Week 8: Greece Pt.2 (Santorini)
My final stop in Europe. I was eager to have a private room to myself on the famous Greek island, spending time decompressing and reflecting on my trip thus far. Now the time had finally come. I arrived in the afternoon, after an eight hour ferry through the Greek islands. I was accompanied by Valerie, a hostel mate from Athens, who had coincidentally booked the same ferry and hostel as me. Valerie accidentally booked her hostel for the following night, so our expected pickup was nowhere to be seen, but I planned on renting a car anyway, so everything worked out smoothly and we checked in around 4pm.
We walked to Santorini’s famous Black Sand Beach during sunset. The beach was practically deserted, as was most of the town we were staying in now that the slow season was in full swing. I met a French IT admin, Julien, when I returned to the hostel and offered him a beer. We got to know each other a bit before meeting up with Valerie at the one restaurant still open along the beach. The restaurant offered a fantastic selection of well-made Greek dishes and wine at insanely reasonable prices.
This was our Thanksgiving, and we shared dishes and drinks and raved about everything we put into our mouth. I saw two travelers eating at the table next to ours and figured they were American based on their accent. Curious about any potential nightlife, I introduced myself and found that they were just as clueless as me, and too young to rent a car, leaving them stranded and dependent on the island’s intermittent public transportation. I invited them to join me as I explored the island with Julien the next day.
Julien, the travelers (Leah and Sophie), and I all piled into the car the next morning (Valerie was heading to a different island after breakfast)) and took off for Oia, the iconic island town with blue domes and labyrinth-like, white walls that descend the hillside. We lucked out with the weather and had a stunning view of the village from all angles. We ate lunch at a cafe overlooking the sea before visiting the most magical bookstore I’d ever set foot in. After a quick stop in Santorini’s main town, Thira, and a drive to it’s highest vista, we picked up some beers and raced towards the Red Sand Beach to catch a mind-blowing sunset.
The following morning, we drove to one of two preserved prehistoric villages on Santorini. I was surprised by the modern facilities housing the village, and how large and intact the ruins were. After parting ways with Leah and Sophie in Thira, Julien and I went back to our hostel to rest up. We were going out later that night, to whichever clubs were still open for locals. Our first stop was Casablanca, where we had a glass of traditional absinthe (they lit a sugar cube on fire before placing it in the glass) and a mojito (with honey, mint leaf, and chia seeds, I think??) that were out of this world. We were in the mood to dance so we went to Enigma next, only to see most locals standing in tight groups and barely moving. The music was a bit too loud for conversation as well but we still enjoyed ourselves, sticking out like sore thumbs by virtue of our movements.
Near the end of the night, I met a Montenegrin who was studying abroad in Crete and visiting the island with her colleagues on holiday. We couldn’t hear each other so we passed my phone back and forth, typing out basic facts about each other and exchanging contact information. I figured our meeting would likely end up a missed connection since she was leaving the island the following day. Julien and I drunkenly dragged ourselves back home after picking up some munchies at a late-night bakery.
Noon. Hungover, ears still ringing a bit. I greeted Julien out front and offered to give him a ride to the port since I needed to renew my car rental. We had one last meal together before we parted ways. I was truly on my own for the first time in nearly a week. I had intended to go relax in my room and get some writing in, but I got lost on the roads and figured the universe wanted me to visit Oia a second time around, so I did.
I had visualized myself climbing up and down the town steps for weeks, and laughed out loud when I realized I was finally doing it. I stopped by the bookstore again to read and pass some time before sunset then headed north of to watch the sun descend. My solitude was short-lived. I ran into two other hostel-mates from Athens by chance and we caught up on everything that had transpired in their lives since I last saw them nearly a week ago. As we talked, I noticed a woman approaching me from my right: the Montenegrin girl from the bar, Ivona. Turns out her ferry wasn’t leaving that day, but the next. She invited me to hang out with her friends at their guest house later that night.
After dropping off my hostelmates and taking a short nap, I grabbed a burger, read for a bit. and joined a random video call full of strangers organized by a political science professor I follow on twitter. I was only online briefly since I was meeting with Ivona soon, but I enjoyed being part of an interesting social experiment from across the world.
Ivona and I talked for hours at her dinner table as her colleagues played drinking games to the tune of anything Top 40. She was into Alan Watts and The Weekend, which is to say we shared similar interests, and had overlapping philosophies towards life and what we wanted from it. Ivona had spent a summer bartending somewhere in Arizona while living in a small wooden cabin. She’s finishing her degree in economics for practical reasons, but gravitates towards (and has a legitimate knack for) photography. It was seven in the morning by the time I left for my hostel; the sun rising in my rear-view mirror as I drove home.
My last full day included catching up on sleep in fragments, journaling, calling friends, and watching Indiana Jones for the first time. I only left my room to grab food or smoke. I left for Egypt the next day, excited to escape Europe, but apprehensive about my safety while there.
