On the 3rd day in Santorini, we took a sunset cruise to see the sunset and along the way we drop by the volcano islands and the hot springs.
This is the entrance of the volcano islands of Nea Kameni & Palea Kameni. The two volcanic islands were formed during a series of eruption between 1707 and 1950. You can read more on the islands here.
This is just the beginning, there is still a long way before reaching the top.
Some areas on the island ground are still hot and at some areas, the smell of sulphur is rather strong.
There are lots of big black rocks like this which were formed after the eruption.
Some of the footpath to the top of the Kameni island are quite steep. We only had about 60 mins to wander around this island. I only managed to reach the second highest peak due to "time constrains" (busy capturing the spectacular sceneries, what to do) and i was wearing flip-flops. Not bad huh?
I looked at my watch and I realised I have only about 15 mins to get back to our ship. I don't think anybody is interested to camp on this island. Its hot! On the background is the town of Oia. It is one of the best places to watch the sunset.
Notice the rocks near the ships? The orange bit? That I believe is sulphur as well.
Finally, we were back on our ship. After that we set off to the hot springs on the other side of the island. Some of us swam in the hot springs, whilst others looked on.
Then we slowly sailed towards the horizon where the sun sets whilst having some wine and finger food.
There you go, the spectacular sunset view from a ship. I think the sunset view from the ship is better than from Oia. The only drawback is that its harder to avoid camera shake on a ship than on the land. It will be worse if you were to use a tripod on a rocky ship.
That's all for now, more photos of Fira and Oia on the next post.
The Volcano Island of Santorini
Donkey Station
So here we are at the donkey station in Fira, Santorini. A one way donkey ride will cost you about 4-5 euros.
We saw this first donkey. It looks pretty sad. I guess it is tired of transporting tourists up and down.
Looks pretty sad huh?
Come on cheer up!!! I'll feed you some carrots or maybe the donkey is camera shy.
Here is a white donkey. This one doesn't seem shy at all.
I think this donkey likes me. Look at the ears! The interval between these 2 photos is just 5 seconds! The donkey got turned on! Oops!
This is so sweet!! Look at that, such loving donkeys! I bet they are lovers. What do you think?
Here comes the evil master! He whips any donkey that misbehaves!
They tie the donkeys in a row, so that they will follow the lead donkey.
Due to the lack of time, instead of riding the donkey both ways, we took the cable car down (which cost us 4 euros).
The scenery of Fira, Santorini
Here are more photos of Fira, Santorini. Bet you guys are wondering whether is that all I have got. I was actually chilling out over the weekend after a 7-days long trip. It was quite tiring as I have to carry all my gears from morning till night, but I think it is really worthwhile.
Here is a photo of the main church in Fira. Saw this tiny statue sitting on the roof of another house so I tried to shoot from this angle.
This is how it looks like. Notice the shark beside the red door?
These are the restaurant bars that you will never see in a city!
Some of the decorations are only feasible in Santorini because it rarely rains there. At most, it only rains during winter.
The houses in the background are mostly villas or residential area. Imagine waking up to a breathtaking sea view or watching the sunset everyday from your balcony. Also, I would highly recommend this place for honeymoon!
The island in the background is a dormant volcano.
I simply just love the design and decors of the restaurants.
That's the dormant volcano. Apart from the volcano there is a high sulphur level hot spring.
Lastly, to all the donkey lovers or to those who love the movie shrek, here we are at the donkey station! Donkey is one of the method used to travel around the island or to the old port which is located far down the cliff.
More photos of the donkey coming up next...
Panorama View of Fira
This is a panorama view of Fira, Santorini. We took this from the top of Fira town.
*Courtesy of Sharon with her Sony Digicam*
Notice how blue the sky and sea is?
I'll post more photos shortly!
The Capital of Santorini - Fira
After checking into our villa we decided to explore this awesome island. There is a bus stop about 5 mins from our villa, but the buses come like every 30mins or maybe more and they operate till 9pm only. That would be very inconvenient if you are planning to come back later. So...we decided to rent a quadbike.
We then drove all the way from Perivolos to Fira. It took us about half an hour at first but it gets faster when you get used to the bike.
Along the way to Fira, we stop at a nice place and safe place to take some photos with this machine. Who wouldn't do that?
Don't be fooled by its look. It is powered by only a 50cc engine. Fifty!! I really wish this thing could go faster! However, the roads are mostly curvy and some goes through hilly places so I wouldn't recommend anyone speeding with this thing.
The good thing about this is you are able to park anywhere in the town as long as you are not obstructing traffic.
So here we are in Fira, the capital of Santorini. There is a port in Fira which is known as the Old Port (notice the boat far down the cliff?). There are two ways to get to the port, either by cable car or by foot.
If you decide to take the walkway down you have to beware of the donkey poos :P Yes another alternative would be riding a donkey down which will cost you about 4-5euros. On the other hand, the cable car will cost you 4 euros. The cost is about the same so its really up to you. Just try not to think about donkey, going crazy, and the cliff. hehe.
This is a church at the top of Fira. That is actually the real colour of the sky.
If you notice the stairway going downwards? Yes lots of walking needed!
Surprisingly, towards the evening you are able to see the moon. Notice the white crescent in between the tower and the dome? That is the moon.
This is the interior of the church. I had to crank up the ISO as its pretty dark in there.
The Greece flag consists of white and blue so are the houses in Santorini.
The colours are simply amazing! You have to see it for yourself to believe it :)
Some hotel in Fira. I just like how they match the colours and the way they paint their stairs.
More photos coming up :)
Arriving at Santorini
I just got back from Santorini, Greece this morning. Arriving at London Gatwick airport at about 3AM. Gosh! What airline flies at that time? Surprisingly there are many people already camping at the airport so we are not alone.
Anyway, on the first day after we have landed at Santorini airport, we took a taxi to our hotel. Our hotel is located in Perivolos which is on the east coast of the island.
When we arrived at the hotel the first thing that caught my eyes was the swimming pool! Come to think of it, I haven't been swimming in a pool for years and the last time I actually swam was during my diving course in Tioman.
The amazing part of Santorini is that all of the houses are painted white with blue doors and windows. Just like the colour of Greece flag!
This is our room. In case you might be wondering, most of the houses there are as beautiful as this if not better!
Another thing you might not realise is that Santorini is a volcanic island. That is why you are seeing black sand on the beach. That is known as the black beach. Also, don't be too surprised as there is actually a red beach too!
These sunbeds and shades can be rented for 6 euros.
There are lots of bars and restaurants along the south east coast of Santorini from Perivolos to Perissa.
p/s: The sky is actually this blue as the photos were not edited and they are all original.
Going to Santorini
I am quite busy lately, that is why I haven't been updating my blog as frequent as before. Finally, after all those hectic days my holiday is here!! I am going off to Santorini, Greece for a week as mentioned in my previous post.
Google it up if you haven't heard of it. Santorini is an amazing island, the buildings the sunset, hopefully the weather is great then.
Anyway, I was looking through my previous travelling photos and I saw some good photos so I decided to share a few.
This is Venice (Italy) one of the most amazing places in Europe. Venice consists of over a hundred small islands. The main transport is water taxis/buses or gondolas!
This is the Basilica San Marco, it was slightly flooded and that's how I got the reflection.
Will be back next week with more photos!
England vs Barbarians
Last sunday (1st June) was the kick off between England team and the Barbarians at the Twickenham Stadium.
You might be wondering is there even a team called Barbarians? Well there is in rugby but not football.
The England team are obviously in white and the black & white straps are the Barbarians.
Don't you think they look bigger than footballers?
