hiking the trail from fira to oia in santorini | the edge of a dream
santorini > day 7
they will tell you that the hike from fira to oia takes 2.5 hours, which is technically true, if you don’t stop, as i did, to have coffee with a greek mountain hermit.
it is the kind of hike where you feel as though you are walking along the edge of the world — or the edge of a dream. for the first hour, you’ll pass luxury caldera-side resorts (i was so relieved to be doing this hike in november, when it was completely empty…)
and then, as the villages grow more distant, you’ll enter the land of barren landscapes and monasteries/churches, tucked along tiny paths, and you’ll walk thin paths wrapping along the mountain ridge - up and down - with the right balance of variety and very mildly strenuous. every view is breathtaking.
sometime before you reach oia, you’ll pass by deep purple dirt and sienna colored volcanic rocks, and if it is an overcast late november day, maybe you’ll feel the loneliness of being at the edge of the world, windswept, with not a single soul (or motorcycle, or car) in sight. it is the perfect hike for a walking meditation and contemplation.
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I did this hike, alone, on my 30th birthday, carrying only a small botter of water. I left my house (close to imerovigli) around 1:30pm, and arrived in oia by 4:40pm, with a ~45 min spontaneous stop for coffee. I took the local bus back at 5:50pm - which I also recommend, because I didn’t find there to be anything beyond tourist-y skeletons in oia in november.
I rate this hike 10/10 - perhaps one of the best hikes I’ve taken in a long time. incredibly beautiul and not strenuous at all. I would do it again in a heartbeat. in fact, since I have three weeks left in santorini, I might repeat it once a week.
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