Today was A DAY

DAY 7
I went to bed last night with no voice at all, like full-on laryngitis. I’m not sure if it’s allergies or all the cigarette smoke around here or what, but I have no voice and a dry cough. I sound much worse than I feel, but I am def not feeling 100%. But I’m on vacay so have to keep on keeping on. 

Yesterday we had talked with some people in our group and we all agreed we were interested in doing the same thing today so our tour leader said he’d get us a deal on it. He slipped something under our door had all the information and told us where to meet in the morning. When we got there, half the people didn’t show, including the girl whose idea it was in the first place. Annoying. It was becoming too complicated and irritating so J and I just decided we’d do this all on our own with our Canadian friends. 

We took the tender to land where we then had to take the cable car up to Fira, where we then had to catch a local bus to Akoritiri. Once we got there, we walked over to red beach to see what it was all about. Sure it was very pretty, but it actually was quite gross upon further inspection. What made it red was NOT red sand, but like dry Red Sea kelp. And the mountains around it we’re all a very clay color. We then walked back over to the Akorititi to tour the ruins. Akorititi is like Greece’s version of Pompeii. It was first discovered in 1968, which if you actually think about, is quite recent.  This underground city was destroyed by an earthquake and then covered by volcanic ash. Only 10% of the whole village has been excavated and it’s all funded by private donations. J and I started following different tour groups around listening in for facts and info. We felt like the scene in the beginning of Bridesmaids when the girls were sneaking on the side of the outside workout class for free. Meh, we learned a little. Luckily this site was covered and basically indoors for a break from the heat.

Once all done there, we took the fishing/ferry boat over to white beach where we couldn’t even get off the boat or pull in close because the waves were so high. There is no dock so they usually just pull up and drop people off in the water. The beach was actually empty because I guess no one could get on. Our final stop on the boat was black beach where there was also no dock and the boat just pulled up and we had to hop off into rough waters onto rocks. Yup, this beach has no sand at all and is full on rocks. By the time we got to this beach on a very bumpy boat ride and then saw it’s all black rocks, I had a mini meltdown. All I wanted to do was relax by the beach, swim in the water, and enjoy the day, but this wasn’t going to happen here. It hurt to walk on the beach because of how hot the rocks were and the fact they are actual rocks. Like uneven, hard, annoying rocks. I was not a happy camper. My eyes started to well up with tears out of frustration (and then more frustration for letting it get to me) and disappointment and I wanted to leave immediately. J was nauseous from the boat ride so we rented beach chairs and an umbrella for about an hour (I didn’t even put my bathing suit on) and then caught the boat back to the actual dock we got on. Getting on the boat back was an even bigger nightmare then getting off. We were knee deep in the water in our clothes, with waves pounding us on an uneven surface of hard, sharp rocks. To say we were not having it, would be an understatement. We got soaked waiting and were the last two to get on the ferry back. Luckily,  the ride back was more smooth, but we were ready to just get off and move on with our day. We had to wait for the local bus back to Fira for a while at a snack shop and let ourselves dry out and mellow out. This is definitely not what we had expected out of these beaches after being at awesome clear, smooth sandy ones in Milos and Mykonos. We learned the hard way, but had an adventure doing so (even though tears were involved on my end). We were really trying to stay positive and be grateful where we were, but being soaking wet with sore feet was not ideal. 

We got a drink and a snack and mellowed out and dried off before catching a public bus back to Fira so we could walk around and then take another bus up to Oia. Before we realized how difficult it was to get around this island, we had planned to go back to the boat for dinner and came back out here for the sunset. But realizing we’d have to take a bus, a cable car, and then a tender back to the ship, we nixed that plan real quick. It sucked walking around in our wet clothes all day, but there really wasn’t a better option. 

In Fira, I stopped in a local pharmacy and got some Greek cough syrup that will hopefully help with my throat. They also have antibiotics just in case I need to go that route, but hopefully things with my voice will improve. We wandered for a little and then decided to just head up to Oia. To do this, we had to take another public bus. This was about a 40 minute ride up, which on an island that is only 10 miles long, seemed very lengthy, but it winds up and around the mountains. We got to Oia, which is famous for its whitewashed building and blue domes on the mountainside. We walked around for a while but were getting agitated with the heat, crowds, and just still being wet from the fishing boat. I was in a mood. And not a good one. We were both really cranky at this point and just wanted to do something fun or see something cool to cheer ourselves up. Finally, we decided to stop at a restaurant to just sit down and re-hydrate and eat. The food was mediocre at best, but we definitely needed to just sit for a bit. We met up with our Canadian friends to find a spot for the sunset. The sunset in Oia is supposed to be unreal and the crowds were intense. I had heard that people pack the pathways, but I didn’t expect what I saw. Luckily, our friends suggested a spot they heard about through a store keeper and it was unobstructed and had an amazing view. This definitely helped our moods. After the sunset, the crowds leaving were even worse; a claustrophobic persons worst nightmare. Eventually we made our way back to the bus again, and back down to Fira to catch the cable car and then the tender back to the boat. 

Just to summarize. Today was A DAY. In total, for transportation in total, we took a tender, a cable car, a bus, a fishing boat, a fishing boat, a bus, a bus, a bus, a cable car, and a tender. We went to three beaches, all pretty much inhabitable. We were irritable and crabby after all of that. But, and big but, we did it all by ourselves and were happy to be independent enough to do so. And, we are just grateful to be here in Greece. So even though today really wore us down (and I cried out of frustration (classic me), it still was a good one in the grand scheme of things. Tomorrow is a new day.