Hidden Treasures

I hope you’re still drinking. If you’re a true wine drinker, your first glass should be done by now. There’s still a way to go, so fill up if you’re running low. This post is long but I know you want the tea, and I’m going to give it to you.

Remember I told you we were in Greece to celebrate my birthday. I promised to tell you why we decided to take a trip, to begin with, but just work with me here. I will land pretty soon.

Day 2 was amazing! It was all about exploring the hidden treasures of the beautiful island. Luckily enough, we had made plans with the resort for a private tour which allowed us to visit a lot of beautiful places, monuments and touristic sites on the island. The car ride was so much fun!

The introductions begin…

There were beautiful seaside views…

We visited a renowned lighthouse in Greece. Many tourists had also come to take pictures there.

The lighthouse behind me…

Took some pictures at the lighthouse with Victoria and my God-daughter Ariana…

After that, we took a drive through the city…

We even visited a serene monastery (Prophet Elias Thira) which marked the highest point of the island. We said prayers, took pictures and even lit some candles in the chapel at the monastery before we left. It was so peaceful and calm. We couldn’t see the monks as they observe a vow of silence for the better part of the day but we could feel the serenity of their presence and hear a recording of the amazing songs they sang.

Here we are looking inside the beautiful chapel…

And I took a moment to light some candles, take a selfie, and then some more pictures…

We left the monastery and the next stop was the Red Beach. It is known as the Red Beach because a lot of the mountains in the area had erupted and the volcanic explosions had left a lot of the surrounding geographical structures, including the beach an intense shade of reddish-brown. There were lots of tourists so we took pictures and took in the views. We even took pictures with the Greek flag that was at the summit of the lighthouse near the beach.

More views of the Red Beach…

After the pictures, we freshened up and then went to a city called Oia where we got dropped off to take in views of the beautiful white houses with their ostentatious blue domes.

I tried to get a better view of the background…

Most houses in Greece and specifically in Santorini are painted white. Only the churches have blue domes. There is even a budget set by the government to keep these white houses “white” year-round. The colors are inspired by the Greek flag and tourists everywhere come to take pictures with the iconic houses and their blue domes.

More pictures and two photobombs! It’s so easy to make friends in Greece. The people are so friendly.

I was even able to catch the beautiful sunset. After dinner at Thalami (Greek Restaurant), it was ice-cream for dessert and then we headed home. Quite exhausted and ready to sleep.

The next morning, we moved to another hotel. Yes, we were at hotel number three at this point. It was a beautiful hotel by the marina and its main attraction was the Black Beach. The stones at the black beach were exactly that- black!

Oh! What fun we had. There were shops nearby and lots of interesting items and hidden treasures and souvenirs. There were lots of wonderful restaurants. In fact, we were spoiled for choices. First, we took some pictures in our long flowy floral dresses.

After that, we went home and changed and then headed to the shops to explore. That’s Latyna, our supermodel.

Since we had two days at this location, we never rushed to get into the water. We wanted to see all that there was to see. The city was so interesting! We discovered little interesting stores and learned a lot about Greek culture.

And then some more pictures… please bear with me. I love capturing Kodak moments as they say!

After that, we went to the pier to get views of the water and admire the ships that were heading towards the island.

That evening at dinner, Victoria and the Restaurant staff surprised me with a mini cake. It was Tiramisu with a candle. They heard of my story and wanted to do something special for me. I was so happy!

There was even a birthday song. Somehow, I think they forgot the part with how to say my name lol!

I was still so grateful! It’s the thought that counts. ♥

The following day, however, we were ready for the water!

Our hotel was near Black Beach. And boy, did we have a good time. We had some drinks served to us, the kids ran into the sea. And we even had lunch and a personal masseuse release all the tension in our neck and shoulders. It was too much fun.

The next day was our last day at the Marina Hotel. We were moving to a mansion, or “Villa Ayama” as the locals called it. It was our fourth and final location. We got up very early before leaving the Marina Hotel and took some pictures with views of the sea in the background. It was just amazing!