Greek Islands: Naxos & Santorini (Days 17-19)

A little different style of post since we did 3 total days in the Greek islands. 1 day on Naxos, 1.5 days on Santorini, and .5 days traveling on the ferry to each island.

Naxos

We boarded our ferry at 7am to head to Naxos. The ferry was kind of like a mini-cruise ship and was pretty relaxing since I had spent most of the past week running around Rome and Athens.

A ferry a little smaller than ours that we passed heading to Naxos

It took a little over 4.5 hours to get from Athens to Naxos. We got stuck on the deck for the first 3 hours which made the journey a little miserable since it was chilly and windy. Once we arrived in Naxos we were picked up at the port by our hotel. After unpacking, we grabbed a traditional Greek lunch (gyros!) and headed out to do some site seeing.

Naxos is famous for its beaches and for Apollo's arch so we spent most of our time on the island at those two places. We also got crazy with our cuisine, trying some stingray and octopus!

Arch during the day

Arch at sunset

A view of the island, Naxos Town

Fresh octopus

Our stingray salad, actually pretty good

Review:

Aspen: 7.5, 50%

Katie: 7, 50%

Santorini

The weather ruined it for us. It was raining all day, the wind was howling, and there was no sunshine. Luckily, we decided to rent a car when we arrived which made the day a little more bearable.

Our smart car

Me and the car

On our first day we decided to drive to Oia (we were told to bring our cameras and be ready to take postcardesque pictures at every moment). Oia did not disappoint but we wish we would have gotten a little more sunshine.

I was also able to complete my trip goal of getting a "fish pedicure" in Oia! During a fish pedicure the fish "kiss" your feet, removing any dead skin that is on them. My feet felt exceptionally smooth and my circulation a little better after the treatment.

It tickles SO much, especially on the tops of my feet and between my toes.

For those wondering, Aspen did not partake

For dinner we ate at this incredible yet tiny restaurant called Melitini. I devoured baked vegetables with red sauce and yogurt.

The next day we went on a drive around the island stopping at the red beach, Kamari beach, Ancient Thira, and a winery! So much stuff, but we were done by 3 because the weather was AWFUL (we were pelted by hail, sand, and some of us by 6x6 boards of plywood) and we were drenched and unable to enjoy anything outside.

Boutari winery tasting

Kamari beach

The road up to ancient Thera. Yes. It was very steep and windy. Not a fun drive in the weather.

Review:

Aspen: 6, 75%

Katie: 7, 75%

Closing Thoughts:

1. Make sure to travel to the islands in the summertime, when there is warmth and sunshine

2. Stay in Fira or Oia. Oia because it's beautiful, Fira because it's central

3. Don't hesitate to rent a car. If I can drive here, you can to

Also, I've officially booked my flight home. Returning to the US on May 5th and probably to Evanston on the 16th or 17th depending on how long it takes me to see all my friends from home/spend time with my family. I'll be spending my last ten days in Europe exploring Northern Europe (Copenhagen, Malmö, Lillehammer, and Oslo)! Yay traveling and seeing the world :)