Day 5 Santorini

The next day me and Simon woke up early and he drove me to the bus station.  Again my nerves were getting the best of me.  I was planning on catching a ferry in Athens to Santorini at 2pm, but first I had to get out of Kalamata.  We said our goodbyes and off I went via bus for another 3 hour ride.  I was destined to arrive in Athens at 11am, which gave me plenty of time to get on the boat.  I had trouble napping on the bus because it was so hot again and they didn't turn on the ac.  Once I arrived at the bus station I hopped on a cab with written note that had instructions Simon wrote for me.  He knew how worried I was in case I got a driver again who only spoke Greek.  The instructions read that my destination was for the port for Blue Star Ferry.  My cab driver understood my note and did what it said.  She even even asked someone which lot to pull into for Blue Star Ferry.  She drove me to an office and said this was it, (in Greek), and helped me with my luggage.  Then off she went.  I walked up to the office and of course, everything was locked.  The doors, the windows, everything.  It didn't look opened for business.  It was officially Saturday and it began to sink in that I might not get on this boat.  I looked around and saw the Blue Star Ferry was docked, so I knew that was my boat.  I decided to ask people, but of course, no one knew English.  There were some people sitting on benches at the port but they did not know about the office opening up or not.  I saw some patrons walking up to the boat and decided to do the same.  A man was standing outside the ferry and gave some instructions to a couple so I knew he was the one to ask.  He laughed when I walked up to him, and it dawned on me he might not know a thing.  But he did confirm that this boat was leaving at 2pm for Santorini.  He told me to check with the office for tickets to board.  I verified that the office was not open, but he insisted that it was.  I walked back over and still no luck.  The port was very quiet and Blue Star Ferry was the only boat at the port.  It made me nervous to think I might miss it.  I concluded maybe I was suppose to purchase my ticket online, but now the wifi was acting up at the port.  Go figure.  I walked back to the boat to ask some more questions.  Now the mystery man has disappeared (of course), and I walked up to another woman who was staff.  I asked if I could purchase my ticket on board, but she replied no.  I had to get them at the office.  I told her they were closed.  She spoke Greek to another staff member and he said something back to her.  "Come back in one hour", she said, (referring to the office).  Ok.  Maybe we're on to something.  I thanked her and went back outside and sat on a bench.  It was now 12:30pm.
The crowd slowly started to grow.  It made me feel better that I was not alone on this boat, but at the same time no one was speaking English (or Spanish for that matter).  Eventually I saw something happening at the office and I quickly ran over to see if it finally opened.  One window was up, and there was a ticket agent taking care of a customer.  Whew!
I purchased my ticket and ran over to the boat.  There was now a bigger crowd than before, and everyone was waiting anxiously to board.  Finally a staff member came out to greet the crowd and we slowly boarded.  To my amazement, the boat did take off at 2pm, but I conclude that the office officially opened back up after 1:15pm.  That's too close for comfort for me.
I was very nervous about the boat ride because I hate boats as much as I hate planes.  I didn't even realize we were in motion when I settled in.  Hey, this isn't so bad after all!  The Blue Star Ferry was  huge and I didn't feel a thing.  I managed to take a nap onboard, but for the most part, the ride was very boring.  You can't  look out the windows for a view because it would get misty and foggy from the sea.  I counted the hours away, and knew something was happening when people kept getting up and walking out.  I was curious to where everyone was going.  I saw people go through the exit door and decided to follow them. 
Little did I know, I walked into the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen in my life!  Everyone around me was completely mesmerized!  I couldn't help snap pictures off my iphone.  People were doing the same.  The crowd grew bigger and bigger.  We were approaching land and I knew we were going to dock soon.

What a sunset!!!

I've never seen anything like this!!

Having fun on snap chat...

Once we landed we were greeted on our way out.  It was after 7:30pm and I was worried it would get dark soon.  I wanted to figure out how to get to the restaurant that my friend Simon was recommending.  A friend of his runs the restaurant but has some rooms to rent at the back for me.  I started to feel overwhelmed and noticed all the commotion around me.  People were holding up signs with names.  There were charter buses driving in and out.  I heard someone yell out that they had shuttle buses to take you to your hotel for 20 euros.  I ran up to him to see if he would help me get to the restaurant.  He escorted me to a shop where I paid them via credit card and he handed me my receipt.  He then told me and other the patrons to line up and someone would come get us.  We waited shortly and then another gentleman lead us to a bus.  We hauled our suitcases at the back and met our driver.  He asked us each where were we going.  I knew I was heading to Perissa Beach.  We hopped on and he began to drive up the cliff.  I swear those roads are so narrow!  He finally reached the top and off we went.

So many things happening at once, but luckily I found my destination...

Our driver explained how the island was divided into 3 parts,  Oia was at the top of the island, Fira (the downtown of Santorini) is in the middle, and then Perissa which was at the other side of the island.  We all looked out the window to checkout our surroundings.  It was refreshing to hear some people speak English.  I was curious to where they had sat on the ferry.  I haven't heard English in a while. 
Little by little he dropped off the passengers.  I was the last one left.  He told me he didn't know that Noma restaurant had rooms.  I told him I was suppose to meet someone there.  I really didn't know what I was walking into.  He dropped me off by a gate and said the beach was closed off for driving at night.  He gave me directions to where the restaurant was.  I tipped him some euro coins and off I ran.  I noticed some streets were relatively quiet.  Maybe this part of town was closing down.  It was officially dark outside.
I ran up the beach and saw a string of restaurants and venues.  It kind of reminded me of South Beach, but more quiet.  There were people taking strolls, but some of the business were closed already.  I found the restaurant and noticed how busy it was.  I walked up to the host and told him I was looking for Kostas.  He ran towards the back.  I saw staff looking at me but I still didn't know who was who.  The host ran back up to me and grabbed my suitcase.  Another gentleman asked me to have a seat.  I watched the crowd who were mostly enjoying their dinner.  There was a soccer game on tv.
The gentleman who seated me turned out to be Kostas.  He was busy but he told me to wait for a bit.  He then joined me and we were officially introduced.  He was a friend of Simon back from Chicago.  I liked that he knew him well.  I felt relaxed again.  The host returned and Kosta told me to follow him to the back and he'll show me where I'll be staying.  "Why don't you go freshen up and get settled in and come back?  You can have some food if you're hungry.  I have some friends who came in from Athens too.  We're all suppose to go out after wards.  You could join us if you want."  I told him all I wanted to do was take a shower first, but agreed to come back once I was freshened up. 
I followed the host and he took me to a motel area.  They had a beautiful pool  I walked into the office and they gave me my keys and walked me over to my room.  It was small but it would do.  I was really looking forward to my shower. 
I got my second wind plus I realized it was Saturday night.  I rushed over to the restaurant once I got ready.  By now it was past 10pm.  I felt good freshened up.  I sat by the bar and ordered a glass of white wine.  It was windy in the evening so I wore my kimono jacket.  I was worried it would be too hot to wear on my vacation, but now that I was technically on an island, it came in handy for me.



Saturday night at Noma!

After a 3 hour bus ride and 6 hour ferry ride, I needed this!

Happy girl!

Sweets!

Kostas joined me for drinks.  He was surprised I wasn't hungry but I explained to him that I bought a foot long sandwich at the bus station and ate the rest of it on the boat ride.  He brought over a fruit tray anyways and we both snacked on it.  His friends stopped by the restaurant and we all introduced ourselves.  I was feeling good.  They insisted for me to join them for some live music and I agreed.  We closed down Noma and walked over to Mythos which was further down the beach.  There was a duo on stage and they were fantastic!  They were called Namaste and they sang Greek music while both playing the guitar.  The crowd was mostly Greeks so that was a nice experience.  We had a good group going and I was having fun.  People were dancing.  I loved it!

This place was happening!

After a while Kostas suggested we hit up Fira so we walked back to the restaurant to grab his car.  Off we went into the night.  I didn't realize how much action was happening at Fira.  There were a lot of people bar hopping.  Some of the cobblestones were hard to walk on because of how narrow the pathways were and the steps.  We made our way to Tango which was super packed with people.  Again, I looked around to see what kind of people were there.  I couldn't make out the crowd, but the smoking was telling me there were more Greeks than tourists.  I enjoyed the music but it wasn't a place to dance.  It was more of a place to look very cook (if you get what I mean).  Kostas and his friends ended up ordering bottle service.  We made our way to our table but I grew very tired because of the sitting.  I had been on a 3 hour bus ride plus a 6 hour boat ride.  I needed to move.

Outside of Tango...

The crew!

A young woman in the group sat next to me and we started to hit it off.  She was bored as well and wanted to go to some other spots, but she needed a co-pilot to come with.  I wanted to see other places too so I volunteered to go with her.  She went up to her father (who was Kostas friend) and told him we would be back in 30 minutes.  They work at another restaurant right by Noma.  Her dad runs that place and needed help for the summer.  She agreed.  Who wouldn't work in Santorini for the summer??
We got the ok, and off we went.  There was a lot happening at Fira and I didn't know where we were heading.  A string of pubs, bars and restaurants were lined up back to back.  I noticed high end retail shops, too.  We stopped by a lounge that was playing house music.  We got curious and went inside for a bit.  We took a shot of tequila and made our way to the next spot.  This time, we walked into a Greek club and everyone was going nuts in there.  I was having so much fun!  My new friend kept dancing and singing to the music.  We took a couple of shots in there.  Before we knew it, we had to head back to Tango.  We made it back in time before the rest of the group noticed how long we were gone.  We finished up our bottle service and decided to hit up another club.  We walked into a place where there was a live dj spinning house music.  The crowd in there were definitely house heads, dancing away.  I was growing very tired, but my group did not want to end the night just yet.  They kept ordering drinks at the bar.  Eventually we staggered our way to McDonalds to sober up.  I was beat.  I joked to the daughter that this was too much for me.  "What do you think Mykonos is?"  I was confused.  "It's all party!  That's what it is!"  My eyes widened.  "It's all nightlife", she confirmed.  And at that moment I realized I was not going to Mykonos.