We woke to the sounds of the donkeys’ hooves above our heads. Our hotel is in a cave-like structure and we figured the path must run directly above our bed. We got dressed and went to our hotel reception where we organised the hire of an ATV (quad bike). For €25 a day you can hire an ATV which is a much more fun way of getting around the island than by foot.
We were both a little excited and nervous to drive the ATV around Santorini (Chris a little more nervous than me). I drove the ATV first because Chris was a little uncomfortable learning to drive it for the first time on a new road (you drive on the right hand side in Greece). We took off and I immediately drove on the left hand side like an idiot. Fortunately, I was reminded by Chris (with some urgency) to correct the head-on collision we were facing. After scaring the crap out of Chris, we made our way to the petrol station. Just before we got to the petrol station, Chris’s helmet flew off the back of the ATV because he forgot to put it on. So overall we were going pretty well in the first 5 minutes.
After making a surprising and fast recovery to our derp, we got a Gyro for lunch (I got a shrimp Gyro and it was awesome) and off we went. Chris musted some guts and had a go at driving. Well…there goes my attempt at driving. Chris was having so much fun and wouldn’t give me a chance to drive again given my earlier attempt at driving on the left hand side. Any time we got off the ATV, Chris was trying to find excuses to hop back on to keep driving.
We decided to go south to the Koutsoyannopoulos Winery and Wine Museum. It is a great winery and the Mount Tambourine wineries have nothing on this place. We did the museum tour where we learnt that the winery has a tradition dating back to 1660, that the grapes harvested for the wine are native to Santorini and that there are literally a hundred different ways to produce wine.
A couple of interesting facts we learnt:
- The start of each row of grape vines are painted white so that during harvest, no row is forgotten;
- The grape vines are weaved into baskets to protect the grapes from the harsh wind and also to keep them close to the ground for the moisture;
- Each grape vine is approximately 70 years old; and
- The grapes of the Kamarilis (the sweetest of the wine we tasted) are dried for 14 days before the wine is aged for 10 years.
The whole winery is also underground and in caves, just to make it more awesome.
After having heaps of fun and buying a few bottles for ourselves, we decided to head north to Oia. Oia (pronounced ‘ear’) is at the northern most point of Santorini and is the location of the famous windmill-looking hotel as well as the Byzantine Castle of Santorini.
We walked about a fair bit in Oia, noticing that it was fairly different from Fira. For one, a large number of the residences in Oia were undergoing some sort of construction / improvements. Another thing we noticed was that the buildings were different colours, rather than just being white.
We had a good time but by far the best part of our day was riding around the country-side on the ATV.
When we got back, we went for a walk and found a nice little restaurant / bar and had some Greek pizza (feta, tomato, peppers and olives on a pita base) with some cocktails.
We had so much fun, tomorrow we hope to do more driving to the ancient site of Akrotiri.
Wine barrels in the Wine Museum. 
Chris at Oia 
The view from the top of Oia. 
Chantal at the top of Oia. 
The view from Oia. 
Us both at Oia. 
The view of Oia. 
Chantal on the green machine. 
How much wine Chantal wanted to bring back home. 
A mural in the Wine Museum. 
Chris analysing the grapes. 
On the road at Oia. 
Caaaat! 
A gyro for lunch. 
Chris having too much fun. 
Outside the Wine Museum.
Chris and Chantal 