Day 11 – Santorini: Catamaran Cruise & Metaxi Mas

Our alarms went off at 7:45am because we had booked a morning catamaran boat cruise which I booked through TripAdvisor from a company called Oia Sunset Cruises. They were supposed to pick us up at 9am but there must’ve been a mix up because Stelios called the company twice and we finally got picked up at 9:45am. Not off to a great start but we weren’t going to let that kill the mood.

Stelios started chatting up the bus driver in Greek and the driver slipped that the first guy forgot to pick us up (which is what we figured). Also being a truck driver in Santorini is crazy – he drove 1/2 mile down the mountain in a mini bus IN REVERSE to get us to Ammoudi Bay because the buses are too big to turn around.

Thankfully that was the only blip in our day and we made it just in time! The rest of the cruise was awesome. In total there were 3 other couples from California, New Jersey, Minnesota and 1 family of 3 from the Midwest on the cruise. Everyone was super nice, the boat was huge and seemed brand new compared to some of the other catamaran cruises that we passed by, and we had plenty of space to lay out and relax since there was only 11 passengers plus the crew. Our first stop was the hot springs (which were not hot yet but very refreshing). After that we stopped at the Red Beach to jump in and swim around. The Red Beach is a famous beach of Santorini because the sand it tinted red – but other than that it’s just a mediocre beach. The crew also offered us snorkel equipment to see the fish below.

While we swam around they cooked up an INCREDIBLE lunch spread for us to eat. There was hot pita bread, salad, potato salad, dolmades, chicken, pork, shrimp Saganaki, and pasta. It was delicious. Our last stop was the White Beach of Santorini, which gets its name from the white cliffs behind it. Both Stelios and I jumped in again to swim around and cool off. Overall the beaches were not super impressive especially compared to Paros and Naxos. Taking a catamaran cruise to lay out in the sun and jump in the refreshing crystal blue water is definitely the way to go.

Travel Tip: if you go to the hot springs don’t wear a white or light colored bathing suit or jewelry as apparently the sulfites from the springs can stain and tarnish them

The cruise lasted until 3pm and we hopped on the minibus to get dropped back off at our hotel. Tonight we had dinner reservations at Metaxi Mas, a Greek restaurant that specializes in Cretan and Santorini cuisine. It’s located in the village of Exo Gonia which is a 15-20 min drive away from the main strip of Fira, Santorini. We took our bike and it was a little tricky finding the restaurant at first but eventually we parked and walked up a stone pathway to get there. Immediately you could tell it was more of a local vibe which was cool, though there were still some tourists dining there as I could hear other languages being spoken around me, besides Greek. We got a great corner table overlooking the town and mountains below us. For dinner we ordered Kaitafi cheese rolls, Mushroom risotto, and beef filet with VinSanto sauce. All of the dishes melted in your mouth – Metaxi Mas is definitely worth venturing off the main strip for and the service was first class.

After dinner we cruised back to the hotel and pregamed on the balcony sipping on Mastitha. Tonight we were going OUT and we were ready to dance. Our goal was to last until at least 3am so that we could go to Mamounia, the bouzoukia club that plays Greek music. At midnight we strolled down to Fira and bounced around Murphy’s and Town Club (2 bars that catered more to American music and global hits, plus they get started earlier). Around 1am we tried going to Mamounia but it was still pretty empty (the Greeks really don’t get the party started until later) so back to Enigma (my fav) to bump to some hip hop jams and Latin music. Enigma was LIT – the dance floor was pretty packed but luckily we got a small table right in front of the DJ booth and had plenty of room to dance. This club is definitely my vibe. At 2:30am we went back to Mamounia to dance to some Greek music. I don’t actually know any of the dances but basically for the girls you just move your hips and arms (similar to Bollywood dancing) to the rhythm of the music. By 4am we were beat so we stopped at Skaros bakery for a late night snack then walked back to our hotel. Time for bed.