Even if you have not been in Greece once in your life (shame on you!), you know Oia, one of the village of Santorini, the one very famous for the sunset.
If you type ”Greece” in google images, most of the pictures you will see are from Oia. Its white houses and blue domes churches are one of the symbols of this wonderful country.
Therefore this makes Oia very popular, crowded, it’s where every single tourist would go when in Santorini.
I understand why. It’s the most famous place in the world for the sunset, this is why most of the people come here, to watch the sun going down into the sea.
It will be an unforgettable experience that you will share with thousand of other people. Which is not bad. At all.
But if you live here, usually you have a love and hate relationship with this village.
You love it because it’s  fascinating, it’s charming, it’s elegant.
But you also hate it because of its traffic (cars and people), sometimes it’s really hell! But that’s the price that has to be paid.
I can’t demand to live in one of the most acclaimed islands in the world and being me, the sea and the sunset. It does not look like reality.
So you have to choose, when you can, on when to visit Oia.
I usually go against the grain, so here I am at sunrise.
I know I can sound weird, but to me Oia means first of all books!
It’s where I come to buy my fiction food, at Atlantis, which is considered one of the most beautiful bookshop in the world. Guess why!
Dare to get in and you will get lost in a swirl of books that you can enjoy reading on their terrace.
It was actually a good choice to go at sunrise as my friends at Atlantis were still sleeping, so I saved some money 🙂 Till the next time though…
Strolling around Oia at 6/6.30am was incredible.
I met only few sleepy dogs and a couple of photographers.
The light at this time of the day gifts an additional grace to this village.
You have also an odd feeling as you know that behind each door someone is sleeping but still the village looks empty.
All the cafes, restaurants, shops are closed and everything seems to be held still, like in a photograph.
It was a bit of a game to spot some human life, flowers, details in order not to take the most common pictures.
I don’t know if I made it, maybe.
So now I will recommend everyone to visit Oia at sunrise, so I might be able to get some good pictures, next time, at the sunset 🙂
©OneQuarterGreek/Nicoletta Barbata
If you liked this post, subscribe to my newsletter and don’t miss my stories from Greece
