greece
When you hear Santorini, you automatically think of white buildings with blue domes, sunsets, beaches, gorgeous blue sky, and the typical touristy shots of the area.
What people leave out, somehow, is the OTHER things that don't appear too often in pictures. There IS MORE to do in Santorini than watching the gorgeous sunsets and hanging out at the beach. These include wine tasting, water sports, and the most intriguing thing? Climbing a volcano!
Before I went to Santorini, no one ever told me about a possible visit to a Volcano. I usually look to blogs for information, and none of the online website or the other blogs that i've read talked about a volcano visit. Somehow people just photograph (OOTD Galore!) in the typical areas of Fira/Oia. Maybe I haven't been looking in the right areas - oops!
So here's telling people searching out there: there is a volcano located off the main area of Santorini, and a day boat/cruise tour would bring you there and to see other islands as well!
Upon arriving at the volcano, we saw tons of boats docked side by side on the small docking platform of the island. My friends and I had to walk through several boats just to hop off the one right beside the platform. At the platform, we paid a small fee, and then we were free to head up the volcano.
The climb up the volcano was suppose to be an hour long, and so we all headed up with the hoards of people. Thankfully, I was in sneakers that day. The volcano surface was so pebbly and rocky, my scuffed up converse had severe issues with getting a decent grip on the ground. I had no idea how some manage to climb all the way up in slippers!
Top: Forever 21 | Shorts: SheIn | Shoes: Converse | Sunglasses: Accesorize | Watch: Nakedglory.com | Necklace: PrimarkI was so intrigued to see the heat and steam rise up from the ground and smell the scent of sulphur. Sulphur Oxides are toxic, so breathing in too much of that isn't great, but for that couple of minutes, it was kind of interesting.
Walking along the volcano, we also got to see different devices that were anchored into the ground probably to track seismic activity. Although there were these things that look somewhat like solar panels, so perhaps they were generating some kind of electricity - then again, looking at the size of it, probably not.
The nice thing about climbing this volcano in the volcano island, was the view. For the struggle to get up (no they lied, it took way more than an hour, and it was definitely more than a 2km climb!) but the view of the water around the volcano was lovely.
The volcano itself though, was pretty much just rocks upon rocks (I know, obviously, that's how volcanos are made.) Still, it was interesting to observe the red and maroon stripes on the rocks of neighbouring islands, to see all the interesting instruments on the volcano, and feel the hot air that was steaming out from various cracks and holes on the ground.
Indeed there is more to Santorini than the standard photo shot from Oia. The trip to the volcano island was pretty affordable, for a full day tour, it was only 33 Euros, it's something I'm really glad I got to experience!
The day cruise ended off back in the mainland of Oia, and just in time for tourists to witness the sunset over santorini! Here are some other interesting images from the town of Oia.
THE MOST INTERESTING BOOKSTORE EVER!
Even though the city and views from the main island of Santorini is beautiful, do take trips out to visit the smaller islands, and to climb the volcano, especially if you have never seen a volcano in real life. There is more to Santorini than beaches and sunsets ;)
Volcano Climbing | Santorini, Greece
23 November 2015 Santorini, Greece
Mykonos Town is like the Oia of Santorini. It's where the tourist go to for food, shopping, art galleries, nice dinners by the sea and its crashing waves.
Although Mykonos is known to be a party city, my friend and I aren't party people. So, instead of partying, we just hung out around Mykonos Town, drinking juice, eating gyros, walking around and getting lost in the different alleys, and visiting museums.
Mykonos Town is the heart of Mykonos, yet surprisingly, it was a lot less crowded than I had expected. Maybe it was because I came from Santorini and so I over estimated the crowd situation. Or, it could be that many people go to Mykonos to party, as such, they aren't awake and exploring the area in the day. One way or the other, I enjoyed the peace and quiet Mykonos provided.
Although Mykonos Town is a really small area of Mykonos, there are quite a few things to do there. Windmills, Folk Museums, Quirky shops, Art Galleries, well decorated food places, the area of Little Venice etc. make for quite a lot to see and do.
Just remember things close on Sundays!
If you happen to be there on a weekend, thats cool too. Wandering around the backyard of some random alley way, getting lost, and aimlessly strolling so as to appreciate the distinctive architecture - white walls, blue domes, curved exterior structure - becomes rather fun when in Mykonos.
What I Wore
Top: H&M
Skirt: SheIn
Shoes: Carlo Rino
Watch: Lambretta
Necklace: Primark
Sunglasses: Accessorize
Bag Pack: Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club
Whilst we were walking around Mykonos Town, we came by this interesting Church. It is all white, and has such a raw organic look to it. Indeed unlike any of the other cathedrals in Europe.
But what intrigued all the tourists wasn't the church (ok, sadly, because it wasn't open to public) but the birds in the area. There was a famous HUGE pelican that comes around and just sits by the corner, and a large flock of seagulls flapping around near the Sea.
As much as I'm afraid of birds, I've never seen a Pelican that huge, or a flock of seagulls that large. So I went nearer and took pictures of them both.
After wandering around Mykonos town for the day, walking in one too many jewellery stores / shops selling interesting greek mythology figurines but not being able to afford any of it, my friend and I headed to Little Venice in Mykonos Town to watch the sunset.
It was the BEST sunset i've witnessed in Greece (read about my top 3 sunsets here!)
My favourite thing about Mykonos Town, is being able to walk around and enjoy the iconic grecian landscape without being squashed by fellow tourists. Compared to Santorini, I felt like Mykonos was a lot less crowded, more breathable, and overall a more enjoyable experience. Besides, there is no missing out on the gorgeous grecian sunset since it's not just Santorini that has sunsets. In fact, you'll probably get a way better view and more photo opportunities if you were to catch the sunsets in Mykonos.
I must say though, Santorini has way better beaches - from yellow to red to black, their coloured beaches steal the show. Mykonos does have nice beaches, but the options aren't as many. Still, i'd say, Mykonos over Santorini! Especially if you don't enjoy going to places swamped with tourists.
Outfit Diary: Grecian White & Blue in Mykonos Town
27 August 2015 Míkonos, Greece
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