Has a hotel owner ever greeted you with a hug and a kiss? Katerina Kontoe, owner of Ifestio Villas, greeted us just that way upon our arrival in Oia. She and I had traded many emails before our visit, and she promised me she would "take care of everything." Just a few years older than we are, Katerina lives large. She married a plastic surgeon when she was just 18, had two sons, and later became an urban planner and an interior designer. She traveled the world with her husband, everywhere but Mexico, she says, and then commuted two hours to and from work in Athens for years. When she'd had enough of the rat race, she escaped to Santorini and bought a 250-year-old cave house in Oia. She renovated villas above and below her own house, and now rents them to tourists--not for the money, but for the love of meeting people and helping them know Santorini.
With Katerina on her patio
I'd read enough reviews about Katerina and her villas to know that she would be special. This was only confirmed when she couldn't fit us in on the first night of our stay, so instead offered us a room and private bath in her own house. She reserved a rental car for us and had an agent meet us at the airport to lead us to Oia. When we realized we really didn't want to try to carry our three duffels down the 81 steps to the villas, she dropped our car keys at the rental car office, told them where we had parked the car, and asked them to drag the bags down for us. When we arrived back at the villa after dinner, the bags were there, stashed in our cozy room. She prepared breakfast for us the next morning.
Sitting with her at the table on her deck, we pored over a map of the island. Katerina warned us of the crowded areas to avoid and pointed out the beaches we should explore. Her best recommendation was a night at Santorina Mou for typical homecooked food and Greek guitar music by the owner, Mihalis (aka Mike). Tom and I headed there one night, and Katerina and two Greek friends joined us a bit later. It was a lively scene, and not one we would have found on our own. Mike takes photos of each and every dinner guest and then fills album after album with the pictures. We leafed through some of the 42 books and found documentation of Katerina dancing, and Katerina dancing on tables. She is a long-time friend of Mike's. We returned there two nights later with four friends from the Wilderness trip.
Mihalis and Yannis singing, with cat in the audience
Greek who wandered in off street to dance
Best of all, Katerina steered us towards the right beaches. It was Cape Columbo where we found total isolation and a small, family-owned taverna down the road, complete with very entertaining, argumentative discussions and meals cooked by a Greek grandmother. At Perivolos, we encountered the hip, young beach scene where we were easily two, perhaps almost three, decades removed from our peer group. Comfortable thatched palapas, each shading two lounge chairs, a small table, and a call button for the accompanying bar/restaurant, were set up on a black sand beach. We ate at Chilli's--good food and pulsating loud music (heavy on the bass) all afternoon. The Greek covers of bands such as Simon & Garfunkel, the Eagles, Madonna, and the Stones were fabulous. (I'm guessing the covers were Greek because some of the lyrics were pronounced with a certain foreign flair, but they could be from another country.) I only wish there were a way I could find them for my iTunes library.
the beach at Perivolos/Parissa
The people-watching at Perivolos was top rate. Anything more than a string bikini and you're over-dressed; a one-piece suit...unfathomable. Luckily, the same didn't hold true for the men as most of them were clad in long board shorts. Too many Speedos in one place is not a good visual. Most refreshing was the obvious "I'm comfortable in my own skin" body confidence. Men and women of all shapes and sizes sported revealing suits and strutted around as if they hadn't a care in the world. Fascinating, and a lesson to be learned.
Freeze frame. I could have sat there all afternoon and evening, just soaking in the scene and the loud music. I imagine that perhaps Maggie will make her way there someday.
Oia sunset on our last night in Greece
No comments:
Post a Comment