6/4: Villa Ambrosia--Donkeyfied Luxury

Our second morning on the island began just as comfortably and lazily as the first: I ate my breakfast and enjoyed the view while Annie slept away her jet lag. However, we had a noon appointment for new lodging with our dear Sea Captain, in the swankier Villa Ambrosia cave house. Our trusty jack-of-all-trades Rumi escorted us to our new accommodation, promising that our bags would follow shortly by porter. See porter:





Apparently, porter translates roughly to "donkey taxi." All you poor Americans back home can keep your Hilton Reward Points; I bet YOU'VE never used a bellhop with a quadruped.

Where were we? Ah yes, the cave house. An interesting tidbit about lodging here on Santorini is that the allure of "luxury cave houses" comes with the irony that until the tourism boom here of the 70s and 80s, cave houses were just the architectural go-to for impoverished locals. They were literally caverns etched out of the island's volcanic rock to protect inhabitants from the elements. There are still many rudimentary cave houses within view around Oia that are either too dilapidated or inaccessible to renovate for tourists.

ABOVE: This is where Frodo Baggins will retire.

As you may notice from the photo above, the narrow walls and rounded ceilings of our "villa" distinguish it as a cave house. I personally think it's cool as hell, but have read several complaints about claustrophobia on Trip Advisor. Lightweights.

We were moved to Villa Ambrosia because we booked a little too late in the season to keep the Falling Stars house, but we both have actually looked forward to the different views and amenities that Tony and his staff have prepared. Additionally, Tony was kind enough to hook us up with the same rate for our entire stay, despite the fact that our current digs have nicer bathrooms, a second bedroom, and full kitchen with fridge and espresso machine. Now if I only knew how to make espresso...

...and if only Annie knew how to cook.

The Villa Ambrosia also has an amusing "jacuzzi"(read: tub of flat water heated only by sunlight--though in this heat we'd prefer it cold anyhow) in a corner of the 4' x 6' courtyard, conveniently close enough to high-five tourists or donkeys passing by on the path.



A narrow flight of maybe 8 steps leads up to our private terrace with lounge chairs and an umbrella. You can't beat our view with a stick:



The closer, volcano-shaped island is...a volcano. Nea Kameni is its name, and several daily excursions depart from our island to let tourists scale the crags and photograph sulfur steam. It's 2 kilometers in diameter, last erupted in 1950, and likely smells like rotten eggs. The smaller island to the right is another chunk of the volcano called Palea Kameni, and it allegedly has hot springs with rust-colored water. We've decided to save our money and marvel at the volcano's destructive beauty from here, the rim of the caldera.

After an afternoon of sunbathing with a repast of cheese & crackers with beer, we cleaned off, Skyped with Annie's mom, then went for a dusk walk before dinner. We discovered a large Greek Orthodox church with a beautiful plaza overlooking the caldera, and I snapped a couple shots with the crescent moon backdrop before we hit up a restaurant.



After another tasty meal (Greek salad, tomato fritters, and grilled mussels) we returned home to convalesce. I've been recovering from some vertigo related to what is likely an inner ear infection, while Annie is fighting symptoms of the cold I seem to have given her. We're a sickly bunch, but still enjoying the scenery and the company!



Santorini Day 3 (June 4) Album:

Santorini: June 4, 2011

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Location:Νικολάου Νομικού,Oia,Greece