The Keys: Santorini

We had an early morning ferry to Santorini the next day. We were told we needed our vaccination cards ready to go when we went between islands, but they didn't even look at them, which was really frustrating. Getting on the ferry was easy and we took a straight shot from Crete to Santorini. The water was a little choppy from the wind and the ferry was fast so it made for rough ride, but we made it without any motion sickness. We arrived at our hotel by 12:00 and had most of the day to explore. We had gorgeous weather and the hotel was amazing!!

The Ferry

Our ferry

The port in Crete

Pulling away

Beautiful sun rays as we took off. Kenney braved getting on the top deck. I was too afraid of getting sick.

Views from on top.

We felt like cattle being herded when we got off the ferry.

Our drive up from the ferry. You can see Oia in the distance.

The circle in the ocean is from a shipwreck, we discovered.

The hotel looked great at night

But it looks even better in the mornings. In the morning we watched the cleaners mop all the tile around the pool!

Right outside the door of our room.

The entrance to our room. The worst part about the hotels in Greece was the length of the beds!

Pulling away from Crete.

Kamari Beach

After checking in to the hotel, this was our first stop in Santorini. We didn't go to many beaches there, but this be had to be one of the best. We loved it, except the water was freezing and we were wimps!!

The black sand beach was GORGEOUS!! The sand wasn't very soft and was very rocky.

All the cafes had amazing outdoor seating.

I loved all the plant life in Greece. The island of Santorini wasn't as beautiful as I expected. The architecture is what makes these places famous.

It was windy and the water was FREEZING, but it was so pretty. We were both too chicken to swim in the water, but it was nice just sitting by the beach uninterrupted.

Oia

Ate some more yummy gyros from here.

A cute little school yard.

The cotton trend even caught on in Greece! It made me think of home because it's cotton season and there is cotton everywhere.

This guy looked like Jackie Chan

The iconic village of Oia before it got too packed. I can only imagine how many people are there during the busy season and without COVID. It would not be worth it.

I think Kenney was more fascinated with the people than the view, haha! I think we were both thinking what the fuss was about with this world-famous sunset. We had both seen much more beautiful sunsets in Texas. We were just glad we didn't have to fight too many people.

Hike to Zoodochos Pigi Cave

The next morning, we hiked to the only fresh water source on the island. There is a cave, the Zoodochos Pigi Cave and it has a fresh water spring in it. The hike wasn't too far and there were incredible views from the top. If we kept going (quite a ways) we could have reached Ancient Thira, but we kept it short.

Honestly the island of Santorini is not the most beautiful. It almost looks like a desert, but the water surrounding it makes it so pretty!
Puddles of fresh water
Kenney loves a cave, any kind of cave!!
The view of Kamari Beach
Someone's driveway!

Catamaran

We had the opportunity to take a catamaran around part of the island. It was amazing, and we loved it! It was fun to be on a boat, the views were amazing, we went to sulfur hot springs, had some more delicious Greek food, and watched a beautiful sunset.

Living the life. We were able to call the kids while we were on the boat which was neat too!

Red Beach

Our Captain was great and funny too.

The lighthouse

Sulfur hot springs

The Captain told us, "They told you we would be going to some hot springs. They lied to you. The water is not hot." He was right!! It was not hot and the swim in the cold water to get there was miserable, haha. My jaw would not quit shaking. But we can say we swam in the Aegean Sea!