Greece and Santorini - the rest of two tortured girls!
“Greece is not at all ancient... ” - that's what I thought when I flew to the island of Crete. Desert fields covered with bushes…. Dried country roads and centuries of dust in the air.
Only the azure sea surrounding the island gives color. It smells like salt and I already want to plunge into it!
This time Olya and I took the simplest hotel. It is called "Magarakis". We have breakfast and dinner included, drinks are paid. And air conditioning, by the way, too - 7 euros per day... In my naivety, I immediately asked at the reception for a room with a sea view. I so wanted to look at the azure from the window, but not everyone can afford such a luxury - you need to pay another 35 euros!
We smiled, shrugged our shoulders and went to our modest room 103 on the first floor. Overlooking the police station. I really didn't like this room! Well, what is it? It's dark here, you can't open the windows, because everyone will be watching. And the police had already managed to look at me with a satisfied smirk when I opened the shutters...
The last straw was a huge hole in the towel. I'm not going to live like this! I took a towel and went to the manager named Maria. I didn't quarrel, I just sadly showed her the hole and told the truth about the terrible number. Maria looked at the terry horror and asked to sit in the lobby. After 2 minutes, her assistant Emanuela brought us the key to another room and already with a sea view! At the expense of the hotel! ) Hooray!
Olya and I brought our suitcases, ran out onto the balcony and opened Belis! Tourists are idly walking downstairs, coastal cafes are grilling fish, and the waves are crashing against the rocks with such noise that it seems as if salt spray is about to fly into our window!
We put on our swimsuits and went to the beach. Wonderful sea! It is so beautiful! True, it turned out to be difficult to enter it - the rocky bottom and pebbles turn every step into acupuncture... Fortunately, I brought slippers with me, which I bought back in Egypt. They facilitate water procedures)
After swimming, we returned to the hotel, and wearily fell into our beds.
Do you know the difference between a cheap hotel and an expensive one in Greece? Noise... We flew out late at night, so we slept very little... We decided to save money on air conditioning, so only an open window saves from the heat... But it's unbearable! The fact is that 2 meters from our hotel there are cafes in which non-stop music plays until 3 in the morning.
It's a dance lounge and by the 2nd or 3rd hour it feels like torture!
We closed the window and slept naked - it was very hot. I woke up 2 hours later to even louder music. “Strange… Why can I hear her, because the windows are plastic? ” - I thought, put on a blouse and went to the balcony to find out what was the matter. And it turned out to be the Germans. On the neighboring balcony, behind a wooden partition, a company of young guys settled down with a laptop. They drank Malibu and listened to rap. German rap. . . Have you ever heard it? It's even worse than Decl...
The only thing that saved them from my wrath was that they were cute. I asked them to turn the volume down and they did it without question. Hmmm. . . Maybe those Germans aren't so bad after all.
Closing the window, I fell asleep again, because in the morning you need to wake up for breakfast - from 7:00 to 9:00.
By the way, breakfast was very simple. A plate of ham, a plate of cheese, a plate of cucumbers, tomatoes and olives, and 3 types of cereal. To my question “Are there any eggs? ” - the waitress explained that they come every other day.
Well. . . It's a three-star hotel, what do I expect from it? Greece is in crisis after all.
Having eaten sandwiches, Olya and I again went to the beach. The waves are here today! I'm afraid of them... Yes, I confess, I'm a coward and almost can't swim! While everyone is merrily jumping on the waves, I timidly overcome tiny water streams near the shore... Olya calls me to go with her into the depths, but I refuse - it's scary...
After some time, I still go to her. I'm curious, besides Olya promised to hold my hand)
I don’t know how to convey this feeling to you, but when the wave flies at me with all its might, I feel panicky horror. She can cover and I will not swim out! A stream of salt water hits my face. I greedily swallow the air while the wave flips me over my head and throws me ashore... The swimsuit slipped off and, getting out of the water, I appear before the tourists in a very indecent form. Practically naked, I try to fix the bodice that has gone astray and pull it up higher. Hair is a mixture of sand, pebbles and algae. And next to me I notice a couple of Spanish women who openly laugh at me.
Don't tell me after that that Aphrodite appeared from the waves of the sea. I don't believe in anything!
After swimming, Olya and I went for a walk along the main street of Hersonissos. Souvenirs don't buy themselves! We looked around and even walked up the road deep into the city. We wanted to find real, not touristy Greek restaurants there.
However, finding ourselves among the small rural houses surrounded by olive trees, we realized that there were no restaurants here. A local man selling bunches of onions from his truck said that the only real Greek bar where only Greeks hang out is near the port in Heraklion, and the road we are on leads to the church.
Well, no, no) Let's go to dinner in a regular tourist restaurant.
You know, I understand why there is a crisis in their country. People here just don't know how to work! Here I am sitting in a cafe and waiting for about 5 minutes until the waiter brings us the menu... But Olya and I are the only customers of this restaurant! But the garcon is chatting slowly with his friend from a nearby restaurant and is in no hurry to feed us.
And, you know, it's like that everywhere! Even at the ferry ticket office in the port, where Olya and I arrived the next day to buy a ticket to Santorini. A local cashier girl, ignoring the queue that lined up at her window, is chatting with a man. He's not a client, no! He is her fan… I think that in Russia she would have been fired for that.
Half an hour later, having bought tickets, we were sitting on the bus and began to plan tomorrow's trip to Santorini. If one of you has never heard of this island, then immediately type its name in the Google search box. This is an amazing place and everyone should visit it!
A one-day excursion to the island from our tour operator "TUI" cost 142 euros. A one-way ferry ticket is 51 euros. Olya and I decided to go to Santorini as savages and bought our own tickets at the port of Heraklion.
Early in the morning we were already standing at the bus stop on the way to the port. The high-speed catamaran on which we will sail is called "MegaJet" and in just 3 hours we found ourselves in Santorini.
This is a tiny island, probably comparable in area to the city of Sochi, very rocky and stingy with greenery.
The port is in turmoil. About 400 tourists with suitcases, children and strollers descended with us from the catamaran (in fact, it is the size of the Titanic! ). And then they dispersed in different directions, and Olya and I got on the bus and began to climb the mountain along the serpentine road. The higher our bus drove, the more picturesque the view opened from the window.
Such a large port now seemed like a small helipad, bathed in bright blue waves. Rocks protruding from the bottom cut the sea into shreds! How beautiful it is!
But now, the sea disappeared from our eyes and in the middle of the dried grass the snow-white roofs of Fira, the center of Santorini, began to emerge. The entire city consists of whitewashed 2 or 3 story buildings with green shutters and blue doors and blue roofs. These are such bright colors that it seems as if you are not in a residential place, but on the set of a feature film with scenery.
Leaving the bus, we went to the very depths of the white streets. There are shops everywhere! On the right, meat is fried, which tourists eat with pleasure, on the left there is a tent with souvenirs, and a little further away a showcase with gold and precious stones glares.
But we pass all the shops and go upstairs to the Catholic Church. It offers a stunning view of the sea, from which it takes your breath away. I have often climbed mountains, but I have never seen such beauty!
After walking, we went to a restaurant and had a delicious lunch with Greek salad and moussaka. This is a traditional Greek dish, which is a multi-layered casserole of vegetables, flour and minced meat. Delicious!
We decided to stop for the night at Perissa, which is about a 20-minute bus ride from Fira. This is an amazing beach! It is made of black volcanic sand, because Santorini is located next to a huge volcano... There are high cliffs on the sides of the beach, due to which there are practically no waves near the coast.
We rented a small room from a local woman for only 30 euros and immediately went swimming! All the beaches in Santorini are marked with the blue flag of UNESCO, so lovers of the Black Sea would faint, finding themselves in this clear water!
I plunged into the water, surfaced and swam to the rocks. . . The sea is so strong that I could barely swim away from the shore. . . The black pebbles at the bottom contrasted sharply with my white legs, but I liked it - so beautiful!
After taking a shower in the room, we went with Olya for dinner! This time I ordered lamb… Mmm! He was wonderful! However, as well as red homemade wine, and free ice cream, which the restaurant gave us as a “compliment”.
After dinner, the whole of Perissa walks along the promenade. Local artists paint portraits of vacationers here, boys depict small henna tattoos, and Greek girls weave long strings of beads into women's hair. I also wove myself pink beads. But with my blond hair, it looks charming!
We slept like the dead at night! This is truly a heavenly place! No music, peace and quiet! If you have not been on vacation for a long time and are tired of the bustle of the city, Santorini will be the best antidepressant for you! Olya and I at least calmed our nerves for several years to come)
Saying goodbye to the good-natured hostess, the next day we decided to go to another beach - Kamari. They say he's even better than Perissa! Although, what could be better?
A barge departs directly from the beach of Perissa, which takes travelers to Kamari for 3 euros. We climbed into it and again found ourselves in the open sea. It is bright blue with blue highlights. It makes me want to dive deep! If it wasn't for my fear of water, I might have done it!
In Kamari we were greeted by the buzz of vacationers. It's a bit livelier here than in Perissa: there are small restaurants everywhere, from which cheerful music is heard. And not the same as we have in a hotel in Crete, but much softer and unobtrusive.
There are practically no Russians. They come to Santorini only to Fira and only for one day, so the employees at the hotel where we came to rent a room for the night are a little surprised by our single trip.
We rented a beautiful room with a balcony for 60 euros and went for a walk around the town. Here rest, mainly, the French, Italians and British. I remember somewhere I heard that the French choose only the best resorts. They never exchange for places like Hersonissos, where Olya and I stayed in Crete.
And what to compare? Santorini is like an elite resort in the Maldives, only instead of white sand there are volcanic pebbles, and Crete is like a holiday in Egypt: cheap and without pretensions. . .
Walking along Kamari in the evening, Olya and I felt like movie stars) Music was heard from the coastal cafes, in one of them the singer was singing Lenny Kravitz and Madonna live. There are no discos or any loud parties. People just laugh at the cafe tables and gesticulate to the waiters who run to them with new cocktails.
At night, Hersonissos turns into one continuous disco. Half-naked British or Germans tumble out of every bar and shout some nonsense!
The sea does not sleep either - almost the entire length of the beach is bathed by someone. Well, or not only swimming... We accidentally caught one couple in the water when we passed by...
In the morning, an hour before I had to get up for breakfast, I heard a strange rumble behind the wall. Raising my head from the pillow, I looked at Olya, but she was sleeping... The roar repeated, and I went out into the corridor - to find out what was the matter. Stifled screams and noise could be heard in the next room. The door was open. I listened and saw figures approaching through the crack - they were German neighbors who had quarreled and started to fight.
I never liked men's fights - they scare me. Closing the door, I returned to the room and explained to Olya what was happening. We put on our T-shirts and went out to the balcony. Throwing ourselves over a wooden partition, we looked into the room of the Germans. Everything was upside down! Things are scattered everywhere, two empty bottles of Malibu are on the table (the same to me! We found something to get drunk with! ), And the Germans (to be fair - two strong tanned guys) are lying on the bed and trying to strangle each other... Spectacles, to be honest, hilarious! ))) Afraid that they would notice us, we returned to the room, laughing and holding on to our tummies! And why didn't they share?
An hour later, I was standing on the balcony combing my hair. A battered German appeared to the right and stared out at the sea. I asked "Are you alright? " He blushed and said yes, and then went to the room. How cute they are))) They also blush))) We didn’t see them and Olya anymore, apparently, it was their last day in Greece...
We, unlike the Germans, decided never to quarrel and go shopping instead! We are women
I bought myself an amazing denim jacket and a scarf, and Olya bought a pink blouse and a bag. It should be noted that shopping in Crete is very personal!
Out of curiosity, we went to one of the many fur coat shops here. Their prices vary from 1000 to 4-5 thousand euros. It all depends on the length, color and quality of the coat. So, short brown mink coats made of small pieces will cost 1000 euros (bargaining is appropriate). And a long (just below the knee) silver fur coat made of whole pieces costs 3.000 euros.
The customers in the store are predominantly Russian, so all the salespeople speak our language fluently. I am quite indifferent to fur coats, I prefer sheepskin coats, but Olya said that they are more beautiful than those sold in Moscow. So if you want to go on a "fur coat tour" - go ahead! You will definitely find what you need.
The next day we got on the bus and went to the airport. It was a wonderful holiday and I am glad that I spent half of it in Santorini. Greece is a poor and lazy country. They will have to learn a lot in order to become successful again, but for now, I recommend that you calmly go here on vacation. The sea is wonderful, people are kind and vouchers are inexpensive!
Finally, here are some interesting facts that I noticed in Greece:
- The Greeks are like haichei - the whole body is covered in hair and fat tummies;
- Their music is also Khaichovskaya;
- Olive trees resemble sea buckthorn;
- Raw olives from the tree - utter disgusting! Do not eat!
- The Greek salad is so satisfying that you don't need to order anything else in the restaurant;
- All Greeks are terrible talkers! Both men and women!
- Children work in buses as controllers;
- Taxi drivers in Mercedes have Skoda steering wheels!
- The Greeks' favorite transport is a motorcycle or a moped.
- Cyprus is much cleaner and more beautiful in terms of infrastructure.
