April 14, 2017
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Today we sadly had to say goodbye to Santorini, but not until our 12:30 AM flight. We were very thankful for Christina and Maria at the Platia for letting us store our bags after check-out, allowing us to further explore the island without the burden of a suitcase. This was especially important given the itinerary of the day. Good Friday is very special in Santorini with many major events occurring throughout the island. Because most of these events occur during the night, we had some extra time to spend in Fira. We decided to make our way down to the Old Port.There are multiple ways in which to get down to the Old Port: walk the many steps down, take the cable car (really a gondola), or ride a donkey. A little sore from yesterday, we walked down and took the cable car up.📷Enjoying the view from the Platia rooftop one last time
📷Donkey
📷Ass
📷More donkey
📷Old Port
After the visiting the Old Port, Ryan finally gave into my request for gelato (I had been asking since Mykonos). And because we are unusual and like to break the conventional order of meals, we had lunch following our gelato break.📷Gelato time
We ended up eating at Naoussa. Finally learning from our previous meals, we only ordered two appetizers, knowing that they would fill us up.📷Lunch time views
📷Triangles and balls are the way to go
We enjoyed the view for a little while before heading over to the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral. The inside was just as impressive and beautiful as the outside. It is local tradition to remove the cross and create a “grave” covered in flowers, that is later carried through the streets where it is met by a neighboring town’s “grave”.📷📷The “Grave”
At this point we now had some time to kill. We sat a cafe drinking greek coffee, and in my case a smoothie, while Ryan worked. When 5 PM rolled around we took the bus over to Santos Winery. The view and wine were incredible. The dessert wine, Vinsanto, in particular was amazing, it tastes just like honey with a hint of lemon.📷12 wines to taste
📷Where’s the wine gone?
📷Sunset
📷Obligatory sunset selfie
Following the amazing sunset, we made the short walk over to Pyrgos. The local Good Friday tradition is a spectacular display of lights. The entire town places out tins full of flammable material and petrol which are lit by blow torch yielding teens. It is truly amazing to see.📷Pyrgos
📷📷After taking in the dazzling display of lights we miraculously managed to hail a taxi, which we shared with another couple, back to Fira. We arrived just in time to see the “graves” meet in the town square. Once the procession was over, we grabbed our bags, a quick bite to eat, and made our way to the airport.📷Meeting of the two “graves”
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