Breathtaking views of Santorini

September 19, 2019

Greece borders Bulgaria, Turkey, Italy.  Their main income is from tourists and from maritime companies.  There are eleven million people residing in Greece and forty percent are in tbe capital, Athens.   There are 1,200 islands and the water in the islands is not safe for drinking, but you can drink tap water in Athens, but not in the other islands.  Water coming out of the faucet in Mykonos and Santorini is very salty.  Every time I brush my teeth I feel like I have a toothache.

The Greeks value their democracy and civilization and fought hard for their freedom, living with dignity, working hard, and defending their beliefs.  Their national anthem is Hymn to Liberty, which says a lot about what they stand for. Religion is Christian Orthodox.

One of the things common among Philippine travel agencies is the lack of information materials they provide their client tourists.  They are lazy in making a simple itinerary so that we know where we are going every single day.  We can follow and anticipate.  Yes, there’s a local guide hired to talk on the microphone, as if we would be able to understand and remember every word they say.

Our handsome tour guide in Santorini looks like Mark Wahlberg according to my dear husband.  His pet name is Pluto but I will refer to him as Mark.

Santorini went thru several changes of name during the past centuries. It was originally called Stronghili for its round shape. The Phoenicians called it Kallisti which means the most beautiful, and the ancient Spartans called it Thira, to honor their king, Thebas Thiras. The Ottomans called it Dimertzic, because of its windmills. The name Santorini was given by the Venetians in honor of Saint Irene.

After our lunch at Aeolos Taverna, our bus dropped us off in Fira where the view is breathtaking.    Many of us wanted to go to the restroom before starting our walking tour. This one was the squat-type ladies’ toilet. Half a Euro for the privilege of use. I paid one Euro for me and Owee.

I don’t know who would dare use this prehistoric-looking toilet paper to wipe their precious pancakes.

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Mark gave us an hour to explore and take photos.
The temperature was frying my face and head.  I was sweating from head to toe but our tour guide Mark said it’s not too hot today. Oh really?

There was no escaping this sun.

I was no longer interested to look at the view. I just wanted to have a few photos I could viber right away to my children. Grabe init dito. Kutis sila na.

I didn’t even know what that is. The tour guides are saying that tourists are not interested to know about the history. They just take pictures, go to the bus then edit their photos and post. Eh ganun talaga mangyayari. kami rin. Take photos fast then send to families kasi baka mabura bigla.

Edmund and I walked fast, picture-picture, then hid from the sun.

My husband once told my daughter that I only post photos that I look good regardless of how he looks like, kahit daw dokleng sya basta maganda ako sa photo, ipo-post ko. Eh gwapo naman sya lagi ah.

This was the best spot. There was a cold breeze consistently blowing from behind.

Ay this is nice. This is my kind of vacation.

Just sit down comfortably, no pressure, no hurry. I didn’t want to leave the balcony of Hotel Atlantis but my husband said we have to move.