Santorini. The quiet island. Or what we perceived as more of a 'romantic honeymoon' island. I wandered if this was going to be the case or not. Arriving on a Saturday feeling very flat after a few incredible nights in Ios, we were very content on checking in and doing absolutely nothing the whole first day. It was here we would cross paths with Nosti & Carrett for the third and final time of our trip; having seen them previously in San Sebastián & Barcelona. Our first night involved one without the influence of alcohol, rather opting to get our first glimpse at the spectacular sunset in Santorini, of which we witnessed from a cliff-edge Mexican restaurant, where we all took on the all-you-can-eat BBQ ribs challenge. No surprises that Nosti & Carrett were joint champions on 3 racks a piece. A good combination for the first night before hitting the hay at a decent hour.

The second day proved to be much more productive as we were feeling invigorated from a solid nights sleep. Being picked up by shuttle bus at 9am in the morning, the 7 of us hopped on a 'see Santorini in one day' tour. This involved getting a bus up the mountain of Profitis Ilias, the highest point of the island. Sprouting approximately 567m above sea level, this gave us a great view & photo opportunity with 360 degree views of the once circular island. After that we drove down to the port to jump on a ferry, which was to take us to the volcanic island of rock, followed by a dip in the hot springs. Whilst the water temperature was quite toasty at 35 degrees, the eerie yellow colour of the water and the lingering smell of the springs was quite off-putting. The next stop was a visit to the island of Therasia, also known as 'little Thira'. Here we were given free time for the opportunity to swim & have lunch, and it was some of the best food I'd had on the Greek Isles; skewers with a mix of grilled swordfish, squid & octopus. The final stop of the day tour was to arrive at the port of Oia; the most northerly point of Santorini and the most well known location to witness the notorious sunset. Opting to get a lift up the steep incline to the top of the hill by donkey, which was a cool yet scary experience, we arrived at the top to find ourselves a roof-top terrace for dinner & watch the spectacular lowering of the sun; which rounded off an exhausting day.

Whilst the day had an early start and required a long day out waking in the heat, we still found the energy reserves to push through and make a night of it also, being already the second of our 3 nights in Santorini. We went back to ours for a few drinks before the group of us ventured out to the small strip of bars in the alleyways of Fira. We started at the Irish club of Murphys & popped in and out of next doors Town Bar several times, interacting with the big crowds of Contiki tours that were around. We also popped in to one of the more high profile nightspots of the island, Enigma, however the crowds seemed to be slowing down due to the end of the holiday season now that it is in to European autumn. All in all it became a night where being too intoxicated and silly got the better of us, as seems to be the case with every night out on the back of a rest night, and a few of the boys woke in the morning with some explaining and apologising to do.

Having already ticked most of the main sights and to-do's of the Santorini checklist in the previous day, we were afforded a morning to sleep in and lounge around our room to Skype with friends and family back home. It was after midday before we decided we'd pay a visit to a few of the unique beaches of Santorini, catching a bus down to the south-east of the island to visit Kamari & Perissa beaches, also known as the black sand beaches. Lunch by the beach, followed by a swim, sun-bake/sleep on the sand and a few classic catches with the frisbee in the water capped off the relaxing afternoon, before the boys hung around the area for a water-side dinner. I was fortunate enough to see the arrival of my parents on Santorini this coming evening and therefore headed back to our apartment to shower & get my navigating cap on, setting of in search of finding their hotel. A 30-minute walk to the cliff of Fira before eventually finding their place half way down the Caldera with beautiful sea front views over the water. It was so nice to reunite with them half way across the world from home & seeing them instantly relieved any feelings of homesickness I may have had. We went for a few drinks, followed by a lovely seafood dinner with shrimp, squid and swordfish whilst overlooking a postcard-esque view of the deep blue water and volcanic islands in the backdrop. A nice meal and a long, much needed chat with the parents to catch up with news back in Australia and fill them in on stories from my travels before leaving them to go shrug off their jet lag & get a good nights sleep, whilst I went to meet the boys back at the bars. And that is where the night turned a little sour ...

Being in a reasonably sober state & not sure where the boys were or whether they were still coming I made my way for the taxi rank to head home for an early night. Only metres away from jumping into the front of a cab, I heard the voices of the boys as they rounded the corner in a much more joyous state than myself and urged me to turn around and come back out with them, in what would turn out to be a poor decision. We spent the night in much the same manner as the previous, hopping in between bars on the narrow street in Fira. One bar we hadn't been to a night earlier was the 'Highlander Bar' which was only a few metres down the street, and had recommendations from various people as a having a decent vibe. As it turned out a couple of the (unnamed) boys were denied entry and as the rest of us were already inside, thought they'd take it amongst themselves to press the matter with the group of security guards in a stand off with a few verbal exchanges to and fro. With Louis and I trying to diffuse the matter and send the boys up the hill to prevent any potential dramas unfolding, all seemed fine and under control. Before we could barely get back inside the group of security had set off on one of the guys who lay flat on their back; before seeing the other person they had an issue with and proceeding to set their sights on him, also with kicks and punches whilst on the ground. In an attempt to protect a friend and drag him out of the pile of legs and fists, I received a stray king hit from the side, resulting in myself falling to the ground with a bad collision between cement and my face; a battle in which the cement won, with a few broken teeth, split eyebrow, plenty of grazes and a jarred wrist to show for it.

Therefore, the last night was spent between hospitals and police station in what ended up being a terrible, drama-filled final night. Fortunately enough my parents were around and willing to sacrifice our initial plans of quad-biking around the island together to visit the beaches and make our one full day on Santorini together a productive one, in favour of visiting dentists, police station, hospitals, and taking X-rays. Whilst we got lucky in squeezing in an appointment to fix my teeth and got cleared of wrist and eye socket fractures it was hardly a great way to end our stay on the Greek Isles and leaving a bitter taste of Santorini in many of the boys mouths upon leaving for Venice that night. I left with a battered face, however, not battered views of Santorini as a destination. It was definitely the nicest and most scenic of the Greek Isles with views of the Caldera that would be up there with the top 10 places to visit in the world & suggest everyone witnesses at least once in their lifetime. I know for a fact I'd love to come back and visit this island again later in life on a more low key holiday in about 10-20 years down the track. For now, it's off to Venice for a layover night before heading to Split to begin the second of our Contiki tours for the trip; Croatia Sailing.