Leaving Paros on the way back to Santorini for another 2 days before our flight back to Tel Aviv, I was happy to have one final glimpse of lovely Naxos when we stopped briefly in the port.
The heatwave had also followed us back to Santorini and we were surprised that after barely 2 weeks, there were a lot more people. We decided not to hire a car and to stay around our hotel. We also had to start thinking about covid again, to get a PCR test and to fill in some online forms.
We stayed in Fira this time at a hotel behind the town, facing the sunrise. It was old and very basic and the room we chose faced the street with a lot of noise from passing bikes. (The ATVs are a very popular means of transport around the islands but so noisy – and dangerous. We unfortunately saw an accident on the way home at the beginning of our holiday but it didnt involve an ATV. A rental car had collided with a truck and overturned. The rescue workers were all around but as we drove past, we clearly saw all the passengers
hanging upside down by their seatbelts. I looked for information after because I couldnt get the terrible image out of my mind but I didnt find any. I hope the seatbelts saved them.) But we really enjoyed our short stay there because of the price, beds, the big room, the extremely nice staff, the view of the sunrise, breakfast and the swimming pool where we spent nearly the whole day.
One of the first things we had to do was get a PCR test. In the heat of the day, I was happy to see that the clinic wasnt far from where we were staying. The hotel receptionist drew us a little map and explained that it is only 5 minutes up the road from the hotel. At the same time she drew another suggested walking route, up steep stairs at the back of the hotel that lead to the caldera. So what do you think we did? I admit, we dont listen. We climbed those stairs and 15 minutes later google maps was still showing us 20 minutes remaining and trying to get us to go back the way we came. But we were
Arriving at the clinic, we looked like we had a bad case of covid but luckily the test results the next day were negative. In the evening we walked in the right direction past the clinic and then a much shorter steep road and some stairs to get to the caldera. Fira has a wonderful view over the caldera and it seems like there is less people because unlike in Oia, there are open views and not every centimetre has a cafe or restaurant or shop or hotel or roped off area blocking the view.
Santorini has a lot of churches and Fira seemed to have more than the other villages. Our hotel was surrounded by them and it even looked like there was one attached to the roof. The next day I took my camera and walked up the stairs at the back again to try and capture some of the village views and architecture but I was defeated by the heat and at 10 in the morning the sun was already too bright for good photos. Spent the rest
On our last evening we walked up to the caldera to watch one last sunset and then went to a nice restaurant. This was the only time we checked before we ate and it was one of the best, if not the best meal, we had during this holiday. Theres a lot to say about being prepared and we should do it more often. It was a full moon and we could see it through the window. The restaurant is called Kokkalo.
We had to tackle the steps once again, going down this time and in the dark for a change. Wed had a few drinks so were proud of ourselves when we immediately found the right path and navigated the stairs without problems until we hit a locked gate. The wrong path, after all. We had to go up again and look for another path with the moon being the only source of light. First the Greeks feed you enormous amounts of food and then they build their houses up the side of steep cliffs so you spend all your time walking it off! Yet another example
of Beware of Greeks baring gifts.
