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While I was on the plane, I'd managed to pick up some basic Greek through a book. He introduced himself as Adelphos and was delighted when I greeted him in the native language. He was going to show me around Athens during my two day stay there and then drop me off at the dock where I was to board a ferry that would carry me to the archipelago of Santorini. Athens was beautiful. Despite the fact that tourists crowded every nook and cranny of the city, its historical and cultural, combined with the modern buildings etc were just as I had imagined. In fact I'm doing the city injustice by saying so, as it was far more than I had expected. Adelphos was not only a good driver but also an excellent guide, I wasn't surprised because if he wasn't I doubt he'd have survived in such a competitive business. After having seen Athens I didn't know what to expect from Santorini, from what I was told, and what I had seen in pictures, just thinking about it sent a shiver down my body. The anticipation was making me jittery and the ferry was about to leave any minute now. Adelphos had dropped me off at the dock about an hour ago as I had decided to wander around for a while before the ferry left. The bells were rung and the ferry started to move, the shivers increased, but this time a mild breeze added to their cause. As the ferry went further into the Aegean Sea, Athens kept getting smaller and smaller, until it was just a thin line darkening the horizon. When I could see no land at all, all I could see was the color blue. The sky was lighter and more dilute, where as the sea had rings of Prussian and turquoise scattered with sudden streaks of sea green. The sun was directly over my head now and I was beginning to feel a little lightheaded. I decided that it was time for me to get some rest; Santorini was still a few hours away. I found an empty dock chair and settled into it. I decided that it was time for me to get my hands back on my artwork and pulled out a sketchbook form my art supply kit. I sketched the people on the ferry and some of the islands that were now crossing our path. Soon we were passing tiny masses of land every ten minutes or so. I could over hear people saying that it shouldn't take too long now. I was bubbling with excitement, firstly because I was just a few minutes away from, what I wanted to be, my safe haven and secondly because I had just realized that I may still have some artistic talent left in me.It was late afternoon when we arrived at Fira, the capital of Santorini. For the past fifteen minutes or so, I was bombarded with the most beautiful scenes I had ever seen. It truly was a feast for anyone's eyes. To my left were igneous cliffs dotted with the villas craved out of the parent rock, speckled with bright pink bougainvillea and to my right was the sea. The man at the tavern in Fira, where I'd eaten lunch had told me that I'd reach Oia just in time for the sunset. I was sure that Oia; the island that I was to stay in was supposed to be the most beautiful one among the islands of Santorini. I was sure that it would not disappoint me. I left for Oia in another smaller ferry and we were told that it should take about twenty minutes or so to reach Oia. I had butterflies in my stomach, just thinking about the sunset. Every minute was like walking through pages and pages of art, the villages were perfect, like they were purposely designed to aesthetically appeal to tourists, like me (I must admit, that I felt horrible referring to myself as a tourist, because for some reason I felt very much at home here). Ever since I'd come to Greece, I had completely forgotten about the other side of the world. I had even forgotten to call my parents and knew that they would be worried sick, and this suddenly sent waves of quilt rushing through me. But all was forgotten. My vision (and mind) was transfixed on a single sight. It was the most brilliant thing I had ever seen. It was late in the evening now and the sky had turned orange, the sun was surrounded by a deep scarlet that diffused into the orange. The sea, like a pane of shattered glass, glittered with the various shades of the sky and looked like it was set on fire. The white walls of the villas to my left glowed warmly, and reflected a rosy, peachy pink. When I looked up I saw that the centre of the sky had turned a really bright shade of blue. Tiny pinprick like stars sparkled through this small expanse of blue. All this while I had my mouth hanging open and was completely unaware of the fact that the ferry had reached Oia and that I was the only one left on the ferry. I was brought back to reality when the captain (who seemed pretty young') came to collect my bags so that he could get them off board. Even after realizing this, my mouth remained open, I was impaired of speech and I noticed that the young captain as well as some natives found this amusing. A heavy blush crept up my face and I bet I was as pink as the sky itself. I tried to explain my behaviour by pointing at the sun, still unable to speak (this time due to embarrassment) and the captain nodded and exclaimed that it truly was magnificent that day. I handed him my bags, and rushed off the ferry onto the dock, not wanting to spoil any more of my evening. It was getting too good to be true and I couldn't imagine what else this lovely place had in store for me in the coming weeks.
If only I'd remembered that all good things must come to an end.