Kelly Meets Santorini

I have been in Greece for a over month now and every week has been filled with amazing adventures and experiences, however, I think this past weekend may have led be to my greatest adventure thus far. This past weekend I travelled to Santorini, an island I have wanted to visit ever since my preteen years that were spent religiously watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which, of course, partially takes place on the island of Santorini. If you haven't heard of Santorini, here's the rundown. Santorini is a small island that is a seven hour ferry ride from Athens. The island was formed by a volcano, so its terrain is rocky and its larger towns sit high up in the center of the island. Santorini is also the poster child for Greek tourism... it's responsible for 10% of Greek tourism, a large portion considering its size. Have you ever seen those photos of the white churches with blue domes sitting high above the picturesque Aegean Sea? Well, that is Santorini, and it's even more beautiful in real life than in photos.

Friday morning a group of 29 Bennies and Johnnies (Caitlin was the only member of our group not present; she had to go home for a wedding,) our program director and assistant director left for Piraeus to catch our seven hour ferry to Santorini. The ride was long and we were all pretty pumped to get off of the boat when we arrived in Santorini at 2:30 that afternoon. After dropping our things off at our hotel in the capital of Thira, we took a 30-minute bus ride to Oia where we spent the evening. Oia is a smaller town that has the blue domes, winding streets and donkey rides that Santorini is known for. The first thing we did was head to Ammoundi Bay for swimming and cliff jumping. Being the adrenaline junkie I am (wink-wink), I opted out of the cliff jumping and simply enjoyed watching everyone else. Once the sun began to set, we all got out to enjoy the sunset from the beach before heading back for gyros and gelato. Not a bad way to spend your first night in Santorini.

What a good looking, cliff jumping group!!!

Sunset in Oia.

While Friday was wonderful, Saturday was probably the closest thing to a perfect day I've ever experienced. Saturday morning we were picked up by Spiridakos Sailing to spend the day on our own private catamaran. Not just a catamaran, a brand new catamaran equipped with a crew to cook for us and bring us drinks. For the next few hours, we cruised around the island of Santorini and were educated on major landmarks. We stopped at two areas to swim and snorkel and at a natural sulfur hot spring. I've swam in some pretty pristine oceans, but the Aegean sea was the clearest, most beautiful water I've ever seen. After all that swimming and tanning, we were treated to a barbecue lunch before heading back to shore. It was an incredible experience to see the least.

Look at that clear water!

Just chilling on my catamaran.

Last but not least, I spent my evening at Santo Winery where my roommates and I enjoyed a tour of the winery and wine tasting. The wine was great and the company was even better. The winery had a beautiful view of the sea and the sunset, so we were able to watch the sun set as we sipped our wine before heading back into Thira for the evening to watch Johnnie-Tommie and eat some Lucky's gyros.

Sunset from Santo Winery.

Enjoying the sunset, looking all dramatic and such.

Sunday sadly meant the end of my time in Santorini, but our ferry didn't leave until 3pm that day so I was able to enjoy some last minute shopping, a gyro and gelato in Oia. I know I keep saying this about every place I've been, but I can't put into words how beautiful it is. There were so many unique little details that distinguished Santorini from the rest of Greece. The beautiful blossoms outside the doors of shops, the blue domes and rounded buildings, the breathtaking views of the sea on every street. I rarely go somewhere and immediately want to go back, but even before I left the island I couldn't wait to visit again. Santorini has a special place in my heart and I cannot wait to return someday!

Just one last picture of Santorini's beauty.