Island Odyssey: Greece2005

Our week on Naxos came to an end and we left for Santorini under gloomy, rain-filled clouds. Luckily by the time the Blue Star Ferry reached Santorini (also known as Thira), the skies had cleared enough to give us a good view of this spectacular volcanic island. Santorini's crescent shape was formed when the center blew out in 1450 BC. Strings of whitewashed houses cling to the top and spill down the sides like meringue on the caldera, the inside of the crescent. We docked at the new port of Athinios where buses and taxis waited for the hundreds of tourists getting off. A traffic jam was created when all these vehicles started up the side of the cliff and slowly negotiated the many switchbacks to the top, then drove to the main town of Fira, several Km away.

We had arranged to rent cars again but we had to take a taxi into Fira to find the Car Rental agency. Ray, Carolyn and I shared one vehicle with two other locals. The driver made a detour to the small village of Pirgos to let off one passenger. A three-piece band playing for wedding guests waiting for the bride to appear entertained us. The groom waited patiently, carrying a bouquet of flowers while several men carrying baskets threw paper wrapped gunpowder nuggets onto the ground causing noisy explosions. This is the way Greek weddings are announced.

By the time we reached Fira, the others were waiting, quite upset. The Car Rental Agency was closed and a notice on the door said it would not open until 5:30 PM. That left more than an hour to wait around. We tried to get a number to phone the agency to no avail. There was no choice but to retire to a outdoor cafe next door and to relax with a beer. The restaurant owner proved to be a most hospitable man and we ended up having an enjoyable break. We can't say the same for the Car Rental employee who was finally summoned. We thought he was in the wrong profession, as he certainly seemed to resent having to come back and provide us with cars. He claimed we were supposed to pick the cars up at 1:30 PM, before they closed for the afternoon, but the only ferry going between Naxos and Santorini at that time of year didn\rquote t leave until nearly 1 PM. At least the cars, a Nissan Micra and a larger Peugeot 260, worked out well.

Hotel El Theon, in Imerovigli, just north of Fira, proved to be a good choice. We had opted for a hotel overlooking the east side of the island rather than the caldera where we would have paid at least three times as much. We had three apartments, which we allocated on the basis of a draw. Jack and Jenni got the jackpot this time with a large two-room unit on the second floor with a double balcony. We others had smaller two-room units at garden level, but we were all very comfortable. Once again we had a lovely pool to enjoy, although it wasn't quite as warm as it had been in Naxos. Like Naxos, we developed a routine of eating out one meal and preparing another picnic style meal. One evening we ate at Stavros Fish Tavern in Imerovigli where we watched the famous sunset over the caldera and enjoyed one of our best meals.

Santorini had more to offer than just the caldera. One day we drove to Kamari, with a long black lava beach on the east coast. Ancient Thira sits 369 M above sea level on Mesa Vouna, a rocky headland next to Kamari. First inhabited by Dorians in the 9thC BC, it was subsequently inhabited by the Greeks and Romans until it was abandoned in the Byzantine period. Germans archaeologists started excavating the site in 1895, uncovering houses, temples and public buildings that once housed thousands of people. By the time we had driven up a narrow switch-backed road to a parking lot, Ray, Jack and I were the only ones who wanted to walk up higher to see the ruins. We were glad we did. It was a most impressive area although they must have been very concerned about their safety to choose such a precipitous site for the city.

We drove back to Kamari and had lunch in one of the many patio restaurants along the beach. Jack suggested we walk up to a chapel we could see half way up the hill. It was reputed to have the only spring on the island inside a cave next to the chapel. Ray and I were game, so off we went. It was a steep but relatively easy walk and we found the spring.

Oia (pronounced ee-ya) is the town on the north tip of Santorini. Sea Captains built their large houses on the cliff top while the ordinary seamen burrowed into caves in the cliff. To enlarge their homes they constructed concrete vaulted extensions to the caves. Oia was mostly destroyed in a 1956 earthquake but it has been entirely reconstructed with the once simple, traditional cave homes converted to the most expensive hotel rooms. Oia, with its narrow, winding streets was fun to explore. There is a hike along the edge of the caldera rim from Oia to Fira, a distance of 10 Km. Jack, Ray and I decided to walk back to Imerovigli from Oia, cutting off about 2 km. Most of the walk was on good paths and was very scenic. It took us 2-1/2 hrs, including breaks at some of the chapels along the way, and we were glad we had plenty of water and snacks.

Ancient Akrotiri, the "Minoan Pompeii" , was a city destroyed by the volcanic eruption in 1450 BC. Unfortunately the site was closed. About a week before we arrived a roof collapsed over an archaeological dig site and a person was killed. We drove to the site at the south end of Santorini but couldn't see anything. A sign just said it was closed for 'technical' reasons. We had a look at the nearby Red Beach, accessible by boat or by walking around a headland. The name derives from the red cliffs backing a narrow, pebbly beach. It was very windy at that end of the island so we weren't tempted to stay. We continued on to the extreme tip, Cape Akrotiri lighthouse to get the view, holding on to our hats in the wind.

We retraced our route and headed for Perissa Beach, another black lava beach on the other side of Mesa Vouna headland from Kamari. After a nice lunch in a Crepe restaurant on the beach we grabbed our suits and headed for a protected beach right next to Mesa Vouna. The black sand can be extremely hot in the summer but it was perfect for early October swimming. The waters were the warmest yet and the sand was quite fine.

Our last stop of the day was Santo Winery, a large co-operative winery on Santorini. More and more vineyards are being planted on Santorini as the rocky soil and warm climate is perfect for the grapes. We had a tour of this modern operation and then shared a tasting tray of six different wines. The speciality of the island is Vinsanto, an amber-coloured sweet dessert wine, much like port. We bought bottles of the local white and red wine plus a Vinsanto to have with our meals at the hotel. You can buy inexpensive local wines in 1.5 L plastic bottles or fill your own bottles from temperature controlled kegs. The white in plastic bottles was awful. I could only drink it well dilluted with tonic water. The white from the keg was a little better and the red was not bad but the commercial offerings were better.

All this beauty and popularity brings more development to Santorini every year and more and more cruise ships. Fira wasn't my favourite town, although the Museums of Akrotiri and Ancient Thira were very well done. There are an obscene number of very expensive jewellery stores in Fira and the narrow streets become impassable when many cruise ships disgorge their passengers at the port. Nevertheless we visited to use the internet and admire the churches. Jack, Jenni, Ray and I found Lucky's Souvlaki Shop for lunch one day. Much to our surprise one of the staff was wearing a Canada T-shirt. As well, they were cooking McCains french fries. Since the Burnhams are from Florenceville NB, the home of McCains, I had to get a picture. Lucky said he had posed with a fish or game he had shot but never a bag of french fries. Jenni said she would send the photo to Alison McCain, the current president.

Four of us, Jack, Jenni, Ray and I took a day boat ride to the outlying islands. Ray and I walked along the caldera path into Fira and down the switch-backed road to Skala, the Port of Fira, used by smaller (a relative word) cruise ships, yachts and excursion boats. Jack and Jenni took the cable car down and met us at the bottom. The road is the same one the donkeys use bringing tourists up to town, so we had to dodge donkey dung and donkeys the entire 2 Km down. About six cruise ships docked in the port that day and 90 % of the people were lined up to take the cable car up to Fira. It had to be an hour or more wait, what a zoo.

We opted to take the glass-bottomed Calypso to visit all three caldera islets. Our first stop was Nea Kameni (New Burnt), a still smouldering volcano although it hasn't erupted for 50 years. There are numerous paths over the barren black volcanic rock and signs explaining the formation of the island. There are some smoking fumaroles, but no molten lava to see. Our second island was the smaller Palea Kameni (Old Burnt). We anchored just offshore and everyone jumped off to swim a short distance to bask in hot springs that turned the water sulphur yellow. Since we had only a half-hour stop here and I didn't realize we could jump straight from the boat, Ray and I had left our suits behind. A mistake; it looked like fun although we weren't the only excursion boat and it was crowded.

Thirasia is the occupied island in the trio. It has a small permanent population of fishermen and restaurateurs who cater to the excursion boats. We had enough time here to walk up the cliff to the main town, wander around and come down for a beer by the water. Jack and Jenni stayed down at the dock and found a quiet place for a nice swim. A short distance from shore the boat stopped over a rocky ledge, really a barely submerged hill, to view the sea through the glass bottom. There were small fish around but I missed seeing an octopus. I guess they stay nearer the bottom.

Boat passengers had a choice of getting of at Oia, staying to watch the sunset and taking a bus back to Fira or staying on for the trip back to the port at Fira. We had been chatting to a couple from Victoria BC on the boat. When the boat stopped briefly at Fira, Brian started searching for his daypack. We thought that was very strange as we had been impressed how honest everyone had been in the islands. We had also been chatting to a woman from Ottawa who chose to get off at Oia. We soon realized that she too was searching for her daypack. She had taken the wrong one by mistake! The emergency was averted and we were on our way. Back in Fira, Ray and I opted to take the donkeys up to town while Jack and Jenni took the cable car. The donkey ride was fun and an experience. Picture a whole group of tourists, none of whom know how to lead a donkey, and donkeys, some of whom want to get to the top of the hill as quickly as possible and some who would rather mosey along and you get controlled chaos. We all made it to the top without falling off.

Our last day on Santorini we made a return trip to Perissa beach with a side-trip to the top of Profitis Ilias (Profit Elijah) the highest point on Santorini. We started up the steep road to the top just as multiple tour buses were coming down. The road was so narrow the buses had to pull off the road to let us pass. More buses were in the cramped parking lot near the top so we had to continue up to an even smaller parking place. The day was overcast and cool so the view wasn't even very good. We stayed only long enough to watch a hiking group start their descent down a path to Perissa Beach far below. That looked like the better route than the road out of there. Even Perissa was chilly. We all had a coffee to fortify us before we finally braved the waters. It was fine once we were in though.