Imagine Greece. Picture for a second those glistening waters, the brilliant white churches with blue domes upon them, the pink and yellow and blues that dot the buildings amongst the clifftop town spilling down towards the sea. Think of that panorama before you, the blazing blue sky above and the shimmer of heat in the haze… and that’s Oia, a town almost conjured out of cinematic imagination at the very tip of Santorini.
Oia
It’s the picture postcard image I’ve been longing to see for the whole of our time in Greece, and despite my left knee being strapped up and relying on a walking stick to take just a few steps, there’s no way I’m going to miss out on seeing it. To get there however is a bit of a mission, involving a bus from our hotel to the outskirts of capital city Fira, a speedy-as-I-can-manage limp to the nearby bus station to catch a local bus, and then a 50 minute weave through the backroads of Santorini until we disembark just outside the old town of Oia; one of the most picturesque spots on earth.
However our early start pays off as we’re ahead of the mass swathe of tourists soon to arrive and can start exploring in relative peace. Wandering along the winding, narrow streets, my trusty cane tapping the cobbles and assisting me to deal with the hundreds (and hundreds) of steps, we realise immediately that the town doesn’t disappoint. It’s a photographer’s paradise of boutique shops and cute restaurants with hints of the sea down every street, a trove of souvenir shops and churches, bars and castles, windmills and people to snap and shoot.
Blue domes
It’s crowded and bustling but starting with coffee and klafita pastry to fortify us and then rewarding our wanderings with wine and salad and spectacular views at the restaurant Terpsi N Oia, we eat and drink it all in; the quintessential Santorini. After our lunch we take another local bus back to Fira and explore the equally enchanting city, visiting the Thera Museum and mooching through shops and bars. A beer overlooking the sea and a walk along the cliffside promenade in glorious sunshine wrap up the afternoon before we hop on the shuttle bus back to our hotel to watch the sunset from the luxury of our hot-tub.
That evening we dine al fresco at Dionysos In Atlantis, one of Fira’s picturesque restaurants, enjoying a tasty Greek mezze platter before wandering through the twinkling streets, camera in hand, capturing digital memories of our Greek odyssey. The fantasy has become reality and our voyage through the big hitters of the Cyclades has exceeded expectations… our only question now is which Greek islands shall we do next time around?
