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I got back from my trip to Santorini with Meg and Sarah Sunday night.  The island is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen!  It still continues to amaze me how blue the sea is.  Too bad it’s still too cold to swim in. 

Our ferry to Santorini from Pireus was 7 hours long, with stops at Paros and Naksos, two other Greek islands.  I read about half of the Odyssey, our assigned reading for Easter break.  There were a lot of people on the ferry since everyone was going to the islands for Easter.  The seats are very comfortable, and there is a café and fast food restaurant on board.  I think I enjoy traveling by boat a lot more than traveling by plane.  The views of Santorini as the ferry was approaching were amazing: white buildings against the cliff.

We got driven to our hotel, Blue Sea Suites, by the shuttle provided by the hotel.  We got settled in, then explore Fira, the town.  There are a lot of small paths that intertwine, and we explore most of them.  The town is pretty small.  We had dinner at a fish taverna called Niki Taverna while we watched the sunset.  We had white Santorini wine, and I ordered the swordfish.  Later that night, we watched/walked in the Good Friday procession that started at the church and went around the town then back to the church.  The procession was led by soldiers, followed by the cross and the epitaphios, a large piece of cloth with the image of Christ which is decorated with flowers.  The people in the procession carry lit candles.  After the procession, we got lost, but eventually found the street back to our hotel.

On Saturday, we went shopping for souvenirs.  We learned that Santorini is known for its wine, capers, and fava beans.  A wine unique to Santorini is called vinsanto; it is a delicious and very sweet wine made from the remains of the grapes once normal wine is made.  I’m bringing a bottle home with me.  Ouzo is also made this way.  In the afternoon, we took the bus to Akrotiri, where there is a big excavation site, but it was closed.  We walked to the black and red beaches, then relaxed for a bit, taking in the view of the sea.  We then caught the bus to Perissa, a small town in the southeast part of the island.  Here we enjoyed the warmth of the sun on the beach.   Upon returning to Fira, we had dinner at another restaurant with an amazing view.  We went back to the hotel, intending to go back to the town at midnight to eat the traditional margeritsa, a soup made from the intestines of the lamb that is roasted for the Easter meal.

On Holy Saturday, people go to church at 10pm and the service lasts until 2am.  At midnight, fireworks go off and all the church bells ring because Jesus has risen from the dead.  After church, people eat the margeritsa.  Unfortunately, we took a “nap” at 10pm and didn’t wake up until 7am, so we didn’t get to eat the margeritsa.  I did hear the bells ringing and the fireworks going off though. 

On Easter Sunday, most everything in the town was closed, so we walked around and enjoyed the magnificent views one more time.  We even walked down the 587 steps to get to the old port.  We were relieved to see that the cable car was running, so we took that up to the top instead of walking back up the 587 steps.  Until it was time to leave to get to our ferry, we relaxed by the pool and read the Odyssey.  I ate tsoureki, the traditional Easter bread, that I had bought at a bakery the night before.  The ferry was a high speed one on the way back, and only took 5 hours, with stops at Xios and Paros.  We took a taxi back, which we are pretty sure ripped us off.  Not only that, he didn’t know where our apartment was, so we had to walk from the stadium!  I need to learn how to say “too much” in Greek. 

All in all, it was a great weekend in Santorini!  I got some sun and loved the beautiful views.

Yesterday, I went running at the Olympic Stadium, then did my laundry.  By “did my laundry”, I mean that I hand washed it.  All my clothes are still wearable.  J

We just arrived at our hotel at Napflio, where we will be until Thursday.  I’ll post more about that tomorrow.