Faros Lighthouse, Santorini

by - 11/20/2016



Santorini is a place where I can shift permanently. I mean I loved Paros island; but I found it apt for vacationing only. But Santorini (Fira and Oia to be precise) mesmerised me so much that I could actually retire here! We witnessed the iconic sunset at Oia the day before. The pushing and shoving to the sunset point consumed all the daylight hours. So we could not explore much of Oia before it was too dark. When the sun went down into the caldera, the crowd was rushing to get back home. In short, I could not take pictures of Oia as much as I would have liked.

So I cajoled hubs to skip a location and take me to Oia one more time. It was our third day in Santorini and I loved every part of Oia. You can read the detailed post here. However I wanted a different view point for sunset. I had read earlier that sunset in Oia was overrated and overcrowded. If anyone wanted to watch the sunset in peace, Faros Lighthouse was the place.
The yummiest chicken Gyro. The owner of the restaurant was a Pakistani and he treated us like his family. He even treated us with Fanta! Its so strange that back here Indians and Pakistanis fight like cats and dogs but outside the Indian subcontinent we are brothers!

So after quickly wrapping up (roaming and clicking) Oia, we left for Faros Lighthouse. We stopped for a quick Greek bite at Fira and then it was a long ride .It was around two hour ride from Oia as it was at the extreme Western part of Santorini. Hubs wanted to leave early, in broad daylight as it was a long, unknown way. But as always, Oia was too tempting to feel satisfied and we were late. It was six when we could finally bid goodbye to Oia.

It was a really long way. We kept on riding and riding along the barren, volcanic mountains. Some points were too scary to handle even for adventure seekers like us. The deep caldera was on one side and rocky mountain on another. A tiny miss would result in going into the caldera.

We were about half and hour away from the Lighthouse when the inevitable happened. Our scooty stopped. What could be the possible reason? The display was not working. So we could not make out how many kilometeres we had travelled or the status of petrol reserve. Hubs tried kicking it, pushing it and all other tricks he knew. But in vain. He decided to go and bring petrol.

It was a deserted place. There was a hotel at a distance. Rest the deep caldera and the maddening wind. Hubs parked the scooter at the side of the road and then left. There was no gas station at least within a radius of 5 kms. He tried taking lift from passerbyes, but no help. He waited no further, he started running.

I went to the restaurant of that hotel and prayed. I was scared. I was in an unknown, deserted place; thousands of kilometres away from home while my husband was running to a gas station which was at least 5 kms way. All I could do was pray and wait. I waited and waited, saw tourists swooshing by to witness the sunset.

Waiting at the restaurant hopelessly for my partner to return safely. Sipping on the Fanta given to us by the Pakistani Restauranter. At that very time my mom called but I dared not tell her our actual situation!

After about one hour, I saw a small ,dark, figure running towards the restaurant in the twilight. My husband is very fair as per Indian standards; seeing Europeans all around me for a week had changed my perception about height, built and colour :D It was him...with a bottle of petrol in hand! He was safe!

I ran outside but he gestured not to talk, sunset was on his mind. We still had around 20 minutes in hand and he wanted to take that chance. After our scooty was refilled, we sped. That was the fastest he had rode in entire Greece. He kept looking at the sun and accelerated more.
The lighthouse at a distance..
After twenty minutes of crazy riding, we could see the lighthouse at a distance. We did not have to ask for directions; we kept looking at the lighthouse and the setting sun.
Fewer people watching the sunset as compared to Oia
Gorgeous sunset sans the crazy crowd!

We made it just in time before the sun actually went down into the caldera. There were very few tourits, the ambiance was very calm and very unlike than that of Oia. Both experiences were very beautiful yet very different. There is a loud applause after the sunset in Oia; hubs continued that tradition and clapped after the sunset. The rest of the tourists obliged. The feeling was lovely. We finally made it to the lighthouse! Who knew that it would be possible?
It got dark as soon as the sun went down
It was dark when we left. It was quarter to nine after all. Perissa was about three hour ride from there. We were the farthest from Perissa ( extreme East and extreme West). On our way back hubs told what actually had happened. He was running when he spotted an elderly man in a car. He asked for help and he obliged. Instead of dropping him to a petrol station, he took my husband to his home. He was a very rich man. He opened his garage with a remote and he had many cars. He had a huge mansion. He filled a bottle with petrol and gave it to my husband. How kind of him! My husband then started running back from his place. Had it not been the kind man, God knows when hubs would have returned. I really do believe in the power of prayers.
My brave rider husband

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6 comments

  1. what an adventure. I am glad u made it to the lighthouse.

    Aditi
    www.sosaree.in

    ReplyDelete
  2. Santorini looks absolutely stunning! I hope you had a great time :)

    XO Jessi,
    http://www.mywhitet.com/revolve-winter-formal/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Santorini is so beautiful.
    Would love to visit it someday
    xx
    https://theonethattravels.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! Such mesmeric view of the sun!
    I just loved your thoughts about the relation between Indians and Pakistanis... well said and true it is... :-)

    ReplyDelete