Next Stop: Santorini



Hello!
Täna on oodata ühte pikemat postitust nii teksti kui piltide poolest, sest juttu tuleb SANTORINIST kogu selles ilus ja valus, uskuge mind, ma arvasin, et terve see puhkus saab olema just täpselt nii kaunis kui Google pildid, oh kui valesti ma arvasin. Rohkem muljeid leiate juba alljärgnevatst peatükkidest!
Let's begin! 

Asukoht:
Santorini saar, Kreeka 

Reisi kestvus:
Kõige parem oleks vist öelda 4 täispäeva ja 5 ööd, sest esimesel päeval saabusmine keset ööd ning viimasel päeval lahkusime hommikul. 

Sihtkohta reisimine:
Minu tee hakkas Ryanairi lennuga Thessalonikist ümberistumisega Ateenas, kus sain kokku oma parima sõbra Martiniga, kes oligi minu seekordseks reisikaaslaseks. Tagasitulles tuli meil Ateenas võtta lennuki asemel aga rong, sest ka meile sai osaks suur Ryanairi lendude tühistamise tulv, mis õnneks puudutas ainult viimast lendu. Lennud ise olid odavad, ma arvan et üks ots Thessaloniki-Ateena-Santorini maksis max 40€.
Kuna lend Santorinile jõudis hilja ja lahkus vara, siis tuli mõlemal korral võtta takso, mis maksis 20€ ots, kuna lennujaam oli meie ööbimispaigast, Firast, 6 km kaugusel ja jalakäijate sõbralikku teed sinna ei läinud, siis tuli kahjuks selline väljaminek teha. Saabudes jagasime taksot kahe teise inimesega, kuna aga hotellid olid erinevad, mis tegelikult olid samal tänaval (mida ma siis ei teadnud), oli sõidusummaks 30€, säästime küll 5€, kuid tegelikult oleks võinud ju ühe hotelli nime öelda, Fira on nii väike koht, niiet jalutamisega poleks probleeme olnud ja raha oleksime sellisel juhul lausa 10€ säästnud. 
Päevasel ajal (alates kella seitsmest hommikul) lähevad Firast lennujaama bussid arvatavasti iga tunni või poole tunni tagant, ning üheotsa pileti on maksimaalselt 3€, nüüd vist saate aru, miks seda 20€ eriti mõru maksta oli. 

Kohalik eripära: 
Ausalt öeldes olin esimesed päevad Santorinit nähes päris pettunud, Fira justkui oli selline nagu piltide pealt nägin, kuigi hõlmas endas ka peale valgete majade väga räpast rannikuala ja tänavaid, luitunuid siniseid kupleid, mis pildi peal on alati perfektselt tumesinised ning üldse ei saanud ma aru, kuidas inimesed neid vaateid nii ilusti piltide saavad. Ma ju tean, et Google pildid näitavad tihti tipp-fotograafide ja/või väga ületöödeldud pilte, kuid mitte kunagi varem ei olnud ma veel nii pettunud mõnes reisisihtkohas olnud- kas oli asi lihtsalt minu unistustes, ilmutasin ma kergeid reisiväsimuse märke või oli asi millestki muus, seda ma ei tea, aga rahul ma ei olnud. Viimasel päeval otsustasin siiski ära käia ka Oias (u 30 minutit bussisõitu, üks ots maksis 1,80€, bussid väljuvad iga 30 minuti tagant), kõrvalinnas, mis asub saare põhjapoolses tipus, ausalt, parim valik üldse selle reisi jooksul, sest just seal oli kõik see, millest ma oma peas unistasin- ilusad valged laiad tänavad, sinised kuplid ja kaunid vaated, mida polnud ka pildi peale raske püüda, seal kohe oli teine õhkkond. Hoolimata sellest, et Fira ja Oia on vaid mõne kilomeetri kaugusel erinesid nad minu jaoks nagu Tallinn erineb Tartust- justkui sama, aga tegelikult ikkagi täiesti kaks erinevat asja. 
Üldiselt meil ajaga muidugi vedas- iga päev paistis päike (v.a esimene öö ja viimasel päeval kerge vihmahoog), ilm oli valdavalt 15-20 kraadi ringi ja mis kõige olulisem, inimesi oli parajas koguses, ma ausalt ei kujuta ette kui hull seal suviti on, no vaadake juba SEDA pilti, katsu sa sedasi siis vaadet nautida või pilti teha. Minu jaoks olid ka hinnad üllatavalt tavapärased, minu meelest oli isegi Halkidiki kohati kallim, kuid ka Sanotrinil jagub turistilõkse ja muidugi kande alati kaasas sularaha, sest paljud kohad kaarte ei aktsepteeri. Tasub meeles pidada, et tegemist on väga turistikeskse kohaga ja kohalikku eluolu näeb seal vähe, samuti on tegemist väikese saarega, kus põhikohad näeb ära paari päevaga.

Majutus:
Kindlasti üks mu esimesi pettumisi oli Firas (saare keskus) võetud majutus. Tegin endale seekord erandi ja lubasin kallimat ööbimist kui tavaliselt, sest tegemist on ju ikkagi Santoriniga, seega olid ka ootused suuremad. Ma lihtsalt ootasin piltidele sarnaseid tulemusi (ausalt, ma tean et pildid ei pruugi tegelikusega samad olla, aga noh, me ju maksime!!!), tegelikkuses oli Villa Soula küll kena, aga täiesti tavaline ja hoopis teistsuguste tubadega koht. Esimesel öösel pandi meid, õigemini jäeti võti (sellel saarel administaatorid öösiti tihti ei tööta) meile keldrikorruse tuppa, järgmisel hommikul paigutati meid üllatuslikult aga üles, sest eelnevalt olime palunud tuba ülakorrusele. Hoolimata sellest minu jaoks väga toredast korraldusest oli ka üleval asuv tuba täiesti teistsugune kui piltidel, kuidagi väiksem ja värvitum ja... selline meh, ainuke lahe asi oli lisaaken/uks, mis viis otse pisikesele ühisterrassile. Toa juures ei meeldinud mulle halvasti soojategev õhukonditsioneer ja väike vannituba, mille põrand ujus üle juba peale esimest pesu (vannituba oli lihtsalt nii väike). Seevastu olid voodid mugavad, wifi hea, teeninidus väga sõbralik ning igal hommikul oli võimalik lasta oma tuba koristada. Samuti oli hotellis välibasseinid ja ka asukoha poolest oli ta praktiliselt kesklinnas, aga nagu ma juba ütlesin on Firal kõik teineteise lähedal, siiski põhi valgeid maju koos merevaatega aknast näha ei olnud. Muidu oli ju kõik tegelikult okei, aga just hinna ja kvaliteedi suhe polnud minu jaoks paigas, seepärast saab see koht 10-st punktist 5. Siiski soovitan võtta majutuse Firasse või Oiasse, seal on kõik olemas ja mööda saart on lihtsam reisida. 
Edit: Ma hakkasin just mõtlema, et minu meelest maksime 5 öö eest u 80€ näkku, mis teeb alla 20€ päevas, seega saime tegelikult selle koha ikka päris hea hinnaga... Ups. Aga ruumid olid ikkagi piltidega võrreldes täiesti erinevad. 

Vaatamisväärsused:
Hmm, kuna tegemist oli jälle pigem puhuksereisiga siis kindlaid vaatamisväärsusi listis ei olnud. Teadsin vaid, et tahan käia Firas, Oias ning paaris rannas ja lihtsalt ringi jalutada, sest iga maja on justkui omaette vaatamisväärsus. Nii Firas kui Oias on ka paar kirikut, kuhu tasub täitsa sisse põigata, meie külastaime Firas juhuslikult St. Johni katedrali. Oias leidub ka veidi teistsuguse olemisega tuuleveskeid. Tegelikult tahtsime Firas võtta tasuta tuuri, ainuke, mis ma leidsin oli see firma SIIN, kuid nad ei vatanud mulle ei meili ega Facebooki teel, hoolimata sellest, et Facebookis olid nad mu kirja näinud, ka hinnangud jagunesid täpselt pooleks- oli olukordi kus nad väidetavalt kohale ei ilmunud ning päevi kus nad andsid väidetavalt parima tuuri, kahjuks ei oska ma selle endapoolst infot anda. Hotellis räägiti meile ka võimalusest minna päevasele paadireisile, mis viib saare kõrvalasuvasse vulkaani juurde ning tutvuma ka veel ühe teise saarega, kuna me mõlemad oleme Islandil käinud, siis tundus seale olen vulkaan väga niru olevat ja nii me selle reisi vahele jätsimegi, ausalt, maailmas on nii palju vägevamid vulkaane, mida külastada kui see. 

Söögikohad:
Seekord olin toidukohtade nimede pildistamistega eriti tubli ja saan tuua täitsa asjaliku ülevaate. 
Minu üheks lemmikkohaks võib kindlasti lugeda Svoronos (Φούρνος) pagariäri, kus peale hommikuste värskete saiakeste, saab ka maailma parimaid kaneeliküpsiseid, oh kuidas tahaks praegu ühte krõbistada... Kuna minu jaoks oli Sanotrinil iga päev pühapäev, siis paar hommikut alustasin oma päeva näiteks Caffe Luigis süües imehäid ja kindlasti väga kaloririkkaid pannkooke koos nutella, banaanide ja maasikatega, ühel hommikul proovisime ära ka juustu-pesto pannkoogi, mis oli samuti maitsev. Mõlemad kohad on üsna tagasihoidlikud ning midagi peent sealt kindlasti otsida ei tasu. 
Lõunaks sobib süüa aga ideaalselt gyrot, kohalikku toitu, mis on rulli keeratud soe saialaadne toode (pita) koos liha, värskete köögiviljade ja kastmega, maitseb IMELISELT. Meie ostsime seda kahest kohast: Yogy Gyrost ja Bayiatiko Food Barist (Μπαγιάτικο), mõlemas kohas maksis portsjon on 2.50€, kuigi soovitan mõlemat kohta, siis Bayiatiko oli kuidagi hubasem, tegemist kiirrestoranidega. Ühel lõunal sõime hommikusöögiks ka Aasia kiirtoitu kohas nimega Asia Club, mina võtsin kana karriga, kana täitis küll kõhtu, aga  midagi erilist see ausalt öeldes ei olnud, Martin jäi oma toiduga vist rohkem rahule. Samuti olge valmis, et ühel hetkel seal viibides võib teil mitu asiaati seljas elada, kes oma järge toidule ootavad. 
Õhtusöögiks või siis vähemalt kokteiliks soovitan kasvõi ühe korra minna kuskile sellisesse kohta, kus on ilus vaade merele ja saarele, sügisesel ajal peaks nendesse eriti lihtne sissepääs olema, sest inimesi on nii vähe, küll on need kohad aga kindlasti kallimad ülejäänutest. Minu lemmikuks õhtusöögi kohaks oli Cesare restoran, millel polnud küll merevaadet, aga mis nägi välja väga hubane, hinnaklass oli hea ning ka toit maitses hästi. Ja kui mitte midagi muud süüa pole, siis tuleb appi pitsa ja päästab õhtu, meie tellisime selle The Family Pizzeriast, kus suur XL pitsa maksis 12€, millest me mõlemad reaalse toidukooma saime. 
Peale kosutavat õhtusööki või palavat päeva on hea magustoiduks võtta üks jäätis, meie tegime seda Zotos Family Pastys, kus peale jäätiste leiab ka muid põnevaid magustoite. Üks jäätispall maksis 2€ ning tegemist on Itaalia tüüpi maiustistega, mis erinevad Eesti omadest päris tublisti. 

Vaba aeg:
Peale Fira ja Oia oli meil kindel soov minna ka punassesse ja musta randa. Kuna Sanotrini on tekkinud tänu vulkaanile, siis on seal ka veidikene teistsugune loodus ja pole imeks panna, et rannas on liiva asemel magmakivi. Kuigi rannas oli tore, siis pidime tõdema, et me mõlemad kujutasime punast randa suuremana ja punasemana ette (jällegi saime Google piltidelt vale arusaama), bussisõit sinna maksab 2.40€ ots ning kestab Firast u 20 minutit, peale seda tuleb ette võtta mõnesaja meetrine matk. Kuigi tegemist oli isegi meie jaoks mitte nii väga rannailmaga oli inimesi seal üsna palju. Must rand ongi aga ettenähtud kui kuurortrannana ja neid peaks olema saarel rohkem kui üks, meie ostsutasime vast selle kõige kuulsama kasuks, mis asub Perissa juures. Bussisõit sinna kestab Firast u 30 minutit ning maksab 2.80€ ots. Mõlemasse kohta väljuvad bussid iga poole tunni või tunni tagant. Vastupidi punasele rannale ootasid Mustas rannas meid ees toolid ning mõned söögikohad (söögikohad olid ka punase ranna lähedal), meie peatusime restorani Waves juures, kus jällegi olid toolid tasuta, kui midagi baarist tellida. Rand ise oli kena, kuid must "liiv" pidi seal heledam olema kui Islandil. Kuigi ma ei olnud nendest kohtadest üleliia vaimustuses on mul siiski hea meel, et nendes ära käisin, niimoodi nägin ühtlasi ka ülejäänud saare ära. 

Selliseks kujuneski välja reis Sanorinil. 
See reis tuletas mulle jällegi meelde, et ei tohi enda jaoks asju ideaalseks mõelda, sest just nende valgete seinte taga ja kõrval ja ees on tegelikult palju inimesi ja prügi ja vale päikesevalgus, mis tekitavad ainult pettumist. Ma olen õnnelik ja tänulik, et sain seal olla aga siiski on minu jaoks see kõvasti ülehinnatud koht, kui Oia võib-olla välja jätta...  
Cheers! 

Fira: 

 Red and black beaches: 

Oia: 

Hello! 
Today I am making a bit longer post than usually, because I am going to talk about SANTORINI! I also must say that at this time there's a bit more bad things, too, because I imagined that my holiday will be as pretty as the Google photos, well, it was not... so I want to share all my feelings.
Let's begin! 

Destination:
Santorini island, Greece

Duration of Trip:
I guess the best way is to say that we spend there 4 full days and 5 nights, because in the first day we arrived middle of the night and in the last day we left in the morning. 

Travelling to Destination:
I started my way from Thessaloniki, where I took Ryanair flight, I changed the flight in Athens, where I also met with my best friend Martin, who was my travelling companion at this time. The original plan was to go back to Thessa in the same way, but as Ryanair cancelled (luckily only one) our flight (Athens-Thessaloniki), then in Athens we took a train. The flights were cheap, I guess one Thessaloniki-Athens-Santorini way costed max 40€. 
As the flights to Santorini arrived late and left early, then in the both times needed to took taxi, because our accommodation was 6 km away and there was no safe road for pedestrians. One way costed 20€, which in my opinion is a lot. In the first time we shared taxi with two other people, but as our hotels were in different places, which were actually on the same street (we didn't know it), then one way costed 30€, yes we saved 5€, but now I know that it is better to say one hotel name, Fira is such a small place, so there's no problem to walk from one hotel to another one and in that way we would save 10€. 
In the day time (from 7 in the morning) there's also buses, which are going to airport, they should ride in every 30 minutes or an hour, one way ticket is max 3€, I guess now you understand why I think that 20€ for a taxi was a lot. 

About Local Life: 
Honesty, in the first days I was very disappointed, in one hand Fira was a place like a saw from the photos, but at the same time there were dirty streets, not so blue roofs, which on photos are all the time perfectly blue and I didn't understand how people are catching those views to the photos. I know that most of the Google photos are made by professionals and/or are edited a lot, but I guess it was the first time when I was so disappointed about the travelling destination- was I tired of travelling or I just had too perfect dreams or was there something else, I don't know, but I wasn't happy. In the last full day I decided to go to Oia (a place in the top of the north part, which is around 30 minutes away from Fira), honesty the best decision of the trip, everything what I dreamed about Santorini was in Oia- beautiful wide white streets, very nice blue roofs and amazing views, which wasn't hard to catch to the photos, there was just different feeling in the air. Despite short distance between of Fira and Oia they were still completely different for me, like Tallinn from Tartu (2 biggest towns in Estonia)- they are like a same thing but actually completely different places. 
Generally we were very lucky- everyday the sun was shining (except the first night and a half an hour in last day), there was around 15-20 degrees and the most important, there were a normal amount of peole, really, I don't want to know how awful it is in summer time, just look THAT photo, try to enjoy the view or make photos like this. For me the prices were also very okay, in my opinion for example Chalkidiki was worse, but ofc there's also tourist traps in Santorini, too, ou and carry always some cash with you, because a lot of places doese'nt accept credit cards. Also remember that Santorini is a total tourists place, there's very few things about local life, also it's a small island, so it takes max a couple of days to see the whole island. 

Accommodation:
For sure one of the biggest disappointment was our accommodation, which was in Fira (the center of the island). At this time I made an exception and took a more expensive accommodation than usually, well it was still Santorini where we went, so I also expected better things from out hotel. Actually I just expected the same rooms as I saw on photos (honestly, I know that usually the photos are better than in reality, but cmon we paid!), in reality Villa Soula was a nice place, but totally usual and completely different than on photos. In the first night they put us, actually left a key (on that island it is normal that there's no working reception in the night) to the basement floor room, in the next morning they put us to the upstairs, because before arriving we asked to do so (omg, it sounds so cruel, but like Martin asked it in kind way). Despite of that very nice surprise the upstairs room was also completely different than the rooms on photos, it was smaller and less colourful and like... meh. The only cool things was the window/door which had a staring way to the balcony (which was ment for all the guests). I also didn't like the air conditioner which basically didn't do any warm air and small bathroom, after a first shower the whole floor was covered with water (because the bathroom was just so small). But the beds were nice, wifi was good and the service was lovely, also in every morning it was possible to let to clean the room. There were also outdoor pools and the location of the hotel was nice, it was basically in city center, but as I said, Fira is so small place, so there's no problem of distances. Although we didn't had any fancy view to the white houses and/or sea. Well it was a okay place, but I didn't like the balance between of quality and money, so from 10 points I am giving 5. But I am still recommending to take accommodation in Fira or Oia, there's everything you need and it is easier to travel around the island.
Edit: I just started to think about the price, we paid for 5 night around 80€ per face, which makes under 20€ per day, so it is actually a very good deal... Whoops. But the rooms still didn't looked like on the photos...

Sightseers:
Hmm, as it was more like a relaxing trip, then I didn't pay so much attention the the sightseers. I just knew that I want to walk around in Fira and Oia, and visit a couple of beaches, for me every house was like a sightseer already. I know that in Fira and Oia there's a couple of churches, which lookes pretty nice, we went to one of them in Fira called 
Cathedral of St. John. In Oia there's also a couple of wind mills, which are looking different than in Estonia. In Fira we wanted to take a free tour, they only one what I found was this company HERE, but they didn't answered to my e-mails or letter in Facebook, although they saw it, so we didn't had any tours. I read about that company 2 kind of comments: half of them said that they didn't appear to the meeting point and half of them said that it was amazing one, sadly I can't say nothing about them. In hotel we also got information about the daily boat tour, which includes trip to volcano (next of Santorini) and also to one other island, as we both have been in Iceland, then this volcano seemed to be quite tiny and not so attractive one, so we skipped that tour, really, there's so many more powerful volcanoes than this. 

Place to Eat:
At this time I was pretty good about making photos of the eating places names, so I can speak a bit more about them.
One of my favourite place was for sure 
Svoronos (Φούρνος) bakery, where were nice fresh pies and the best cinnamon cookies in the world, oh how I would like to have one of them right now. As for me everyday was like a Sunday, then a couple of mornings I started my day with pancakes in Caffe Luigi, my favourite ones were pancakes with Nutella, bananas and strawberries, in one morning we also tried cheese and pesto one, which was also very nice. Both of those places looks very simple, so don't expect anything fancy. 
For the lunch time it is perfect to eat gyro, a Greek food, which is a round bread (pita) with some meat, fresh vegetables and sauce, just AMAZING. We bought it from two different places: from Yogy Gyrost and Bayiatiko Food Bar (Μπαγιάτικο), in both places it costed around 2,50€ and although I recommend both of the places, then for me Bayiatiko was more cozy, still both of the places are fast food restaurants. In one afternoon we ate an Asian food in the place called Asia Club, I had chicken with carry, it was okay, but nothing special, I guess Martin was more happier with his food. In that place be ready, that in one moment a lot of Asian people, who are waiting their food, can be very close to you (in Estonia we hold distance between of two people unless you don't know them, so for me it was disturbing).
For the dinner or for cocktail I am recommending to go at least one time to the place where you can see all those pretty white houses and sea, in autumn it should be pretty easy, because there's not so many people, but I am pretty sure that those places are still more expensive than the other ones. I guess my favourite dinner place was Cesare restaurant, there wasn't any sea view, but the place looked very nice and cozy, the prices were good and the food was also nice. And if there's noting to eat for the dinner, then one pizza will save the evening, we ordered our XL pizza (12€) from The Family Pizzeria, after that one we literally had a food coma
After a nice dinner or a hot day there's a nice idea to eat ice cream, we bought it from Zotos Family Pasty, where besides of ice creams are also other interesting desserts. One ice cream ball costed 2€ and it tasted like Italian one, so pretty different from Estonian one. 

Free Time:
Beside of Fira and Oia we also wanted to visit red ja black beaches. As Satorni is a volcanic island, then there's also a bit different nature, so no wonder that beside of normal sand they have red or black one. Although we spent a nice time, then I must say that we both imagined that read beach is bigger and more red (thanks Google photos for creating that illusion), the bus ride costs 2,40€ for one way and it tooks around 20 minutes from Fira. After that you need to take a small hike to reach to the red beach. Although it wasn't perfect beach weather, then there were quite many people. Black beach is more fancy one, there should be a couple of black beaches on that island, but we visited the one which is near of Perissa. It tooks around 30 minutes by bus (from Fira) and one way costs 2,80€. The busses to the both places goes in every 30 minutes or hour. In both beaches there were also eating places, but to have a chair in black beach you needed to order something for the food place (a drink for exapmle). The black beach was nice, but the "sand" was lighter than in Iceland. Although both of the places weren't so impressive for me, but I am still glad that I went to there, in this way I also saw the rest of the island and spent a good time out of the town. 

So this was my holiday in Satorini.
This trip remind me, that it's not good to expect that there's a prefect places, because behind and next and in front of those white houses there's also a lot of people and trash and wrong sunlight, which only makes you more disappointed. I am happy and glad that I still visited Santorini, but remember, that this is very overrated place... except Oia.
Cheers! 

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