Hello From Santorini and Thirasia

This week we came to Santorini. It’s a bit more open than Mykonos although to be fair, things started picking up there in the last few days before I left. It’s still quite quiet here since a lot of hotels and restaurants don’t open until May. But there are more tourists around than I expected.

Ferry from Mykonos to Santorini

The journey down was around 2.5 hours on a Seajets ferry. It was one of the catamaran-type ferries that are faster and sometimes bumpier than the conventional ferries. All was going well until the water got a bit choppy in the last 40 minutes. Let’s just say the cats’ tummies didn’t like it!

I try and avoid the fast boats with the cats for that reason. But it was the only option for the journey at this time of year. Luckily I’d booked into the business class seating because the front row seats usually have a lot of space in front of them.

There were only about 3 other people up there and it was sit where you like. So it was easy to nab the spot I’d planned. The cats were pretty calm until that last little bit. Then once I cleaned up the mess they were calm again and all was fine.

Hopping from Santorini to Thirasia

Once I’d picked up my hire car at the port in Santorini, it was time for the last leg of my journey. I made one more boat trip and that was over to Thirasia. From the old port at Oia, the famous hillside village in Santorini, it’s just 7 minutes across to Thirasia Island on a little boat.

Once a day there’s a bigger boat that goes from the main Athinios port where the ferries come in. Although the journey was 40 minutes, it was better than me waiting around a few more hours for the other one. So I got on with about four other people and made my way to Thirasia.

I’ve been staying in a secluded little spot but I’ll share more about that next time.

Greek Hospitality

Last night I went for dinner with my Airbnb host at the place that does the mountain bike tours here. I did that last time I was in Santorini so I knew the owner a bit. A couple with a taverna in one of the ports joined us, along with another couple who are becoming hoteliers on the island.

I also met the lady who does the hiking tours, and it came up in conversation that I had my cats here. She was a bit surprised, and I told her it was normal and that I’m just a bit odd. She replied by telling me that she has a pet sheep that she used to take for walks around the village. So I’ve found my people, haha!

Anyway, my host and the owner cooked a delicious meal. We had mussels with tagliatelle and then cuttlefish with spinach and onions (caught by my host and grown in his garden.) This week I’ve also been given broccoli, lettuce and spring onions out of the garden, a jar of Thirasia thyme honey, eggs from the chickens and a bottle of homemade wine from the taxi driver.

My host was telling me which restaurants are open at this time of the year and what their hours are. But he was like if you want to go at another time just call them, and they’ll open up for you. I wouldn’t inconvenience them like that but it just goes to show how hospitable some Greeks can be.

Well, that’s the round-up for this week. See ya next week!

New on the Blog

Two new blogs published this week are about Panormos and Pyrgos villages in Tinos and what you need to know about visiting Delos island from Mykonos.

This page may contain affiliate links. Read through my privacy page for more information.

---