Day 2 – Exploring the Village of Oia

On day 2 of our trip, we explored the picturesque village of Oia - the most most coveted place to stay in Santorini. It's known for its amazing sunset views so when we were booking our hotel, we made sure that it was located in Oia. On day 2, we decided to stay local and take a tour of  the village. Our first stop was Amoudi Bay where we stopped for a pricey but very delicious lunch.

Amoudi Bay

Amoudi Bay is known for having some of the best fresh fish in Santorini. It’s right by the water and they boast a variety of restaurants with indoor and outdoor dining overlooking the water. Amoudi Bay is also a port where several tour boats depart from for sunset dinner cruises, lunch cruises, etc. The bay was about was less than a 2 minute drive from our villa.We made a quick stop for lunch at one of restaurants on the bay, I forgot the name of it (it may have been Dimitri's at Amoudi Bay but don't quote me on it). They are a bit pricey though but the food is amazing. We paid over $100 for a platter of white bream fish - I know it’s outrageous! At least the desert was free – we had some delicious Greek doughnuts with vanilla ice-cream.During lunch, I was trying to decide whether or not to use the donkey ride to go up to the top of the mountain where the center of Oia is. It was hot and the donkeys looked so sad, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Kevin and I hiked up to the top of the mountain in the scorching heat. A lot of steps up the hill were gracefully adorned with donkey dung, as you can imagine, the smell was quite pleasant! It took us almost half an hour to get to the top; we were beyond exhausted but were glad we did not use the donkeys.This was the trail that tourists and donkeys use to get to the top of the mountain. It would be so much better if they did not have a shared trail.Despite the challenges of hiking up to the top of the mountain, the views on the way up were simply stunning!Center of Oia

The center of Oia (pronounced ee-ah) is just breath-taking! At the mountain top are narrow pathways paved with marble stones. As you walk down the pathway, you will walk past art galleries, souvenir shops and liquor stores. If you go down the steps away from the main walkway, you will find hotels and restaurants. A lot of the hotels have a little closed gate to keep the public away from venturing into private property. If you take a peak, you can still get a glimpse of the hotel (not inside though).[wpvideo 45i4wkfw]We came across at least 3 brides that were walking around Oia looking for spots to capture the perfect pictures. I couldn’t help but snap a pic of this beautiful couple – weddings are so exciting!!This picture was taken from an art gallery. I enjoyed seeing pictures of Santorini whilst there. I purchased a calendar that had a beautiful gallery of the island but I can't find it anywhere. I probably forgot it at the hotel :-(.This is a church in the center of Oia; there were a lot of people taking pictures in this area. I'm guessing it's one of the  main landmarks. Kamari Beach

On our back to the hotel, we made a quick stop at Kamari beach. This beach was literary less than a 5 minute walk from our villa. The beach is rocky with black sand. Santorini has a beach with red sand (red beach), one with black sand (Kamari beach) and a third one with white sand (white beach). I’m glad we made a quick stop here because that the only time we made it to this beach. Red and white beaches are in very close proximity to each other but they were about 40 minutes drive from our hotel.Oia in the night-time

I was so exhausted from hiking up the steps to get to the top of Oia town center, I had every intention of taking a quick nap and going back out to watch the sunset but once my eyes closed, I refused to open them again. By the time I woke up, the sun had already set. We went back to the main town center just to see how it looks at night. We came across a cozy restaurant overlooking the caldera and they were only 2 other couples there. It was a lovely romantic evening. Do not go to Santorini with your girlfriends, you will regret leaving your man behind :-).

[wpvideo tLReUstN]Thank you all for stopping by, stay tuned for more of my Santorini travel diaries in the next post!

Love,