Day 4 - Oia and chill

  Oia, perissa, Greece
Tuesday, May 22, 2007

We got a good night's sleep, and even managed showers last night. The day has dawned pleasant and sunny so after beakfast and the usual cooking/ feeding/ cleaning of kids, we set off by 10:30, our earliest start yet, for Oia. We're really looking forward to exploring thistown which looked so pretty yesterday. Little A dozes off in the back thanks to his travel medicine and we enjoy the beautiful vistas of sea as A drives us to Oia. At one point the road is a narrow spar of land with sea on both sides. We wonder what will happen if there's one more earthquake in Santorini - will Oia break off into a separate island?

Oia looks spectacularly inviting with its narrow, cobbled streets and jewel-like shops on both sides selling all manner of beautiful things. We decide not to take the strollers since the streets may be too narrow, a decision we will regret later on. Our backpack weighs a ton, with milk, snacks, diaper changes, wet wipes, water and god knows what else. A and I feel like pack mules, since we're either lugging that or littler a. M and C are in the same condition.

We stroll through the wonderful streets of oia, finding an artist's studio where the artist makes 3D art which is quite beautiful. Another studio is manned by the artist and full of gorgeous water colours of Santorini and Oia in particular. Little cobbled alleys lead to homes or traditional homes which are now hotels. We would have loved to stay in one of these, I think, but while they all have an amazing view of the Caldera, the balcony parapets are too low for comfort especially if you have kids. Oia is also rather crowded even though we're ahead of the full season, so perhaps Perissa is better.

Oia has the most amazing jewelry, byzantine, silver, gold and more. There is a shop which has the most intricately handmade miniature mosaic jewelry - spectacular but also pricey. Shops selling jewelry, ancient-greek style ceramics and glassware abound. I find one shop that has incredible lights for sale, made of glass. I wish I could buy some of the larger pieces but there is no way they'll fit into a suitcase and shipping will just cost too much, so I sigh and move on.

It's getting warmer and we're hungry so we stop for lunch at a restaurant which looks out at the Caldera. It has a deck on the roof so we head there. It is beautiful, with geranium blooms in pots everywhere, white painted loggia and an amazing view. But I'm worried about the kids, since the distance between the deck and railing is enough for a child to fall through, and there's no protective glass or anything. Note to parents: While europeans love kids, few places are child-proof.

After an indifferent pizza lunch, we stroll on towards the town square, where there's a beautiful church with a belfry. All over Santorini, church roofs are painted a vibrant turquoise, which makes them look very inviting. The walls of most buildings are white-plastered and we think it must be greek yoghurt!

We finally make our way back to the car, stopping for some frenzied souvenir shopping. A finds a nice table lamp that we like and that is affordable in that lighting shop and we buy it gleefully, only realising later how heavy it is.

Back at Ira, we nap until early evening at which point we decide to hit the pool before going down to the beach, since it was such a warm day. Little A has been begging to go swimming from the day we got here and looks like it's finally gonna happen. Everyone changes in double-quick time. A, little A, littler a and I are by the pool and I'm turning back to set down my towel when A decides to dip his toe in the water to test the temperature. Little A follows suit and promptly falls in, clothes and all, in the deep end of the pool. I don't remember the intervening seond between him falling in and me being on my knees by the side of the pool, dragging him out by his ankle.

A and I have a furious fight while I'm shivering and undressing little A and towelling him off all at the same time. Later on, I realise that little A was probably more upset by the fight than the falling in. M, C and R reach and are aghast at what could have happened. A and I calm down and M and I decide to plunge into the water since C and A are not as enthusiastic swimmers. In fact, C has a slight cold and won't be getting into the water. We enjoy our swim and R and little A (who is initially afraid) dip their feet in the water and everyone has a good time. post swim we finally get to take hot!! showers and head out for Perissa beach.

The sun has just set and there's a lovely orange glow over everything. The beach is deserted but the restaurants are throbbing with life. There's karaoke, greek dancers and god knows what else on offer. Little A heads for the swings and M and I walk by the shore collecting coloured little pebbles - the most vibrant and beautiful colours - coral red, pale ppink, whte, brown, rust red, emerald green and glossy black...The sea water feels lovely to our feet, and the waves are pretty large. I pick up littler a and head for a cluster of roks where the two of us bond and she dozes off. M, R and C are walking around the beach farther down. A and little A are by the swings. It's quiet here but for the swishing of the waves. Big and little A join us and we walk together by the shore. A feeling of perfect peace steals over us, and for now, the world is perfect.