Greek Islands – Santorini, Crete & Naxos

Γεια σας (Geia sas) from Greece!

It’s my first time here, and it’s been absolutely incredible. Greece feels European, but it’s also Mediterranean and ancient (like 6 million-year-old footprints ancient). It’s also massive. I stayed on 3 islands and visited a few others via ship/ferry but the total number of Greek islands is in the 1000s!

I saw a lot, did a lot, ate a lot (I feel I’ve put on some Greek cheese weight lol but no regrets). Whether by ship, ferry, taxi, jeep, bus, or on foot, travelling in Greece has been truly beautiful and great.

(Definitely contemplated meeting a nice Greek boy who loves Jesus and staying indefinitely haha…)

Santorini

i want to be reborn as a ripple in the caldera

The first thing I did after landing in Santorini was walk along the Fira-Oia trail from Imerovigli, where I stayed the 1st night. Maybe it was the jetlag, but by mind was completely stunned by the beauty of the caldera. “Wow I’m in Greece” and “wow the view from here is amazing” were probably the only two thoughts I had the whole walk.

The 2nd and 3rd nights I stayed in Finikia (had a nice balcony overlooking the sea) which is a close walk into Oia. Everyone was lining up to take pics in front of the iconic white buildings with blue dome, but I thought the windmills were super cool. Oia was undeniably beautiful and fun but it also kinda felt like a big, crowded, international party town/theme park.

My Uber driver told me that people from Oia rent out their houses in the summer and go elsewhere, maybe Athens or another island. He was from Athens and worked in Santorini from May to November.

I took a sunset cruise on a boat (like an old-school one with masts! and sails!!). We left from Athinios Port and scooped up some more people from the Old Port of Fira along the way. Then we hiked around Nea Kameni, sailed over to Palia Kameni, jumped ship, and swam in the hot springs.

Afterwards we sailed again and passed by Ammoudi Bay on the way to Thirassia. We ate dinner in Korfos Bay, and I tried Assyrtiko for the first time! I also swam a bit in Korfos but it was cold af. Then we sailed back during the sunset, at which time they pumped up the tunes lol. Such a memorable day.

On my last day in Santorini, I had time to kill waiting for the ferry, so I stored my luggage and wandered around Fira, the capital of the island. It was the only place I got an unsolicited “ni hao” lmao. Before that I got a couple funny questions in Imerovigli (“where are you from, Japan?”) and Oia (“but where are you from originally?”). All from (weird + non-attractive) men 🙄

early walk to Oia’s post office before heading to Fira

That aside, I had some nice conversations with the shopkeepers there, and also stumbled into some churches, an art gallery, and a museum with super cool historical docs from the 16th to 19th centuries. One was a record of a settlement between 2 guys Michelis and Markos quarreling over money they owed each other in 1597. It was read aloud in public 🤣

Megaro Gyzi, and the story of Michelis and Markos lol

Crete

I stayed 4 nights in Chania, which I didn’t realize was a 2-hour drive from Heraklion port. Crete’s huge! My driver, a native Cretan, was really cool, and we were talking about some similarities between Crete and Taiwan on the drive to my hotel. Also the big dipper, which I have the hardest time spotting at home, was so big and clear and low in the sky.

I loved waking up to the lovely sight of an olive grove and grazing sheep and goats from my balcony (had private balconies at every place I stayed, guess it’s a Greek thing?) and also hearing families gather together and sometimes sing at night.

There’s an immensely strong sense of community and pride in being Cretan. The hotel would put out trays of cookies and produce (tomatoes, oranges, pears, apples, figs(!!!), grapes) that they said were dropped off each morning by someone living nearby.

I did a lot of exploring on foot through Old Town. I also really loved the Archaeological Museum and Chalepa, a suburb of Chania. Maybe I’d want to live there if I ever had an opportunity to stay in Greece for a longer term.

took a path by the beach each day into town

I also did a jeep (land rover) tour of the White Mountains. My tour guide, who happened to be a civil engineering student, would pull over, pick plants (fennel, olives, lavender, throumbi, kumara, wild mint), and hand them to us while giving the tour. He was full of fun facts and was 10/10.

sea snails in the mountains, thought to have arrived there via an old tsunami wave

We started off with morning tea (a native bitter plant that I can’t remember the name of). Then we drove through groves and groves of olive trees, including ones that are new branches grafted into trunks that are 100s of years old (so biblical lol).

I learned they’re called ‘white’ mountains for their calcium deposits and because they’re covered by snow in the colder months. I also learned about how shepherds live in the mountains in the summer in mitatos, milk their sheep and goats, and bring the milk down to factories to make cheese.

We then ate a very delicious lunch at a shepherd family tavern, which included trying their mizythra, and finished off the meal with a ‘Yamas!’ and a (super strong) shot of raki. Then we drove through Therisso Gorge on the way home.

Naxos

The day I left for Naxos was the day of many naps (in the taxi, on the ferry, in my hotel post-lunch), but I managed to catch both the sunrise and sunset on different islands that day. I was already feeling it my last day in Crete but travel fatigue is real.

For the last 4 nights of this Greek island-hopping trip, I stayed in Chora (Naxos Town). I walked up to the Portara (part of an unfinished temple), wandered and shopped around the Kastro, and dined by the sea (great octopus dishes).

I also took a bus tour through the mountain villages of Naxos. I learned on the tour that the villages were built up in the mountains to keep them safe from pirate attacks.

Apollonas (too chilly swim but i waded in up to my shorts)

The mountains of Naxos are so beautiful, totally understand why legend says Zeus grew up here.

Did I have a favorite? I don’t really think so. Each place was so different:

Santorini – luxe, international party town vibes, killer caldera views, but a bit too touristy for me. Maybe next time I’ll try to come off-season, since Sept is apparently still considered busy season.
Chania – less touristy, more traditional, but also felt more modern in terms of public transit (Google maps actually worked for buses!) and crowded trendy cafes (takeaway coffee is €1 cheaper in some places). Felt like I got a better sense of what Greek community feels like.
Naxos Town – more artsy/boutique compared to the other islands, from the food, to the hotels, to the shops. People from Athens come here to vacation in the summer, which I thought was pretty cool.

But they all had great cheese haha. No seriously, I think I ate my weight in cheese. Greek sheep and goats must live splendid lives and be cared for by the best of shepherds to be able to produce milk with such depth and flavor. The bees too, which I learned that some shepherds look after also. I felt like the yogurt was almost the same, more fresh maybe, but the honey! So good and fragrant. My tour guide in Crete said some bees eat thyme which flavors the honey.

Ah I could go on forever haha. Besides the views and food, I got to talk to some really cool people along the way. (Excerpts from my favorite conversations: “Is that your whole last name or did you pay someone for that?” and “My son lives in NYC. He’s single.” lmao) And even though I can’t read the Bible in Greek, I got to read the Bible in Greece, and got to see olive and fig trees, goats and sheep, shepherds and ships, and that was incredible too.