Milos to Santorini

This morning we said goodbye to the island of Milos. As they say, all good things come to an end. I truly enjoyed the time we spent on Milos and Kimolos. Both islands are so beautiful and quaint. They are an absolute treasure.

We had one final breakfast at the hotel. I made a wiser choice this morning and opted for a hot ham and cheese sandwich. It was exactly as advertised. Plus, fresh fruit. I will miss my breakfast friend, neco.

Here is a screen shot of our journey to Santorini. We are going to Santorini via ferry with a stop at Ios.

The Greek ferry system is impressive. They have the embarking and debarking of passengers down to a science. I can honestly compare it to the Japanese and their train efficiency. The ferry will leave on time and you need to be ready to move as required. This ferry was a SeaJet. It was larger than the one from Athens to Milos and we had assigned seats. Luggage was stored in the lower area. It was organized chaos as passengers placed their luggage and then went upstairs to find their seats.

The view of the islands along the way was so beautiful and entertaining. Our ferry left at 12:20. Mom and I enjoyed lunch onboard. She asked the staff for vegetarian options. They encouraged her to buy both the ring with cheese, peppers and olives and the spinach and cheese – spanakopita. Both were delicious. We shared them plus a beer each.

Our first stop was Ios. I now have a place I need to return and visit. It looked beautiful and quaint. The ferries have forward and aft thrusters which allow them to turn “on a dime”. Never have I seen a ship pull into port and create such beautiful churn. I know I’ve said this before. The water is so blue and beautiful. More proof here in the pictures.

After Ios, we had another 30ish minutes on the ferry to Santorini. We made our way to our luggage once we were able. Being upfront to watch the doors drop and the passengers disembark was a sight! The ferry was still moving forward when the doors were dropping.

Finally the ferry turned and we had our first glimpse of the Athinios Port. I’m not sure what I was expecting… but, it wasn’t a giant rock face. Plus all the people coming and going in every direction. Wow! Our tour has arranged our logistics. Our driver was there waiting for us on time and with a smile.

The drive from Port Athinios to our hotel in Fira should take about 20 minutes it’s about 5 miles. It took us over an hour! The traffic was so terrible getting out of the port and then we had to drive up the cliff on a very windy and narrow road. Fortunately, we had an expert driver.

Our hotel is in Fira and it is amazing. It is built into the side of the mountain. We still haven’t figured out the room layout. But, we know how to find ours!

We got settled and had a glass of wine by the pool as we discussed our evening plans. We decided to talk a walk, meander around town and find dinner. We did all of that AND enjoyed a dinner sunset.

I also met my first Santorini neco. He was so cute.

We picked a perfect spot for dinner. Vanilla was the name of the restaurant. We were in the shade of the setting sun and had a view of the sunset. My mom was debating between the fish and chips and the grilled sun beam fresh catch of the day. She opted for the fresh catch. I ordered the bang bang shrimp and fries. And we split a Greek salad. As we were waiting for our food to arrive, somehow the conversation led to them serving her a whole fish. I asked her if it said filet or fish. She said fish. Hmmmm… I said, I think they are going to bring you a whole fish. Sure enough!

Our waiter asked if he could open it for her. Yes, please!

Here is a video of him prepping the fish. Clearly, he’s an expert.

We enjoyed dinner as we watched the sunset. We truly had another amazing day enjoying all that Greece has to offer. Tomorrow we set off for another hike.

As always, thank you for reading!