Day 6 - All-Terrain Adventures

This morning we were rudely awakened at 5:30 AM by the noise of a screeching rooster that screamed for the next two hours solid - it was not a normal sounding rooster either, it sounded pretty demented. Doug took a sunrise walk while Sarah tried to get a little more sleep. Around 8:00 we both showered in the communal bathrooms and got ready, then headed up the hill to central Fira to get some breakfast. After some indecision, we decided to sit outside at a place called Corner. We ordered fresh-squeezed orange juice and this time we were not disappointed - it came in a wine glass, thick with pulp and the top covered with a fresh orange slice, neon colored straws sticking though the middle. The menu was very appetizing - an array of delicious-sounding crepes and waffles. Both of us decided to get a waffle that was covered with walnuts, honey, sugar, whipped cream, strawberries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with an animal cracker. It was both impressive and delicious.
After eating we stopped by a place called Moto Chris to rent an ATV for the day. We had seen tons of people riding them and they seemed like a fun and convenient way to explore the island. It cost us 20 Euro for the day, so we rented a yellow one and got the rundown on how to use it.
We decided to drive to Oia (ee-uh) on the northern tip of the island, whereas Fira is fairly central. The ride took about 25 minutes and we stopped along the way to switch drivers and take some caldera-view pictures. We drove down a steep hill to get to Ammoudi, the quintessential little Greek port. After some pictures, Doug push-started us and we were off on our slow descent back up the hill, pedal to the metal. Back in town we searched for snorkel goggles, found two pairs for 1 Euro each, and headed off to find a beach. We searched for about half an hour for a beach called Pori, winding through fields of grapes and hill-top houses. We eventually found a tiny little rocky beach, but it wasn't really swimable and there was no snorkeling so we got back onto the ATV and, thoroughly sunburned by this point, opted to try and find another beach called Vilchada. We got way lost going through the island's central valleys, but somehow ended up there eventually. There was striking sand cliffs above the beach, but our eyes were directed more to the very elderly, very nude couple visiting the beach with their granddaughter. The beach was nice but the water was again chilly and I was pretty burnt, so we didn't stay long and headed back to the campsite.
Once back at the campsite we went to the pool again, did some laundry, and I took a nap until about 7:30 PM. Then we returned the ATV and went back to the same pasta place since we were tired and I was embarrassed about looking like a lobster. This time we shared a cheese tortellini out by the pool and hit the sack (quite literally, sack being sleeping bag) pretty early.