Categories

Friday, 26 February 2016

GREECE - Santorini (Kamari)

DSCF8351
Kamari is a coastal town on Santorini’s east coast. Kamari beach is famous for its black volcanic sand and pebbles, sandwiched between Aegean Sea and Vouno Mountain. Ancient Thira is also reachable from Kamari. Findings from its excavation are now on exhibit at the archeological museum in Fira.


DSCF8293
Santorini International Airport also known as Thira Airport is also close to Kamari. I arrived at Santorini late at night that day, so I decided to stay at Kamari for the night.


DSCF8295
The promenade that runs alongside Kamari beach is pretty lively at night.


DSCF8294
Taverns, restaurants and souvenir shops lined this promenade. Well, I decided to come back the next morning.


DSCF8298
The view of Vouno Mountain from the terrace of the hotel where I stayed.


DSCF8301
Chez Sophie is the hotel where I stayed for a night.


DSCF8343
It is close to Kamari beach and has its own swimming pool.


DSCF8302
Kamari Beach.


DSCF8303

DSCF8308
The black beach of Kamari offers a wide range of facilities such as sunbeds, umbrellas and various water sports. It was still early in the morning, so the beach area was quiet.


DSCF8306
Directly above the beach is Ancient Thira. Ancient Thira is a mountain-top settlement that dates back to the 9th century. A winding road that starts from Kamari leads to the ancient town which was named after the mythical ruler of the island, Theras.


DSCF8310
In the next morning, my hubby hiked up the mountain in an attempt to reach Ancient Thira.


DSCF8312

DSCF8315

DSCF8317

DSCF8319
Road signage that shows the way to Ancient Thira. It is open daily except for Monday, from 8am to 2.30pm.


DSCF8320
Kamari town as viewed from the mountain.


DSCF8325

DSCF8331

DSCF8333
The ancient city was inhabited from the 9th century BC. Today it is open to the public.


DSCF8337
There are various hiking trails to Ancient Thira. Another 1 or 2 more hours of hiking? Are you kidding me? My beau abandoned his plan to reach at least the Prophet Elijah Monastery as we had other plans in the afternoon.


DSCF8340

DSCF8339
By now, Kamari town looked so small from above. Time to head back, I guess.


DSCF8344

DSCF8345
Strolling on the promenade of Kamari. I really love the laid back atmosphere here. It might not be as famous as Fira or Oia, it’s still a charming town in its own right.


DSCF8346
Plenty of Santorini souvenir to get here, at a cheaper price too. The fridge magnets are sold for as cheap as 1 euro per piece. I bought a dozen here.


DSCF8347

DSCF8350

DSCF8353
Shopping is a girl’s favourite past time.


DSCF8352
I found a nice restaurant to have brunch.


DSCF8354
The restaurant facing the beach.


DSCF8356
This traditional Greek dish is called Moussaka. It’s an eggplant or potato-based dish with meat. Delicious!


DSCF8355
After brunch, we headed to the beach, of course.


DSCF8349
The black sand beach at Kamari.


IMG_0418

IMG_0416
Even though it is known as black sand beach, its not the fine sand you would imagine. It's actually black pebbles.


IMG_0438


IMG_0439

IMG_0437
The clear blue sea.


IMG_0443
People jumping from the rock.


IMG_0448

IMG_0449
Even though Santorini owes its popularity to the western side of the island, the eastern side such as Kamari is definitely not to be missed. Moreover, its cheaper to stay here at the eastern side of the island.


IMG_0453
After that, we went back to the hotel and spent some time at the swimming pool.


IMG_0454

IMG_0456
Well, we had a fun time at Kamari. It’s time to discover the rest of Santorini too.

No comments:

Post a Comment