Adventure Accounting

Getting to Santoini. Ferry or fly? The ferry rides from Athens to Santorini takes around 5 hours on the highspeed ferry and 8 hours for the slow ferry. I read reviews that this is a good way to get to Santorini if you have time to waste. I didn’t. I’ve honed my staking-airline-carrier-websites-for-seat-sales skills. I was able to score a roundtrip Athens-Santorini flight for €130! Good enough. Getting Around Santorini Renting an ATV or a motorbike is the easy option. You’ll just have to bother with parking the machine. *shrugs*. Lots of shops renting out these. In my case, walking was fun. Even though it took us 25 minutes to get from Karterados to Fira. The sun is hot, but it is not humid (unlike summers here in the Philippines, *melts*). Food Don’t orderdessert so fast. The Greeks in this island may take a liking for their customers, and they give them free desserts! If you’re charming enough. *wink* Try out family-restaurants. The food will ta...

Blame it on Mamma Mia and The Sisterhood of Travelling Pants. My dream trip to Santorini: luxurious, romantic, and chillax to the max. My room would have this breath-taking view of the sparkling blue ocean and I'll  be eating an endless supply of hummus and feta cheese. That didn't happen (well, not yet :P). I ended up staying a hostel called Caveland located in Karterados. Far from the noisy town of Fira and pricey town of Oia.  I learned about Caveland through a friend I met during my Mount Pulag Climb. She backpacked across Europe as well and stayed in Caveland for her Santorini leg. Bouganvilla in this side of the world We stayed three nights in the 4-bed girls dorm in this wonderful hostel in Karterados. The dorm rooms were huge and they were cozy, well kept, and always clean. Lockers and hangers for each Cavelander. The lockers had the sockets in them so each Cavelander can charge her gadget. They provided two towels (one bath towel and one sma...

The Feta Feast continues in Santorini. After some rest in Caveland, we inquired for a good Greek restaurant. We were directed to Savvas. Savvas is a very very good restaurant in the Karkerados area. It is family-run. The mom cooks everything, and the dad just watches the mom and one of the kids help her. He stopped watching TV as soon as we ordered the lamb steak. He turned on the grill, flexed his muscles, and cooked the one of the best lamb steaks ever! Quality food for a good price. They really mean FETA CHEESE. Check out that block in the salad.    We liked the food, the place and the price, sooo much that we ate there again. Their fries and spaghetti are both good. Everything is really good.    Another hearty lunch for 21 euros, shared by 2.   Found a restaurant with a Tripvisor sticker in Firostefani. Famished from our long hikefrom Oia, we decided we could spend a bit here. And get some wine. The entire meal costs € 42.50 ...

The plan was to go back to Oia and take it slow. But, the lazy vibe of Caveland induced us to go around Fira, then go to a beach. We had a nice uphill leisurely walk (you’ll get used to this) and reached Fira in 25 minutes. I was expecting a crowd, but the streets were pretty empty for some reason. I could get some decent pics. Some shopping in Santorini Did some mild shopping of shirts and some jewelry accessories. Not the lavish type of jewelry, just some unique knick knacks. I know my Quiapo and Divisoria accessories and these were different. I bought some sets for my friends but I ended up using all of them. Harharhar. I dreamt of aprofile shot with Santorini in the background. I’ll have the happy shot, the drama shot, the sun salute shot and the wind-blowing-in-my-hair-and-I-want-to-look-like-a-goddess-shot. That didn't work out. It was too windy for a decent profile pic. In front of me is a crowd waiting for their own turn in this spot. ...

Mamma Mia. Sisterhood of Travelling Pants. Both movies bragged beautiful filming sets. Greece is in my list for this Europe II adventure because of Santorini. I got roundtrip tickets from Athens to Santorini for € 130 – that’s just € 65/way. Alternatively, you can also take a ferry but that takes at least 8 hours. The flight to Santorini took 30 minutes. Take-off. Short flight. Landing. View from the plane. I was so excited when I saw all these white houses!   Upon arrival, we took a cab going to our hostel in Santorini – “Caveland”. The cab cost €15. You can also take the bus for a cheapo price but that takes time.   Santorini Airport Late lunch. Rest. Sunblock. Water. Maps. I changed into a nicer picturesque-worth outfit   (I know my priorities) . Grandpa in Caveland (I’m terribly sorry but I can’t recall his name) advised us to do the walk in reverse. Most tourists start out in Fira then trek all the way to Oia. He said that reve...