Santorini Pt.2

After two nights in Oia, my family and I packed our bags and headed to Firostefani, another town on the island of Santorini.

For those interested, the progression of major towns along the caldera are Oia, Imerovigli, Firostefani, and finally Fira. Several miles separate Oia and Imerovigli, but the rest of the towns following are relatively close. Imerovigli sits on the highest point of the caldera, and Firostefani is literally just down the beaten path. In greek, “stefani” means crown, which is how Firostefani got it’s name… the town is Fira’s “crown” because it sits right on top of it.

View of Fira — The view of Fira from the path up to Firostefani

Ok, enough with the geography, Wells. Day three consisted of a tour of Santorini, ending in Firostefani. Our lovely tour guide, George, took us to so many local gems that were along the caldera but also inland. I enjoyed this because he showed us authentic parts of Santorini: old villages, roadside wineries, hidden churches, you name it. After being in tourist-laden Oia, it was nice to see Santorini through a native’s eyes.

Village of Megalochori

Red Beach

Hidden Church

A resting donkey

I also got to meet a very friendly donkey… so friendly that he started to eat my shirt!

That day was so spectacular. I never stopped smiling… as captured by the photo below!

Staying in Firostefani was great because the majority of the people staying on that side of the island stay in Fira, the capital of Santorini. It was nice to walk about 10 minutes to Fira but leave that hustle and bustle when we returned to our hotel. That being said, Fira is great. On Day 4 my family spent the entire day there shopping, eating, and picture-taking. What more could you want?

Our eyes were blessed with a beautiful sunset every evening in Santorini… a perfect ending to perfect days. It was hard to leave the island, but our next stop was Hydra- an island with no cars or automated transportation. Therefore, we definitely had something to look forward to!