We were literally startled awake by the sound of our alarms telling us it was time to get up. A quick glance at our phones told us it was just 6am. We hopped out of bed in anticipation of our forthcoming adventure and threw back the curtains only to discover it was still dark outside. Tempting as it was to hop back into bed for a few more minutes we got ourselves ready, packed our bags and took a few snaps of the sunrise from our balcony. We then asked each other what time the bus left, which of course neither of us had any idea! Thankfully we only had to wait ten minutes for the bus, before which we’d purchased some pastries and ‘walking’ snacks from the bakery.
Getting on the bus was a bit of an ordeal due to the driver not waiting for us to sit down as he drove off and consequently Angela cut her leg on the back of the seat which bled all the way to Fira. We arrived at the bus station at 7.30am only to discover that the bus to Imerovigli, where we were starting our walk from, didn’t leave until 8.30am. Not to be deterred we decided to give our battered sandal-gate sandals a workout and walk from Fira to Oia, a flat walk along the cliff top Angela kept reassuring Maice. After an hour and fifteen minutes of walking along the gentle rolling coastal path we arrived at Imerovigli and treated ourselves to a sugared donut for our efforts. Looking along the coastal path to Oia, which didn’t look very flat at all but rather hilly Maice said ….’I thought you said it was a flat walk’?. We trudged upwards along the coastal path, hoping for clouds and a gentle buffeting breeze to descend on us as it was becoming increasing hot, but no such luck. We finally arrived at the first summit and saw to our delight the refreshment shack was still there. Our step quickened as we headed down towards the shack, looking forward to a fresh orange juice and a visit to the old Greek man that ran the shack. Unfortunately it was a bit of an anti-climax once we arrived as the old man was no longer there and the brilliant view to be enjoyed over a leisurely freshly squeezed orange juice was marred by the hundreds of cigarette butts on the ground and the strong smell of stale wee. We drank up quickly and headed up the next very steep slope along the ridge and into the village of Oia where we arrived, hot, tired and sweaty, just four and a half hours after leaving Fira!
To say we were hot and weary was an understatement. We were in desperate need of a frappe and a comfortable place to rest our weary limbs so we meandered through the lanes, jostling with the crowds of tourists until we came to the end of the path with no sight of a comfy chair to be seen so we about turned and headed back to the first place we saw. We both fell exhausted into our chairs and ordered a large beer each…….we felt a frappe just wouldn’t hit the mark!
We eventually forced our tired and aching feet back into our disintegrating sandal-gate sandals and headed out to the shops. After making a purchase we decided we’d had enough and got back on the bus to Fira. We would have explored Oia in its entirety if our feet and sandals would have allowed but it wasn’t to be. Back at Fira and feeling even more exhausted we decided to forgo our look around Fira and headed straight back to the hotel for a well earned siesta. Barely managing to make it up the twenty five steps to our room we fell into a deep slumber, waking in time for G&T’s on the balcony and the next round of rummy, which finished with Maice in the lead by five hundred points! Feeling slightly tipsy from our triple strength G&T’s we decided to eat locally and headed across the road to Lolos Taverna for dinner and a free glass of wine that was apparently on offer. Unfortunately the ‘offer’ wasn’t deducted from our bill but George, the owner recognised Angela from her repping days and gave us a €10 discount, so it all worked out in the end.
It took just five minutes to get back to the hotel and into our beds. What would tomorrow bring we mused. We decided over dinner that tomorrow we would adhere to a no-alcohol day. Now, let’s see how long that lasts!
Night all….
M&A xx