We started the day by renting the same ATV 2 days before as filled it up with too much gas. The gas gauge on the ATV was in the full position since then and did not even so much as flicker. Suspecting that the gauge is faulty, we opened up the cap to see a full tank of gas. Some fuel efficiency!
But first, we picked up lunch at the supermarket.
how do you pronounce that? and we thought carrefour was hard...
Remember the big wind I was talking about? After our long ride to the beach, we found ourselves on a deserted beach cuddled together and shuddering in the cold Oct wind. We couldn't even muster enough courage to change into our swimming costume (chewbacca suit) let alone go for a swim.
The other black beach.
I couldn't decide which on I like better so here is another one.
We had our lunch which consisted of canned tuna, chips and that piece of cheese we bought in day 1. We decided to head to the red beach to try our luck.
We did went into the water eventually. Up to the knee level. Good enough.
We did went into the water eventually. Up to the knee level. Good enough.
Frank was kicking back and enjoying the day.
ahhhh. bring me to cocktail yo
ok time to work on the tan
shuyi trying to do a walk-out-of-the-sea heineken moment
On the way to the red beach, we saw a deserted construction site. Is there a policy for the architecture on Santorini? All the houses looked consistent, not that it is a bad thing.
The pit stop also gave my navigator time to consult the map.
i'm quite sure that I am sure that it is that way
Along the way, guess what we spotted?
interesting...
A deserted (due to the down season) cafe along a cliff which boast of 'photo of a lifetime'. Since it was deserted, we helped ourselves to the facilities.
Chairs.
Table.
Bus.
Flowers
Shuyi wanted to do the auntie-go-china touristy look.
My super gay vogue-strike-a-pose-there's-nothing-to-it look.
vogue vogue vogue
We weren't the only couple there enjoying the free facilities. I love to take photos of old loving couples. I feel that it is sweet that some of them still hold hands. The physical attraction is gone and what's left is emotional intimacy.
Let's move on to the red beach.
Car show model wannabe.
We arrived at the red beach and had to park the ATV at the clearing and follow a narrow rocky path to get to the beach.
Couldn't decide which i like better again.
Any more questions on why it's called the red beach?
Don't think so.
We bought a straw mat from the kind lady who directed me to the nearest toilet as lunch did not seem to agree with my tummy. Good thing as well because there was some uncle collecting fees for the beach chairs. We're from Singapore. We don't pay for stuff like that!
shuyi was exceptionally happy for some reason
It was late afternoon and finally we can feel the sun's warmth. Easing ourselves into the sea slowly, we had a nice dip in the sea. The sea floor is made up of big round smooth rocks which makes it kinda hard to wade about. Stepping on moss filled rocks barefooted is not the most pleasant of experiences. Icky.
There were a few tourist collecting rocks along the beach. Shuyi kept nagging me to go ask them why they were collecting rocks. I couldn't care less and after a while, shuyi's 'auntie sense' was tingling so badly that she walked over and asked why.
They were collecting the rocks (black, white & red) for gambling chips.
tri-coloured volcanic sand
Frank really knows how to live it.
buried in sand and smoking a fag. this is the life...
It tummy informed me that it is getting late and since we have quite a bit of travelling to do, we should start to pack up and leave.
Them Greeks seem to have a thing for colour coordination. Red beach, red door.
Another one. This room is built into the cliff.
Greek 赤壁
I saw the Korean school girls do this hillarious pose (normally when Rain's name was brought up).
aishiteru! Saranghaeyo if you are korean
One of my favourite shots of the day.
Back on the road again. I've read that Santorini is a wine producing island and I keep seeing these around the island.
I was thinking... these can't be grape vines right? I mean normally we see them creeping on racks on nice fertile soil. But these bushes of plants are on dry sandy soil which didn't even appear fit for weed.
We spotted an uncle working the fields and we stopped to chat with him.
oui! quit working and talk to us!
He told us that he is cutting off the excess vines and grapes to prepare for the next season. The vines are coiled together to protect the grapes from the wind. This way, they are prevented from drying out too quickly. It would appear that the dry volcanic soil is rich in minerals for the grapes.
Most of the leftover grapes were dried/drying up. We grabbed a bunch and popped 'em. The dried ones have the consistency of dried prunes and are very very sweet. I mean diabetic sweet. The semi dried ones were more pleasant as they still have some juice in em.
But seriously. They look like weed no?
I put the dSLR on a fence with the timer on for the shot.
On the way back, one of the signs point to 'traditional settlement'. Since we had some time, we decided to drive in for a look see.
The path led to narrow one-way roads like this.
The narrow path eventually led us to a sleep village where time seemed to have stopped decades ago.
Check out this piece of crap.
trying to act like an old man. wait... I AM an old man!
After the slight detour, we hit the main road again. The wind was howling and we cursed ourselves for underestimating the cold wind again.
This dude is making us look bad with his old bicycle. He would eventually reach town around the same time as as. A feat, considering we were on an ATV.
We stopped along the road to admire the sunset (we see a lot of them for the trip huh).
Don't go down! Push!
real mature
We headed straight to our No. 1 priority: dinner. We headed straight to this place called Nikolas as recommended by George. A homely restaurant which, in it's own quaint way, stands out against the hordes of tourist trap restaurants around the caldera.
We ordered
Fried cheese
Small fried fish and squid.
Possibly the best meal of our entire trip.
After dinner, it's time for shuyi's favourite activity.
Visiting the pharmacy
anything new today?
While the town was exceptionally busy the night (monday) before, it was practically deserted tonight. Strange.
The only activity going on is a party. Some rich kids booked the whole place and they sang and danced under the moonlight. Pretty damn cool way to celebrate.
This busker was playing at the darkest, most remote stretch of the pavement. What gives? He was standing in the shadows, the only unlit place on the stretch.
Though deserted, the shops only started closing around 10 to 11pm. We walked over to the busstop to check the bus operating hours in case we need to take a bus to the port tomorrow morning. George agreed to drive us to the port but he mentioned that he might not be able to if time does not permits.
vogue vogue vogue!
I parked the ATV in the narrow alley beside the hotel and we called it a night.
Off to Mykonos tomorrow.
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