Quad Bike Chic around Thira

Santorini was quite big for me to explore considering the short time I had. I didn't want to extend more days coz the island was a little bit expensive for my budget. 

sunset on the west side

The girls went on a full day trip that included the hike on the volcano, followed by a swim to the hot springs and sunset in Oia. I opted out because of the price and I wasn't into the big swarm of groups exploring the island. That day, after re-energizing, I decided to rent a quad bike.

Now the thing was, I've never really experienced driving a quad bike. So the guy who was renting out made sure that I was not just comfortable but 100% confident. It was but fitting that he gave me a low powered quad in yellow. It was my first time to wear my yellow top that I bought in Lake Bled, Slovenia. We crossed the road and he asked me to practice forming the shape of 8 and also coming back from a narrow stretched alleyway. By the time I was done with the exercise, he stopped the engine, stood in front of me, held on to the bars of the quad and looked me straight in the eye, "Tell me, how confident are you?". It was pretty intimidating at first but I was happy that he was a genuine and honest man, unlike those who'd prefer to have you on the quad because of business. This dude was plain serious. I smiled at him and said, "I'm good!". I might have had my usual facial reaction that usually implied a question mark coz his right eyebrow went up and he asked me again. That was when I firmly said "Yes I am!". Then he said, Ok, come on in and you sign some papers. It might have come across as a death wish for me coz I wasn't really confident with the turns, but I thought, hey four wheels is so much better than back in the days when I was motorbiking with a 250cc. So hell yeah, I was up for it! :) Around 12:30 pm, I was smiling with the wind blowing my hair as I maneuvered the yellow quad bike to Ancient Akrotiri. 

The first stop I chose was to get to the Red Beach, not because I wanted to go for a swim, but because the Archeological site of Akrotiri was in the same location. It was on the South West side of the island and just a few meters away from the beach. I did check out the beach first just to find out what their context of Red was of a different hue. I had my standards as the "red center" of Australia. Of course, this red beach was way too paler. 

Akrotiri was once a Minoan Bronze Age settlement in Santorini. Its presence diminished after the huge volcanic eruption around 1500 BC. Apparently it has only been excavated since 1967 and is said to most probably be the inspiration of Plato's story of Atlantis. 

I entered the site, it had an entrance fee of 5 Euros. It was a massive excavation site that was well preserved and protected from the public. Although these were all within reach the guardians were particular if anyone tried to touch the walls. Heaps of frescoes can be seen from a few steps away. Such artifacts added a certain classic and genuine feel to the whole site. Fresco is a technique of mural painting during those days. The etymology of the word comes from the Italian word affresco = "Fresh" , a style closely related to Italian Renaissance Painting.

After some time  of reading, I got back on my quad and had a quick ice cream in the small town of Akrotiri.

lighthouse of Akrotiri

You'd find that there are a lot of dogs wandering around in towns. Some can be intimidating, some owned but not leashed. This one was white and so friendly. However, there was an oddity going on. It seemed to be staring at something on the ground. I couldn't figure out if it was an ant or what. But it just stared for so long that we were scared it would get hit by the car. Well it didn't seem to be bothered. Around the town were vineyards too, and of course cactii and donkeys tied to the trees. It was really cute and charming, not as busy as the other towns. 

I moved on and decided to head for the lighthouse. This has been said to be one of the oldest lighthouse in Greece, constructed back in 1892. It was initially fueled by petrol but eventually used electricity in 1988, radiating a white light in 20 seconds of intervals. I stayed there for a while and hopped on the different rocks on the edge of the island. The colour of the sea, the far away horizon and the sound of the wind was enough to tell me to hand out for a while and savour the moment. There was a french family, a guy and his 2 kids. He was doing a little bit of photography, his son bored with the photo shoots and his daughter so happy to be the foreground. I just watched from a distance. 

views from the garden of the monastery

After my muni muni moments up the rocks, I hopped back on the quad and zoomed back towards town. I wasn't really sure where I was headed. At some point I saw an edifice from a distance and thought that it looked interesting. So I quickly turned right towards the village. To my amazement I found that it was actually the ruins of a castle, free and open to the public. I believe it was once the castle of Akrotiri. 

I eventually found my way to Pyrgos, a village on top of a hill which was once the capital of the island until 1800. It was very windy by the time I got to the start of the village. Along the way was a small restaurant that had views of the highway that led to Fira. I haven't had lunch yet so I stopped there to have a simple pasta meal whilst studying the map. I talked to the owner later on and asked about the mountain top and how I could get up there. Apparently, that's when I learned that there was a monastery. That got me so excited.

It was a challenging and winding road up the monastery. But the views were majestic. The whole stretch of Perissa Beach could be viewed from the top. Also, along the way were what seemed to me a replica of the rice terraces. It was just an awesome site to stare at. I didn't dare stop though because the wind was a little bit treacherous and blocking the traffic on a winding road wasn't the best idea at all. 

The Monastery of Profitis ilias stands tall on the summit, reaching 1856 feet above sea level. It was founded back in 1711 by 2 monks from Pyrgos and it was there that the Greek language and culture was secretly taught during the dark times of Turkish invasion. It was in honour of the Propher Ilias or also known as Elijah.

I lingered for a while and sang my favourite song Lead Me Lord in the small chapel inside the garden. There were a few people who suddenly showed up and payed their respects too. I just missed the saturday service. The lady was actually looking at what I was wearing, most probably thinking it wasn't appropriate for the church service anyways. 

By the time I found my way back down, the sun was starting to find its way below the horizon. I didn't want to go to oia and watch the sunset. I knew for sure it would have been crazy anyway, swarmed with people everywhere. Besides, it would be traffic I assumed. So yeah, I decided to stay on the west side and appreciate the sunset from a different spot of the island. It may not have had the blue domes, but who cares. 

I found myself a cliff and was joined by a few more people. There, lying on my quad bike, I watched the sun set on the enchanting island of Santorini.