Faros Lighthouse, Santorini
Santorini is a place where I can shift
permanently. I mean I loved Paros island; but I found it apt for vacationing
only. But Santorini (Fira and Oia to be precise) mesmerised me so much that I
could actually retire here! We witnessed the iconic sunset at Oia the day
before. The pushing and shoving to the sunset point consumed all the daylight
hours. So we could not explore much of Oia before it was too dark. When the sun
went down into the caldera, the crowd was rushing to get back home. In short, I
could not take pictures of Oia as much as I would have liked.
So I cajoled hubs to skip a location and
take me to Oia one more time. It was our third day in Santorini and I loved
every part of Oia. You can read the detailed post here. However I wanted a
different view point for sunset. I had read earlier that sunset in Oia was
overrated and overcrowded. If anyone wanted to watch the sunset in peace, Faros Lighthouse was the place.
So after quickly wrapping up (roaming and
clicking) Oia, we left for Faros Lighthouse. We stopped for a quick Greek bite at Fira and then it was a long ride .It was around two hour ride from
Oia as it was at the extreme Western part of Santorini. Hubs wanted to leave
early, in broad daylight as it was a long, unknown way. But as always, Oia was
too tempting to feel satisfied and we were late. It was six when we could
finally bid goodbye to Oia.
It was a really long way. We kept on riding
and riding along the barren, volcanic mountains. Some points were too scary to
handle even for adventure seekers like us. The deep caldera was on one side and
rocky mountain on another. A tiny miss would result in going into the caldera.
We were about half and hour away from the
Lighthouse when the inevitable happened. Our scooty stopped. What could be the possible reason? The display was not working. So we could not make out how many
kilometeres we had travelled or the status of petrol reserve. Hubs tried
kicking it, pushing it and all other tricks he knew. But in vain. He decided to
go and bring petrol.
It was a deserted place. There was a hotel
at a distance. Rest the deep caldera and the maddening wind. Hubs parked the
scooter at the side of the road and then left. There was no gas station at
least within a radius of 5 kms. He tried taking lift from passerbyes, but no
help. He waited no further, he started running.
I went to the restaurant of that hotel and
prayed. I was scared. I was in an unknown, deserted place; thousands of
kilometres away from home while my husband was running to a gas station which
was at least 5 kms way. All I could do was pray and wait. I waited and waited,
saw tourists swooshing by to witness the sunset.
After about one hour, I saw a small ,dark,
figure running towards the restaurant in the twilight. My husband is very fair
as per Indian standards; seeing Europeans all around me for a week had changed
my perception about height, built and colour :D It was him...with a bottle of
petrol in hand! He was safe!
I ran outside but he gestured not to talk,
sunset was on his mind. We still had around 20 minutes in hand and he wanted to
take that chance. After our scooty was refilled, we sped. That was the fastest
he had rode in entire Greece. He kept looking at the sun and accelerated more.
The lighthouse at a distance.. |
After twenty minutes of crazy riding, we
could see the lighthouse at a distance. We did not have to ask for directions;
we kept looking at the lighthouse and the setting sun.
Fewer people watching the sunset as compared to Oia |
Gorgeous sunset sans the crazy crowd! |
We made it just in time before the sun
actually went down into the caldera. There were very few tourits, the ambiance
was very calm and very unlike than that of Oia. Both experiences were very
beautiful yet very different. There is a loud applause after the sunset in Oia;
hubs continued that tradition and clapped after the sunset. The rest of the
tourists obliged. The feeling was lovely. We finally made it to the lighthouse!
Who knew that it would be possible?
It got dark as soon as the sun went down |
It was dark when we left. It was quarter to
nine after all. Perissa was about three hour ride from there. We were the
farthest from Perissa ( extreme East and extreme West). On our way back hubs
told what actually had happened. He was running when he spotted an elderly man
in a car. He asked for help and he obliged. Instead of dropping him to a petrol
station, he took my husband to his home. He was a very rich man. He opened his
garage with a remote and he had many cars. He had a huge mansion. He filled a
bottle with petrol and gave it to my husband. How kind of him! My husband then
started running back from his place. Had it not been the kind man, God knows
when hubs would have returned. I really do believe in the power of prayers.
My brave rider husband |
Top; People
Skirt: Forever 21
Purse: Shoppers Stop
6 comments
what an adventure. I am glad u made it to the lighthouse.
ReplyDeleteAditi
www.sosaree.in
Santorini looks absolutely stunning! I hope you had a great time :)
ReplyDeleteXO Jessi,
http://www.mywhitet.com/revolve-winter-formal/
This place is very beautiful sweetie.
ReplyDeleteKisses
Maggie Dallospedale Fashion diary - Fashion blog
Santorini is so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWould love to visit it someday
xx
https://theonethattravels.wordpress.com/
Hace a nice day sweetie
ReplyDeletePd: this skirt looks amazing
Kisses
Maggie Dallospedale Fashion diary - Fashion blog
Wow! Such mesmeric view of the sun!
ReplyDeleteI just loved your thoughts about the relation between Indians and Pakistanis... well said and true it is... :-)