6. Chapter 6
Chapter six
S everal hours later, I jolt awake. It’s dark, it’s quiet, the blankets and pillows feel weird and I have a momentary sense of “where am I?” before it all comes back to me. Santorini. I’m in the cave suite in Santorini.
I feel an excited buzz of anticipation as I reach for my phone to check the time. The screen lights up the dark room telling me it’s only 5am. I had fallen asleep shortly after 7pm, so it was a pretty solid sleep, but it’s too early to get up and go anywhere.
Instead, I make my way to the kitchen, grab the fruit plate and a piece of bread with the honey and climb back into my bed to call Mel back in Vancouver.
She picks up almost immediately.
“Tell me everything.”
So, I do. I tell her about my delayed flight and run through Frankfurt airport, about how pretty the view was flying over the Mediterranean, my grumpy airport driver and about how Konstantin carried my suitcase down the stairs to the hotel for me.
“Did you invite him to stay the night?”
My cheeks flame red with embarrassment at even the thought of being so bold.
“He’s like twenty!” I laugh into the phone.
“What I hear is he’s legal,” she answers. “Fair game.”
“Way too young,” I sigh. “Besides, I looked like hell after all that travel. He probably would have run away screaming at a proposition from me.
“Fine. You still have lots of time to find gorgeous Greek men. Like today.”
I snort into the phone.
“Well, if you do,” she tells me mischievously, “I snuck something into the back pocket of your purse.”
My eyes immediately go to my purse on the floor beside me. I pick it up and open the back pocket to find a pack of condoms.
“Mel!”
“What? Let’s be honest, you weren’t planning on bringing any. It’s better to be prepared just in case.”
I have nothing to say to that because she’s right. After all, I came here in part to get away from a man, not to find another. However, there’s no use in arguing with her so I just roll my eyes and change topic.
We chat for another 20 minutes or so before she needs to get back to work. I, on the other hand, have no idea what to do with myself. Getting to Greece was the big thing but now that I’ve made it, all by myself, I’m not quite sure what to do.
Popping a grape into my mouth, I snuggle back up against the pillows and pull up some of the travel blogs I read earlier for ideas. I scan down a list of island tours by ATV, chartered boat cruises, sunset tours, and even scuba diving. There are a couple of beaches that could be cool and wineries, although I’m not sure I want to drink wine alone. Along with some ruins and a scenic hike between Oia and Fira.
The more I read, the more comfortable the bed feels. I know that it’s just nerves kicking in. I didn’t come all the way to Santorini just to sit in my hotel. But at the same time, doing all these touristy activities alone feels, well, kind of scary.
I continue down the list and see a note that Oia, while famous for sunsets, is the most crowded place on the island and is best explored early in the morning before the cruise ship travellers and day trippers arrive.
I glance at the time on my phone, now just after 6am, and decide that this is how I’ll start the day. The sun will rise soon and I’ll be able to explore a bit before all the crowds.
Throwing back the duvet, I step out of bed before I can change my mind.
The sky is a dreamy shade of cotton candy pink as I emerge from my cave suite hotel. I take in the view in front of me from my small patio. Of other hotels and cave suites layered on the cliffside before it drops down into the deep blue of the sea. Across is another island, still mostly dark and shadowed as the sun has barely risen above the horizon line.
I snap a couple of quick photos before I exit via the little gate and begin my steep climb up the stairs to the main part of the town.
At this hour of the morning, Oia feels like a completely different world than the one I was dropped into last night. The streets are empty and I’m able to get those postcard-perfect views that brought me here in the first place. I spend my time winding down the narrow streets past several hotels, restaurants, and boutique shops. Passing a couple of men bringing in supplies but they ignore me as they walk by, too intent on not dropping their load to pay any attention to me. Not that I’m complaining - I’m enjoying the quiet.
I follow the dotted trail of the map on my screen to the castle but am slightly disappointed to realize that the castle is only a castle in name. It’s really just a ruin. There are no turrets or towers to be seen. Still, it makes a great vantage point, especially now with the sky getting brighter. I snap several more photos of the cityscape in front of me before putting my phone down and just take it all in. I can’t see the actual sunrise from here, that’s behind me, but the light and changing colours of the sky playing over the whitewashed buildings with their blue domes are beautiful.
Of course, with the daylight come the first of the crowds. Photographers trickle in with their tripods and bulky camera bags, each one followed by a well-dressed couple. From here, they all look lovely. But one couple in particular catches my eye. Specifically, the woman who is wearing a long, shimmery, pink gown.
I watch from a distance as the couple is being coached by the photographer. He directs her to arch her back and bend her leg just so. The position reveals a wide expanse of tasteful thigh. Her partner is posed carefully beside her but there is no doubt that she is the centre of attention.
With the pose set, the photographer’s assistant launches the extra material of the dress in the air for it to ripple and flutter in the breeze before falling gracefully back to the ground. Part of me thinks it’s a little bit over the top but another part of me recognizes the jealousy. That this woman looks so stunning and confident and is here in Greece with a handsome partner getting incredible photos to commemorate it. After all, it’s what I had always imagined for myself.
Feeling a little like a peeping Tom watching the beautiful couple and their photoshoot, I leave the so-called castle and continue on my journey. By now it’s nearly 8:30am and the streets have gotten a little busier. Hotel staff tidy up patios and pool areas and restaurants open their doors for those on the hunt for breakfast and coffee. I debate having breakfast at one - after all, I am up early enough to get a prime seat. But a quick glance at the menu posted outside tells me that a basic breakfast here is more than double what I would pay at home so I scurry away quickly before one of the waiters can usher me inside.
I continue to explore Oia for a couple more hours. Closing the map on my phone and instead wandering up and down the little alleyways snapping photos as I go. Oia is picture-perfect but clearly meant for tourists. I don’t see a single residential-type building. Instead they all seem to be boutique shops filled with everything from clothing and jewellery to knickknacks and postcards or restaurants with menus at the ready, hoping to tempt a passerby with the promise of a good view.
Of course, there are the extravagant luxury hotels. Dreamy white buildings where the individual patios are furnished with plush lounge chairs placed beside small private pools filled with clear blue water. Exactly the type of romantic hotel I had dreamed of visiting with a partner.
I feel a momentary pang of regret, my mind immediately going to Theo. I wonder what it would have been like to take a romantic vacation with him. However, as I pass by the beautiful pools I’m quick to note the lack of privacy. Should anyone be going for a morning swim, I could easily wave good morning. Hell, I could high-five a few from the stairs if I was ambitious. Thankfully, nobody is swimming or otherwise engaged in these so-called private pools, leaving me wondering how often they actually get used by couples. Perhaps not quite the romantic setting I had imagined when looking at photos online.
As the sun gets higher in the sky, the streets quickly become more crowded. Over the cliff, I can see the cruise ships that Konstantin mentioned yesterday. There are three massive ones in the port now, which seems excessive for the size of the island. I can’t help but wonder - if this is shoulder season, how busy does it get in the high season of summer?
Hot, tired, and sick of people I reach for my phone to pull up my maps again and make my way back to my cave hotel. As I unlatch the little gate, I’m grateful that I didn’t splurge for one with a private pool. While the cool water would be nice, I have no desire to be watched by the throngs of couples and groups now walking up and down the cliff with their cameras.
The chilled temperature of my cave suite feels amazing on my clammy skin after a morning of exploring in the sun. I’m tempted to rinse off and climb back into that bed for a late-morning nap. However, as comfortable as my bed looks, I know I can’t nap my time away. Nor can I continue to hide away from the crowds.
Grabbing the remainder of the fruit plate and snacks my hosts left me last night, I toss my phone, notebook, and water bottle in a canvas bag and head back outside. I set up shop on my little patio under the umbrella, the view of the caldera serving as the backdrop of my temporary ‘office’.
Munching on some red grapes I stretch my legs out and lean back against the cushion, pulling up the travel blogs I’ve been using as inspiration. This isn’t a pity party. I’m in Greece! And sure, maybe I am alone in one of the most romantic places in the world but I am on vacation. It’s time to start enjoying it.