Day 1 / Santorini - Ia: the Blue-Domed Churches and the Unforgettable Sunset

Early evening, and I made a wise decision to head up North to Ia to see the sunset. It was only 5h30 in the afternoon and the sunset wasn't going to arrive until 8h30 pm, but still I thought it best to be on a bus heading in that direction ... and my worst fears were confirmed when I arrived at the bus station with droves of people waiting for the Ia bus. Actually, as some people who have been to the island can attest, the bus station is not really a station in the sense of a covered area with bus "islands" where buses dock while waiting for the next group of passengers. No, this is literally a parking lot where six buses squeeze in with perfect precision and like clockwork depart with their full load of passengers.

On the bus I was on, the bus departed full with a 125% load: meaning that passengers were forced to stand in the aisles for the duration of the winding, 30-minute ride. The price, as I mentioned in the last post is right: 1,20 EUR for a single ride, rather than play with fire and taking an unmetered taxi ...

Ia appears to be a recent creation, given that many of the building were destroyed during an earthquake in 1956. Nevertheless, in the reconstruction of the town they've done an excellent job and made it colorful enough to attract attention.

When it came time for the sunset, people gathered on the city's edge, literally hundreds of people congregating on the city walls waiting for the sun to set behind the clouds and a distant mountainous island. I myself had staked out a spot for myself one hour early and occupied myself reading a book (Dad's case to always bring "reading material") until the crucial 10-15 minutes before the sunset.

After that it was sheer pleasure to watch the sky shift from yellows to oranges and reds ... truly an unforgettable sunset. When the last bit of sun disappeared from the horizon, the crowds applauded in admiration. And then it was back by bus to Fira (luckily got a seat back, too, this bus was just as crowded).