The Greek Journal: Amoudi Bay and The Most Adorable Bookshop in Santorini

Still suffering from my Santorini blues so here’s another Greek Journal for y’all. See more photos on the previous post here.

Amoudi Bay is tucked away underneath Oia and away from the hustle and bustle of the island (probably because the sign direction is small and rather hidden; or probably because most people didn’t want to walk all the way down -and up!). After pigging out on my first two days, I decided to brave myself to do a little cardio and walked down the 300 steps descending to this famous tiny port. On the first 20 steps down, I felt good. I could do this. After a hundred more steps of fighting the wind and avoiding donkey turds, I began questioning myself on why I was doing it instead of sitting down pretty and eating gelato up there. On the 200th step I began to question my whole existence in life and FINALLY I WAS THERE.

Amoudi Bay is indeed as pretty as they said. They being the tripadvisor members who stated “It’s worth all the steps!” or “Walk the steps at least once!” -whom I had cursed ten minutes earlier. Surrounded by steep cliffs, this little fishing area exudes calmness. All you hear is the sound of the waves and water hitting the rocks and boulders. It also features several restaurants/tavernas serving up the fresh catch of the day (I had the grilled octopus in Dimitris Ammoudi Taverna and two glasses of wine because I sweated alot and I deserved them).

If you keep walking to the left side of the rocky beach (I’m dead serious about those rocks guys. They’re rough and sharp everywhere so hopefully you’ll bring appropriate footwear), you’ll find the best swimming spot in Santorini. The water is clear blue and warm and I just wanted to stay there forever.

I wouldn’t bitch alot about climbing up except that going down was nothing compared to going back up. Halfway up I kept cursing myself but instantly stopped when I saw the view of the sun ready to set behind the calderas. It was amazing. I was jawdropped and beginning to feel good about myself because my mood just swings fast like that.

After the sunset watching, I paid another visit to Atlantis Books nearby, the only bookstore in Oia which, to put it mildly, is also dream bookstore. It is one of the most enchanting places a traveler could ever hope to stumble upon.

This quirky basement store is run by an international collective of artists, writers and activists who are highly passionate about literature and doing this out of youthful ideology rather than financial reason (who does this nowadays?). It’s a bit crowded at any time of the day (including lunchtime), and not a place for the claustrophobics. It’s like the Parisian Shakespeare & Co bookstore, but smaller, more humble, more adorable and well… perched on the cliffs of the most beautiful island in Europe.

The handpicked literary masterpieces are crammed on the shelves and stacked on the floors. It’s the most amazing inventory I’ve ever seen in an independent bookstore. They even have most of Hemingway and the Beat Gen guys rare first editions (offered at extravagant prices naturally. Here’s to you, post-mo hipsters.) I won’t be surprised if there’s even more treasures buried inside this hobbit cave.