In June this year (2017) I was lucky enough to pop over to Europe for a few weeks! This included a magical couple of days in Santorini. I need to point out straight away that this post is definitely mainly for my photos, I mean in this case a picture does really say 1000 words…
From Athens, I caught a high-speed ferry with Hellenic Seaways straight to the island of Thira (otherwise known as Santorini). This took about 5 hours, also stopping at a few other islands on the way. Upon arrival, the real zest of the island really didn’t come to life until you make your way up to the top.
I headed straight for my accommodation – Azzurro Suites, praying that it would be as incredible as it looked online! And holy damn it was even better in person!! This accommodation was a real splurge for me, but man was it worth it! The moment I arrived at the suites I was taken back at the utter beauty of this island. The white buildings dominating the island surrounded by sparkling blue waters, was truly a surreal sight to see.
My suite was an actual dream; I couldn’t believe that I was actually there. The pictures say it all, with a private infinity pool looking over the ocean; I could’ve just sat there all day! But I was just dying to get out and explore the island!
As I wanted to utilise all of the little time I had there I had booked a Tour guide through ToursbyLocals. Normally I just like exploring by myself, however driving around with a local was definitely the best way to see the entire island in the short duration of my stay!
Eugenia (my guide, you can find here website here, would 100% recommend her, best tour guide I’ve had!) picked me up at my hotel and the first location we headed to was Kamari beach! Santorini has three different types of beaches, black, red and white sand. This one was the black sand beach! So stunning and obviously so different to the beaches here in Australia.
We then headed to a winery – Estate Argyros where I took a tour and did a tasting. 
Interestingly though, the grapes don’t grow on standing vines, the winery uses a unique bush-training system, called koulara, to grow the grapes. As the vines grow, they are woven into baskets with the grapes underneath, being shielded from the harsh sun and extreme winds on the island! This definitely gave me a new appreciation for Greek wine!
Whilst driving around I learnt so much about the island which I wouldn’t have found out just wandering around by myself! I learned that the 5 islands that make up Santorini were once a single island until around 1700 BC when the volcano erupted!
We then wandered around Oia and Eugenia helped me find some of the most amazing ‘postcard perfect’ picture spots, some that not many people knew of and some that were over crowded with tourists all trying to get that perfect shot.
The afternoon of my first day in Santorini I headed back to my accommodation to witness the most stunning sunset I have ever seen. The hotel delivered me a bottle of wine and some fruit and I sat in my spa watching the biggest and brightest red sun I’ve ever seen; disappear below the sea. No pictures here do what I saw justice, but a little part of me loves that that incredible moment was all mine.
My second part of Santorini was spent on a catamaran on the ocean as I sailed around the island finding only the best spots to swim!
These included RIGHT next to an active volcano and in the sulphurous hot springs of the volcano! The springs claim to have beneficial health effects, and whilst I cant confirm that swimming in the hot springs cured me from ever being diseased again, it did make my skin feel extra silky! Wooh!
I then got to experience another breathtaking sunset from the water, as the white buildings on the island turned golden I couldn’t help but get the feeling that it wouldn’t be long until I was back on this side of the world!
A short and sweet two days was all I spent in Santorini this time around, as I was off the next morning to France! Oooh! (Another blog post maybe…)
As my second blog post I just couldn’t hold back sharing more of my Santorini photos with you! So once again, thank you so so much for reading!
Until next time,
Signing off,
Alexx
Alex's Adventures 