Greek memories

Coming from different countries to meet, we landed at different times. Sonia arrived in Greece 4 hours before me, which meant that she had to find something to occupy her time until I arrived. I told her to check in at the hotel, rather than lying around on her own. Being in a different country for the first time could be scary when you’re by yourself. And to be honest, after a few years of not travelling on my own, I was, a little.

When you start a family, travelling all of a sudden becomes a chore that very rarely goes according to plan. It’s way more demanding because we have to make sure the holidays will please other (little) beings as much as ourselves. The beauty of travelling with another adult is that you mostly rely on chance and just let yourself go with the flow. We can just brainstorm and pick and choose what we want to be doing without worrying whether everyone will be happy or not. 

The weather was beautiful for the entirety of the time, day or night. The Mediterranean water was absolutely lush! Warm like a spa… One of the things I appreciated – and found really useful – was that the hotel was open to giving their recommendations based on our situation. That is invaluable knowledge – tailored to our taste – one we wouldn’t get on Google.

Before going anywhere, we asked the hotel what suggestions they had, what they considered to be worth visiting, along with the associated costs. So, rather than only being directed to some very expensive boat trip or winery tasting – because those will be the most likely online recommendations -, we get a really local customer service.

The hotel actually provided us with a bus timetable so it was easy to plan at short notice and you’ll pay as little as €1.60 for a ticket. The buses (coaches) operate in quite a traditional way. The road rules seem quite random, so don’t get scared if you hear the bus driver shouting at other drivers. This is not uncommon. This doesn’t necessarily mean there is a terrorist attack, Greeks just have got quite heated up blood… 

One other thing that I was unaware of was Santorini’s mascot. Because of their tiny streets, they use donkeys to carry goods (and even people) around. Those who are brave enough to venture can have a go at going up or down the very steep stairs set across the mountain landscape. I didn’t do it, purely because I felt sorry for the poor souls…

Quad bikes are a thing and a good choice if you’re staying for a week+ if you don’t enjoy walking (we chose to keep our step count going). It does give you some independence if you don’t want to have to rely on public transport. From 45 Euros/day, you can choose from quad bikes to buggies.

Then the food. The Tzatziki sauce, the Chicken Souvlaki, the Mousaka cheese… Just: O-M-G.

Milos Villas had a family of very welcoming cats, the kittens were always around and they were very friendly. One of them actually spent the night, as he followed us around so persistently, even I couldn’t resist, and I’m not a cat fan. It did add character to the stay.