The first leg of our trip to Greece was all about history and archaeology in Athens. The second leg was all about the sea! We were really looking forward to seeing some blue sky and blue sea in Santorini, and it really did not disappoint. It was so beautiful. Every two minutes we had to stop walking and just drink it all in because it was so spectacular.

We were staying in Fira, which is one of the bigger towns and therefore a great option if you are not hiring a car on arrival. We relied on buses and our own feet, and got by very well. When we arrived, we took an afternoon stroll to Skaros Rock, which was an extremely scenic wander. You’re not supposed to climb it, though you can probably see the steps in the photo above – there are some signs warning that it’s dangerous to proceed. We heeded those signs, but I’m not sure if we were in the majority. Even without climbing, it was pleasant to see and made for a lovely introductory walk along the coastline.

Walking back from Skaros Rock to Fira, we decided to stop in at Onar because it had some labelled vegan options. We were not expecting Santorini to be a good destination for food – we were just there for the scenery – so my expectations were generally quite low. Onar was an expensive spot because it had seating that looked out onto the water and was perfect for a sunset view. All the tables at the edge were reserved, so they squeezed us in as far away as possible from those seats.

There were three labelled vegan options – one main dish which was pasta with vegetables, which did not entice us, and two lighter options. Above is the aubergine salad, which was basically quite a bland baba ganoush with four crispy pita shards. Just the four.

We also ordered the fava bean dip, which again was quite bland – almost like a poorly seasoned hummus. It was only really tasty when you got it with the caper, caper leaf, or raw onion, so they could provide some additional flavour. This one did not come with any bread.

You can probably tell I would not hurry back. We were ready for a sit down, and it was nice to get something in our bellies, but it was overpriced and unambitious. And honestly, you can see the sunset from just about anywhere between Firostefani and Fira – there was no shortage of sunset opportunities.