Greek Island Hopping Part Two: Folegandros to Santorini

Folegandros....a lot apparently has changed on this sleepy island over the last 15 years. When we arrived on our ferry from Sifnos at 10:30pm on a Monday, we got in the van that the hotel we stayed at, Fata Morgana, dispatched for us. The nice Italian couple we shared the van with explained how they first came in 1995 when there were only three cars on the island, and one bus (that is still used today)! 1995! Also, there were no hotels then either, only 15 years ago.  Thankfully not a lot has changed on the island. There are certainly more cars, hotels and restaurants now, but there is still a very local vibe that will hopefully remain. 

After we dropped our bags off and freshened up, we hit the village of Chora (pitcured above), a beautiful whitewashed village that is completely pedestrian (not because of preservation or anything like that, but because there never have been cars here)! The village itself is majestic; it consists of three squares flowing one into the next and has trees covering the squares. There are lights on most trees which presents an amazing setting to eat some great octopus washed down with a Mythos!

The night was really relaxing and refreshing. The next morning we woke and saw the beauty of the little island in daylight, and the sweet views from the pool!

Following breakfast we got a few picnic items for the beach and jumped on the bus to Agali, where we skipped the beautiful beach (below - but we swam there later) and got on a boat to a beach called Lavalki (or something like that), only accessible by boat. The beach was really great, snorkeling, sun (and shade) and some cliff jumping. 

We unfortunately didn't jump off that one as the water was way too shallow for jumping in those situations. There was however, a cliff to deeper water about half as high around the other side. You can see Jenna, Joel and I contemplating the jump. 

After the beach we headed back to our hotel and took a short dip before heading to town and having perhaps the best meal of the trip (wait I said that in the last post!), Erin and I split a massive lobster that we had to share to finish, combined with some great pasta. The cats spoiled the ambiance a little (be sure to send Linsey birthday cards with cats on them, she'll be sure to thank you), but we had a great night nonetheless. 

The next day we had a really relaxing one, sitting by the pool, pure relaxation and chillin'! It was nice not to go anywhere except for the pool, the bar and the lounge chairs!

That night Joelskie and I had a man-date to the church you see in the pic above and caught an amazing sunset! The girls certainly missed out as the walk is easy and the sun wasn't blazing. The views were absolutely remarkable. 

After some ridiculous kebabs, we hit the town for some partying, finding a few great spots to wet the lips! The next morning, after three quick nights, it was time to say goodbye to Folegandros, a fantastic place to go and relax, and to get away from the over-commercialized resorts of the other islands, great character, good people, and beautiful views of the Aegean Sea.  

When you approach Santorini, its hard to believe you have finally arrived; the place that people see pictures of and have to pinch themselves to make sure this place exists on earth; we had arrived! Santorini is built on a volcano, with many of the villages perched high on the rocks, defying gravity as buildings literally hang off the cliff. We choose the village of Oia to stay for our three nights, as most travel resources (Strauss) suggest this is the most beautiful place on the island...he was right.

We stayed at Atrina Houses, which I advise everyone else to follow our recommendation as you will be blown away by the hotel. There are about 20 rooms that are traditional houses of the islands. An amazing breakfast is brought to you each morning directly to your balcony, its quite the treat. Chocolate chip banana bread was the crowd favorite!

The first day we were there we walked down 240+ steps from Oia to the "beach", which meant you find a lava rock to drop your towel on and then take an super refreshing dip in the waterhole. This was one of the best spots we swam at because of the great snorkeling, cliff jumping, and rocks that made it close to the top of the water, but not quite so you didn't have to float the whole time. The water was also sublime!

Following the swim we got delivery dinner of kebabs, which was great to relax overlooking the sea with some vino and brewskies. 

The following day we rented a car and did a tour of the island, stopping at the various unique beaches that consisted of either red or black sand. Needless to say the beaches were HOTTTTTT!!! It was probably 105 degrees out and after roughing it at the red sand beach, we sprung for the umbrella at the second. The beaches on the southern part of the island are great, with a young student-vibe, particularly around Perissa, where it appeared the beach parties go into the early hours. 

The vibe in Oia was slightly more subdued, where a lot of couples were spending their honeymoons or anniversaries there. The woman running the hotel, one of three sisters, was very helpful and booked us reservations for an amazing fish joint near our first day swim. We again had octopus, squid and picked out an amazing local fish. The ambiance was perfect and we really enjoyed the meal (but not the walk up)!!

If you noticed above, I let my facial hair grow all trip and then on the last full day of the trip, gave myself an interesting stash!! Here's to you, Carl Pavano!! Enlarge below for full effect.

This is sunset on the island, you can see the harbor we had our fish dinner at all the way down by the water. The sunsets, though not quite as serene as Folegandros, were gorgeous!

The rest of our time on Santorini consisted of lounging around Oia, chillin' by the pool with our books, often jumping in. It was really the first trip we had taken where it was mostly beaches and relaxing. Needless to say we'll be doing it again next summer. It was also really nice to have Linsey, Jenna and Joel along for some extra banter and fun for the trip. We were especially happy that Linsey made it all the way from SF to join our travels. There were no bumps, no cuts, no flesh wounds, which made us all breathe a sigh of relief, especially after the dodgy dirt roads we took the scooters on.

It was also the end of the road for Jenna's summer abroad. She had a pretty cushy life out here in London, free room and board, massages with Erin (especially poolside pirate lesbian mermaid massages in Folegandros), caesar salads, pints at the POW, traveling to Europe's hot spots every other weekend...yeah she had it pretty good, and we're sad to see her head back to school!

Lastly, what can you say about Joelskie, "ya know what I'm sayin"? He was a true trooper with the Utz', and was kind enough to bunk up with Jenna for a few nights of the trip! He even made my photo taking less annoying by nearly equalling the number of photos I took with his sleek Cannon pocket-sized money camera. We're just waiting for him to return from Mexico so he can share some of those photos!

The next morning we awoke early and had a few hours at the pool before heading back to the airport. The water and sky are so amazing when looking out from the island, the pool water too had some fine qualities. 

Alas, it was time to close the Greek chapter of our life. Words can't describe the greatness of the Greek islands. I think you have to go there yourself to get the complete Greek experience. Santorini, Sifnos and Folegandros are pretty good options and as you can see, are beautiful, unique, and highly recommended.