, and the funny thing is that nobody at the bus station in Fira told us when inquiring about the bus tickets to the excavation place.
The Red Beach is located about 20 minute walk from the Akrotiri bus stop, which by the way, is the last stop of this bus line. The beach is nice to visit if somebody has time. The color of stones is red, only on this beach. The other beaches have black sand I was told. Actually, rather than sand, they are small stones. Santorini is a great place to visit for the views, but not a main beach destination IMO.
We walked end to end of the beach, and came back to the bus stop in order to take the next bus. In total we probably spent about one hour from the time we arrived.
We drove back to the hotel in Firestofani, picked our bags, we had checked out in the morning, and continued to our next stop: OIA, also known as IA. The two ladies at the Agani Houses hotel reception called the bus line to know at what time the next one to OIA stopped by (the bus stop is just accross the road from the hotel entrance).BTW, the hotel reception (and also rooms) are hanging of the cliff. There are about 60 steps from the street down to the hotel. It's a very good exercise, but kind of exhausting if somebody not fit has to carry the bags. Fortunately, the hotel has a porter (strong and well fit guy!) that will take care of the luggage.
While waiting the bus for OIA, which lies about 18 km. north, a cab stopped and told us whether we needed a ride. Since we were waiting for the bus, we denied, but he offered to take us for €10. This was hard to resist, and in less than one minute we were up. It was worth of it. The sun was hitting hard, and we didn't know whether the bus was going to be on time. TIP: The taxi fare is negotiable; the difficult part is to know the reference prices. But in particular in Athens, it's better to agree on a price before getting into the taxi (as I've been told by other travelers met).
OIA (IA)
The taxi dropped us at the OIA bus station, about 300 meters of the next hotel, Aethrio .
Hotel Aethrio - OIA
Hotel Aethrio - OIA
It's located behind the main church of OIA, very convenient, but it doesn't have any view from the room. However, there's a high terrace, where the receptionist told us, we could watch the famous sunset without having to deal with the croud that goes to the old castle at the north of OIA (eveything's walking distance). Since it isn't a high season for tourism, we were planning to enjoy the sunset at the famous place and not use the terrace anyway. Some highlights of the hotel:
Very large room
Nice shower
TV (every hotel so far had a few English channels, one Spanish channel)
Air conditioner and heater.
NO safe box in room. But the place looks very safe anyway.
Breakfast included . Very good and abundant. Open until 10:30am.
Very nice and helpful front desk.
Free welcome drink, either alcoholic or non (equivalent to up to €3 per guest)
Nice swimming pool.
This hotel doesn't give a bottle of water or leave one on the fridge. The front desk closes at 9pm. Therefore, remember to get something to drink as tap water isn't potable in the island.
Something unusual: there is a small chapel (church) lies inside the hotel.
Yhey have several Santorini and Athens books and tour guides on the front desk.
The way of the hotel is not paved, but with stones (not dirt). The roller bags had a hard time there, and needed to be carried. I think that the hotel offers a porter if asked, but I just took care of them. It wasn't too much for a couple of hundred meters.
After accommodating us on the hotel, we spent several hours walking all over the place. IOA is a unique and beatiful place, that pictures can't really capture it. Small streets, lots of nice views of the town . Lots of shops with high quality art works. Also, lots of souvenirs and fine art works in this town.
The sunset view is something really unique (check my videos bellow). Lots of people gather on the north part of town at around 7:30pm, to watch the sun go down gradually. BTW, in this island, even after sunset, you get sunlight for about one hour more.
TIP: On Summer time, I heard that the place gets really packed and it's even hard to find a spot and people start gathering at about 6pm. The options would be to get there early and wait, or get an hotel with a view to avoid the crowd. But some of the magic of the place could get lost, unless the hotel with view is also on the north cliff , facing the sunset.
From above, we could see the small port from OIA on the bottom of the island, and lots of steps going down there.
OIA Port
We learned that one restaurant was open at this time (up to 3 during summer time) , and decided to walk down, take a look, and have dinner. Walking down is nice and easy, specially after sunset where you still have light but it gets cooler. The test of fitness is going back up, about 240 steps, harder with a stomach full of fish and beer. Still, this is another must do activity for OIA. The tavern on the port is quite expensive, but some apetizers are about the same cost as above...TIP: try the fried calamari for €9, it is worth the deal.
Restaurant at OIA port
OIA port
After dark, we started our way back to the hotel. All the way back to top is iluminated, and we crossed people doing the same. In general, we felt that Santorini was safe everywhere we went, day and night. While walking back to the hotel, we noticed how many cafe (bars) are open. But not much people is seen during this time of year. Perhaps, also influenced by the economic problems in Greece which have absolutely no impact in traveler safety and experience. All the contrary, restaurants and hotels seem to be very happy to receive guests and they make an extra effort to give the visitor a good service.
After walking the whole day, plus climbing the 240 steps from the port, we were ready for a rewardining night of sleep.
The ferry schedule was pretty bad, as it departed at 7:30am and we had to be there one hour earlier to get the tickets. Therefore, I went for the practical option of just flying. Aegean airlines departs from Athens international airport at 10:30am. The flight only takes 45' and the view of the islands from the air is awesome. Of course, it's more expensive than ferry, about twice the cost.
Aegean Airlines
TIP: During the wait at the airport, I noticed that the souvenirs at the Free Shop cost about the same than on the shops at the street. Still, on the street it's possible to do some bargaining. But in case of being short of time, this is an option to consider.
I booked a hotel in Firostefani called Agali Houses.
Hotel Agali Houses - Firestofani
Hotel Agali Houses - Firestofani
It's about 15' minute taxi drive from the airport (cost around €15, I asked the hotel to arrange pick up to avoid wasting time looking for a taxi). The hotel is beautiful, with rooms on the side of the island with direct ocean view to the Caldera (center of the island). Some quick highlights:
excellent service
ocean view *very unique place*
free wi-fi
air conditioner, heater
non smoking
kitchenet, fridge
safe in room
ample spaces
clean
I don't regret the choice, this is one of the best places around. Here's the view from my room:
TIP: north of the hotel, on the small street, you can find some small grocery shops with low cost beer (the same that can be found at restaurants) and food items.
Close to the hotel, there are several restaurants, cafes, and shops. This place is very quiet and beautiful (I'll probably will repeat this word lots of times in Greecer). We could walk from her to IA (north of Santorini) in 2-3 hours.. but will most likely take the bus tomorrow :-)
Firostefani
Walking from Firostefani to Fira takes only 10 minutes.
Fira is a very nice town, with small streets full of shops, bars, and restaurants.
Fira town
Fira town
Fira town
Fira town
Fira town (top) and old port (bottom)
In the evening, we just sat and contemplated Firestofani's sunset:
Lots of stuff done during this day. We started very early and walked from the hotel to the Acropolis (easy walk, about 45 minutes stopping at every opportunity we had to watch something along the way).
The Acroplis only has one way in. The entrance fee is €12 and gives you access to 4 or 5 historic sites.
Parthenon at night
Parthenon
View of Athens from Acropolis
The ticket also includes a map of the area with nearby places to visit. Take your time at the Parthenon visit. It's simply breathtaking.
Entrance to Parthenon
Entrance to Parthenon
Parthenon
Erechtheum - Acropolis
Erechtheum - Acropolis
Erechtheum - Acropolis
After the Parthenon, we visited the roman and greek theaters on its side.
This is a new museum, that was started on the 70s, and recently completed. It's built on top of an old excavated town. Parts of the museum floor is transparent and it lets watch the old town, including building and streets. It's a must see.
The temple of Zeus is a short walk from Acropolis. Before getting there, we stopped for a lunch (€3 a sandwich).
Hadrian's Gate
Temple of Zeus
Temple of Zeus
This temple took hundreds of years to complete, and only a fraction of it remains. But at some point, it was bigger than the Parthenon itself!
Remember, that those interesting sites close at 3pm. Start your day early!
The rest of the day, we spent the time around the Plaka area.
Church in Plaka
Plaka
Plaka
Plaka
Plaka
Tango from Argentina in Athens
At 6pm, we stopped to watch the change of ward again:
Some other views of Plaka:
On the flea market, I spotted some guys bidding on a three shell game (scam considered by many). I got to film a few seconds, before one of them got pissed of and asked me to turn of the recording:
There are lots of old and small nice churches in Athens. Several of them from Bizzantine times, in Plaka:
At night, we had dinner at a nice restaurant with live music and view to the Acropolis.
By going a few blocks away from the main square in Plaka, we found not only lower price (just a couple of Euro, not much) but also the great view!
My phone did a bad job recording the next movie, it looks pretty dark.. but at least we can still hear some of the music and see some lights from the Acropolis.
.jpg "Amalia Hotel - Kalambaka")
.jpg "Amalia Hotel - Kalambaka")
.jpg "Amalia Hotel - Kalambaka")
.jpg "Amalia Hotel - Kalambaka")
.jpg "Hotel Acropolis Select - Athens")
.jpg "Hotel Acropolis Select - Athens")
.JPG "OIA port")
.jpg "Hotel Agali Houses - Firestofani")
.jpg "Hotel Agali Houses - Firestofani")
.jpg "Fira town")
.jpg "Fira town")
.jpg "Fira town")
.jpg "Fira town")
.jpg "Parthenon at night")
.jpg "Parthenon")
.JPG "Erechtheum - Acropolis")
.JPG "Erechtheum - Acropolis")
.JPG "Erechtheum - Acropolis")
.jpg "Acropolis Museum")
.jpg "Acropolis Museum")
.jpg "Acropolis Museum")
.jpg "Acropolis Museum")
.jpg "Hadrian's Gate")
.jpg "Temple of Zeus")
.jpg "Temple of Zeus")
.jpg "Church in Plaka")
.jpg "Plaka")
.jpg "Plaka")
.jpg "Plaka")
.jpg "Plaka")
.jpg "Tango from Argentina in many places Athens")