Feeling weary after the month-long expedition, I chose to relax with some souvlakis, seas, and Socrates’ philosophy. Long famous for their history, religions, philosophy, and all-around Instagram destination, Greece is terrific in October.
Like many others, I, too, could not escape the allure of Santorini and chose to jump on a flight there first. (In hindsight, it was a great decision due to Athens being a much busier and faster-paced city. Not the most ideal for post-climb recovery.)
Three flights later, I made it just in time for the sunset in Santorini. What a brilliant start!
Being a last-minute trip, I didn’t plan much. Going at it day by day, the first order of business is to get some Greek coffee along with some delicious cheese pie breakfast. Slowly sipping on the sweet coffee, I began to plan out the rest of the days here in Greece.
Benefitted from being the shoulder season, my stroll on the path from Fira to Oia did not see the usual shoulder-to-shoulder traffic. I could stop very frequently to take pictures or enjoy the sceneries without bothering passersby. The Aegean island coast was every bit as beautiful as one often sees on the Instagram photo. Blue and white, dotted along the red crop tops, formed a lovely formula.
One can easily see why most people are either getting married or getting engaged in Santorini. It was just full of the most romantic allures. One can soak in the affect even more with the many restaurants and coffee shops along the trail from Fira to Oia.
Don’t forget to check out the island from the sea-level perspective. The numerous sailing companies from the Southern end of the island take to see more of the caldera, the red & black beaches, the hot springs, and the sunset, of course. Bring your swimwear so you can dip in the truly sapphire blue ocean waves.
For the social sciences and history lovers, I personally found Akrotiri fascinating. This Minoan-inspired settlement is full of noteworthy finds but also mysteries. You will find that archaeological teams are still actively excavating the site and discovering more about the biggest eruption in the last 10 million years that preserved the look of the settlement.
Lastly, let’s not forget about the world-famous Oia sunset. Many will recommend that you go to the Castle of Oia/Nicolaos Castle for sunsets. I personally found it way too crowded. The most important part about watching sunsets are the affects or the moods, the atmosphere around the sunset time. Crowds are genuinely mood-killing. I traced the narrow streets along the cliffs and found a jewelry shop that offers great sunset deals: 10 Euros for a bracelet, a glass of wine, and most importantly, a premium seat to watch the sunset. A perfect place to finishing a few relaxing days in Santorini.
Athens
Five hours of scenic and very comfortable ferry ride brought me back to Athens. Even though it was October, I found the ride to be very stable and less vomit-inducing. An additional metro ride brought me from the Pireaus port to the center of Athens.
One of the things that drew me to Greece as a post-climb recovery spot is its food: gentle spices, healthy ingredients, and delicious flavors. Let’s not forget about the cheap wine! Working through the souvlakis, moussakas, shrimp saganaki, seafood, koulouris, feta, falafels, Perinilis, orange pies, baklavas, and wines, I thoroughly indulged myself.
Sign up for a food tour to learn more about the Greek food culture, Athens, and Olive oil. I promise you won’t regret it.
We are not all eating here! (Even though they were absolutely delightful) Time to learn some history. Per my hostel’s recommendation, I started my self-guided history tour with the Acropolis Museum due to the lengthy queues and excellent retelling of history. Visiting this museum also gave foundational knowledge for many of the sights you will see later. I even joined the free archaeologist talk at 11 am on the Battle of Marathon and the Battle of Salamis, defining moments in Greek military history. The content in the talk was excellent. The archaeologist presented many maps and knowledge that gave context and streamlined the theories of the artifacts preserved in the museum. I highly recommend joining one if you have time.
Now onto the Acropolis, Ancient Agora, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. With the context of the history of the surrounding sites, I opted not to take a tour guide. If you are short on time or lacking historical knowledge, I highly recommend taking a guided tour. After all, a bit of knowledge on top of taking pictures with famous stones can never hurt!
With the 2020/2021 Olympics/Paralympics just ending a few months prior, I chose the original Olympic stadium as my last site in Athens. Panathenaic Stadium was the site of the first modern Olympic Games and the world’s only marble stadium. You will find the stadium longer than the track&field stadiums we are used to outside of Greece. This has to do with the word “stadium.” “Stadium” comes from “Stadio” in Greek which is the measurement of roughly 150 meters. Therefore, the straightaway track of the Panathenaic Stadium is actually 150 meters, not 100 meters.
Delphi
The famed Oracle of Delphi is why often the reason one is drawn to the Temple of Apollo. The Oracle is involved in most of the most important Greek historical events, from the Battle of Marathon to Alexander the Great marching into Asia.
Once again, the museum offers a lot of details about this vital organization in history. If you are taking a tour from Athens, your tour should include a guided portion for both the sites as well as the museum. If not, please be sure that you do. You will miss out on a lot of information if you don’t take some sort of guide.
Being a holy place, the Temple of Apollo is not the only site on the Parnassos mountainside. The Temple of Athena Pronaia is also open to visitors. Like the Temple of Apollo, it has seen many destructions, leaving only the scattered marble ruins. However, with the help of guides, we can still make out the construction and admire the genius building methods used 2000-plus years ago.
With a bus ride back to Athens and a night viewing of the changing of the guards, it’s time to go home. Even with 6 days, Greece has shown me so much. From the historical sites to the sapphire-colored seas, I learned, enjoyed, and relaxed. If you are thinking about Greece but don’t have time to do the perfect 2-week itinerary, don’t wait. 5 – 6 days can provide you with plenty to relish and savor. See you next time Greece!
