The Red Beach of Planet Santorini
Directly across the caldera’s sapphire waters from Oia, resides a most curious and technicolor paradise. Near the Akrotiri ruins, hides a cove fit for the sirens of Homer’s Odyssey. Striking Blood red cliffs dip sharply to the shore, where pebbles of black and garnet join a teal sea, and coalesce into an almost violet shorebreak. I was speechless before such strangeness, such color. Did we quad to the edge of the sea, or of space?
Our morning in Santorini was delightfully received by a Grecian sun you have to feel to believe. We strolled the cobblestone pathways of Oia to a breakfast of spanakopita and tea overlooking the caldera and plotting our exlopration. Mallory and I are both history buffs and beach queens so our choices in Greece were volumes, but we decided on the Red Beach near Akrotiri based on our quest for the skin the color of olives before Yacht Week, and @JordanRisa’s infamous description of it as the “beach the color of Rihanna’s hair in 2001”.
We strolled over to the ATV rentals, knowing we had to ride in style, and I love the freedom of stopping at will and taking in all the unique views. The first rental service refused use and required an international license, but we walked over the the next one who accepted my American license. Pro Tip: Don’t lose faith! Or you can be really prepared and arrange an international license, because the island ATV experience is never one to be missed. PS- No one truly warned me of how big Santorini is, and the ATV ride across island and back took most of the day with just one snack stop before the beach. The ride to Red Beach will have portions of driving on the main road, and always make sure you know where you are going and have plenty of fuel. Stop whenever you see something intriguing to you, in the birthplace of democracy, the freedom is yours!
“We found the beach at the edge of the world.
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We parked our ATV, and prayed to Zeus for its safety. We bought local peaches and watermelon, I always need snacks for a hike in beach, as seclusion oftens hints to few amenities. We hiked down towards the beach in awe of this otherworldly grotto. We squeezed into a few available inches on the beach smoothed our towels as best we could over the irregular pebbles. The water was warm and perfect and we swam from one cove to another, and claimed a rock island with our very own sea salt. Mallory and I are divers and couldn't resist a snorkel, especially as mythical mermaids in the Mediterranean Mars.
After a perfectly salted adventure, we returned to our Oia home, craving another creamsicle sunset. Oia is a dream, and Red Beach is the nearby psychedelic trip that I highly recommended you welcome when given the chance.
