A 4 am wake up and we’re off to the nearby port to get on our boat to Santorini. The hotel treated us really well and provided breakfast sandwiches “to go” since we were up and out before the usual service. Reliably, we arrive at the dock in time to see them still constructing the boat in dry dock.
Don’t let the “superjet” name fool you - we arrive at our destination 90 minutes late!
I have to say that what I’d hoped would be a fun jet boat cruise through the Aegean turned out to be a somewhat slower equivalent of a floating bus - all of us slept! Four intermediate stops and many additional passengers later we arrive in Santorini. A complete disembarkation conflagration ensues. Luggage is stored seemingly at random and we are tripped and pushed to the back of the boat where our luggage has been stored outside during the 6+ hour voyage.
After a little coordinating we finally connect with the driver arranged by the hotel. A harrowing drive ensues - very narrow roads, sharp cliff drops and the Santorini official vehicles (ATV’s) swarming life flies - but we arrive intact. After a checkin process resembling an onboarding procedure we finally get to our room - a two bedroom suite with our own pool.
I should mention this island is shaped like a crescent as it is part of the remnants of the caldera from a volcano that erupted about 3,600 years ago. The eruption was one of the largest in recorded history so this is a very large caldera - it caused quite the shitstorm in the day. Today, we’re talking resort island.
Looks refreshing doesn’t it? The water is warm enough to cook with!
With the early start we’re all in the mood to just eat at the hotel which turns out to be a great, if accidental, decision. We stumble into the restaurant overlooking the volcano’s caldera and opt for the tasting menu, Jeorgia with the cocktail pairing (this must be a thing in Europe!), and me with a wine paring. It was wonderful and we were treated to a spectacular sunset during the meal. We’ll end today’s post with some photos from dinner.
A portion of the caldera visible from the hotel restaurant.
