Santorini

Destination/Property Name: Cave Suite Oia, Santorini

Room Type: Private Villa

Number of Guests: I, me, myself.

Check In: 3^rd December 2019

Check Out: 4^th December 2019 (cruel joke to play on myself thinking that 24 hours will be enough to experience Greek villa life)

Special Occasion: Bringing-in my 29^th Birthday in extravagant panache!

Amenities: Private Pool, Outdoor Hot Tub, Indoor Jacuzzi, fully equipped kitchenette

Breakfast Included: After all this, one would certainly hope so!

Attractions Nearby (that were least priority given the hedonistic nature of this choice of destination): Naval Museum of Oia, Thera Volcano

Closest Airports: Santorini International Airport – 11 miles away that is able to serve only 6 civilian planes (read: Private Jets) at the same time.

Review:

Santorini is arguably one of the most famous Greek islands known for its spectacular landscape, thousand foot cliffs and breathtaking views of the glittering Aegean Sea. Oia is located in the northwestern tip of Santorini and is widely recognized for its indescribably stupendous sunset, even donning the title of – The Best Sunset in the World. Now I know many will come at me with their versions of the ‘Best Sunset of the World’, and lest this gradual comradery we have built since the last few months get messy – I will say that everyone’s version of a best sunset is different, gorgeous and unrivaled!

Oia (pronounced ‘ee-yah’) is noted for its most photographed, iconic blue domes which are actually the churches of Agios Spiridonas (Saint Spyridon) and Anasteseos (the Church of the Resurrection). And now, drum roll, please … the villa I chose (how easily those words rolled off my tongue!) was situated right between these two blue domes – the very domes that form an integral part of most postcards you receive when someone visits Greece, let alone Oia!

Simos, the owner of the villa had arranged for a Taxi to pick me up from the port and drive me to the base of the hill on which the villa was situated. Anastasia, the vivacious manager welcomed me as I got off the taxi and we chatted animatedly. Much like how people argue about who should pay the bill at a restaurant, we argued as to who will carry my suitcase (a carry-on, I didn’t intend to pay Delta any more than I really needed to) up the hill. After 3 and a half minutes of the taxi driver looking at us wondering how polite two humans could be, Anastasia insisted that she will help with the suitcase. I’m glad I gave in because 2 minutes into climbing that hill, I was panting profusely and wondered what my lung capacity is like which made me think of work and FEV1 values on spirometry …yikes! We trudged up the hill patiently and after a few more minutes, pure amazement took over sheer exhaustion when we finally reached the villa. With miles and miles of the Aegean sea, views of the caldera (large depression formed when a volcano erupts and collapses) thrown in for good measure and the blue domes towering right in front of my eyes – this was and still remains one of the most incredibly stunning views I have ever come across!

I was spellbound as she gave me a tour of the villa that was home for less than 24 hours. I looked around and almost expected my Dad to be there, given his nebulous comments about showing up at the Villa to surprise me! No, he wasn’t there or hey – did I just give him the wrong dates of my stay! As the name suggests, the entire villa had a cave feel – monstrously ancient in some parts, shadowy in others, roughly oblong, low ceilinged in some places, arched and had light switches in hollowed out nooks. It was lavishly furnished with tasteful décor and had everything I could possibly ask for including a ginormous Jacuzzi that I could have done laps in if I really wanted to better my freestyle qualifying time (Go Blue Jays!)

That evening, after carefully un-packing the one carry-on bag and one backpack I had into various parts of the villa, in the hopes of invoking a feeling of home, I walked through the winding white stoned paths, by fancy stores to the vantage sunset point. There were more selfie sticks per square foot than a shop would possibly stock. Loud voices in various languages all exclaiming at what they were witnessing. All the single folk (like me) were waiting for people to finish getting their pictures hoping they would be kind enough to do us a favor. I had a fleeting visual of the movie – the Sisterhood of Travelling Pants 2 – which led me to Rory Gilmore of course and what her reasoning could possibly be not to marry Logan Huntzberger! Yes, that question still plagues my mind.

Apart from the sunset, something else or rather someone else caught my eye. At 6 feet and 4 inches, there was this incredibly handsome guy at the edge of the cliff, who by the looks of it had mastered the art of taking selfies. We ended up chatting and of course we put his skills of photo taking to use! Wadie was a solo traveler himself and had traveled to several other countries before he set foot in Greece. Psuedo-Adonis and I decided to explore Oia, confidant that we will easily find our way. Little did we know that the path leading to the town was almost a maze – so after getting lost a few times (and my mind filled with voices of all parent-like concerns that I’ve heard over the many years: don’t go with a stranger anywhere, least of all in the dark, while you are on a solo trip, especially on an island, somewhere in Greece!), we finally reached Minerali, a boutique filled with Santorini’s finest threads.

Wanting to spend more time in the villa (yes, by myself), I decided to pick up dinner and head home. Now if Santorini is extraordinary and stunning in daylight, it is equally magnificent at night. All you can see are lit-up pools, tubs on terraces and you know that the Aegean is a stone’s throw away. The kitchenette was fully stocked with crockery and cutlery and I even found a bottle of Ampelomythos dry white wine they had left since it was my birthday the next day!

After dinner, the phone started buzzing and thus began the Greek birthday – calls, messages, voice notes from friends and family. While some had created pre-made personalized videos that were delivered to my Inbox at 12am – Greek time, IST and EST(yes, she is that awesome!), some had sent cards that were to be opened at 12am (which perfectly added to my intrigue knowing there will be some more celebration when I get home!). I slept that night with a warm, fuzzy feeling and a heart full of joy!

Being a cave suite, it was dark when I woke up next morning – yet, through the entrance and one window of the kitchenette, I could see tiny rays of sunshine trying to make their way in. Throwing on a plush Turkish bathrobe, I decided to spend some quiet time in the outdoor tub on my terrace, just to process all the good things happening in life. You will pardon me if I can’t fully describe how it feels to be in a hot tub, in a villa in Santorini, watching the sunrise over the Aegean in pin drop silence. It was then I learnt that tourists do not have the ability to read signs that say – ‘Private Property’. As I was luxuriously unwinding in the tepid waters, I see tourists just a few feet away from me, who had the gall to open the little gate that separates the villa from the stony road. Having been momentarily disturbed and also perturbed by this interruption, I yell out sternly saying – ‘Hey, this is Private Property!!’. I would have engaged in a more direct confrontation but I had to remember I was quite scarcely clad, so to speak! Turns out that people pay $70 to visit a particular spot right outside the villa, since it is situated between the two famous blue domes. After virtually chasing the tourists away, I had cats who invaded my privacy too. After what seemed like many hours (post the tourist prohibition scheme and the cat debarring), I came back to the villa, spoke to more friends and family and then proceeded to draw me a bath in the Jacuzzi. With effervescent bath salts and the luxurious nature of the bath, I enjoyed the redolence of the lavender products.

Breakfast was ready for me at a café nearby and I got to walk the streets again, this time stopping to pick up some curios at the ridiculously overpriced stores. After eating the sumptuous breakfast watching the ships go by and simultaneously thinking about brushing up my facts about Aristotle Onassis, I headed back to the villa to pack. In about 10 minutes I heard someone knock on the door – and there was Anastasia, carrying a large, heavenly cupcake with a candle on it! Say what?! Turns out my friend had coordinated with Anastasia to ensure that I cut a cake on my birthday! I’ve said it before – I do have the most wonderful of friends!

It was time to bid adieu to Oia, As much as I loved the ferry rides all along, I had to fly back to Athens since the ferry ride would have taken me about 8 hours from Santorini and I had an early morning flight the next day. The taxi dropped me to the Santorini International Airport where I was probably the only one at the gate. As we took off, I thanked the Lord for making all of this happen and using Instagram hashtags in my mind – I certainly was #grateful, #blessed, #thankful that this trip panned out the way it did and to have such incredibly loving people in my life. Always!

The Fine Print: Santorini marked the last leg of this Greek adventure. I flew back to Athens, then to Paris and finally to Cincinnati. My first solo trip started with feelings of resfeber, moved to excitement and finally ended with content. I was constantly struck by moments of sonder.

Now that we have said goodbye* to Greece, I’ll try to mix things up a bit and perhaps chronicle my culinary adventures that have taken place over the last few home-bound months!

For now – *Antío sas!