Stunning Santorini - Greece.

STUNNING SANTORINI

Speechless in Santorini

By Allison O’Donoghue

"The island of Santorini is one of the most impressive of the Greek islands. The site of the mythical city of Atlantis and the massive volcanic eruption responsible for wiping out the ancient Minoans.

I took my ungrateful 19-year-old son to Santorini for one week. He whinged, whined, and complained endlessly. The poor boy, what a chore - get me out of paradise!

We rode around on a quad bike, my unfortunate son pillion passenger, harrumphing all the way. We made our way up a steep cliff face and stopped to watch the sun set over the caldera, a circular lagoon. I turned to look at my son and to my shock his mouth was open and for once he was gobsmacked. I looked at the sun and gave thanks. Finally, my son let go and drank in the beauty. Speechless in Santorini. Bliss!"

2010 winning entry of an Australian National Travel writing competition.

Escape Travel.

Story and photography by Allison O’Donoghue

Fira

Greece

Arriving in Athens at the ungodly hour of 0400 is an unusual experience. We’re glad to be on terra firma after the plane was hit by lightening, a terrifying experience, all we wanted was the plane to land. The airport was dark, but we felt safe and relieved to be alive, thrilled to be in Greece however, there's not a soul in-sight, bar a few bleary-eyed skeleton-staff not in the mood to give directions to customs. Everyone split up in all directions, so my son and I winged it, thanks to the Olympics, all signage is written in English as well as Greek so we headed straight to customs.

Little did we know (always wanted to use that line) there was more in store to focus the mind!

At customs, beaming with excitement - no questions asked, barely any eye contact other than checking that the photo in my passport matched my face. Passports stamped in absolute silence - no - 'Welcome to Greece. Have a lovely holiday'.  We find our way out the front to board the bus to Piraeus Port. We were in for a bumpy ride all the way into Athens. The bus driver decided we needed to get to the Port at breakneck speed. I watch in horror as my bag is flung from one end of the bus to the other. No way could I get up and rescue it, regardless of the pleading looks from the passengers. Everyone is fully awake, eyes wide open, clinging to their seats, terrified, except for my son who appeared to be asleep or pretending to be. No - this is not normal. So much so, my feeling of unease is confirmed by the early morning traffic on the freeway, tooting their horns and shaking their fists in protest at the driver. He was a madman.

Piraeus Port - Athens

I’m not big on praying, but I started to pray we get to the Port alive. Phew! After that harrowing trip we arrived at Piraeus Port at 0445 hours -15 minutes ahead of time. Desperate for a coffee, we head to the nearest cafe. Thankfully one is open. The Blue Star ferry departs for Santorini at 0700, so we have a long wait ahead. Breakfast was in order with a few more coffees later. Tea (the’) is an alien concept to the Greeks and costs twice as much as coffee so buy some at the local store - it's much cheaper. I'm a big tea drinker, so buying local tea was a smart move.

Santorini is 130 nautical miles from Athens, an 8-hour ferry ride or a 1½-hour flight. I recommend you get on the ferry early to secure a good seat and relax. The ferry is huge, accommodates hundreds of people and has two cafes with many viewing platforms to observe the passing scenery, with frequent stops to pick up more passengers from tiny islands along the way. Unfortunately, there are no sleeping berths so sitting up for 8 hours is uncomfortable. I recommend you do a lot of laps of the ferry to stretch your legs.

All aboard!!

We hook up with some Canadian and American students, playing cards and drinking Heineken with the group of archaeology students, much to my son’s pleasure. All I wanted was to sleep. By this stage I’ve been awake for 24hrs and flagging fast. Ferry food is average and expensive. However, if you wish to fly to Santorini it takes 1½ hrs and lands in the military zone. If there’s a next time, I’m flying.

After hours of nothing but beautiful blue, blue mediterriean sea, suddenly sharp volcanic cliffs jut out of nowhere, a sign we have arrived. Athinios Port in Santorini looms large nestled under the cliff. It’s hot, very hot. We’re utterly exhausted and just want to get on terra firma - again.

Fira

We finally we disembark the Blue Star ferry at 1600 hrs. Encouraged by greeting signs held up with various hotel names, we head straight for the Anny Hotel sign and directed to a mini bus and hop on, excited to finally be here and grateful to be heading to bed. Or so we thought. We're staying at the Hotel not the Studio so we’re unceremoniously turfed off the bus.

I ring the Hotel Anny, they assure me someone is on their way but an hour later, no one shows. Tired, hot and fed up, we take a taxi. There are no meters in the cabs and if there is, they don’t use them. You negotiate how much you’re willing to pay, if the cab driver likes your bid he’ll take you, if not, you will have to negotiate higher. We hold our breath as we head up the treacherous mountainside with nothing but sheer cliffface while negotiating huge tourist buses around hairpin bends. Fear coupled with excitement has been a constant companion since arriving in Greece. The further up the mountain we go the more beautiful the island becomes. which quells our anxiety. 

Hotel Anny - Messaria

The Anny Hotel is in Messaria, a tiny village 3.5 kilometres south of the capitol Fira, the winemaking region of the island. The hotels are named after the families who own them. Finally we check in, haul our luggage up two flights of stairs (no help) and flop on the bed, out cold until the following morning.

I woke up with swollen feet and ankles. I'm not surprised as I thought I'd get fluid retention from the long haul flight plus the long haul ferry ride. It's very painful, but we are only here for a week, so onwards and upwards. The best thing I can do is walk, walk, and walk it off.

The next day we get a chance to check out our digs. The website states 4 stars its more like 1½ at a stretch maybe 2, it's rustic and very basic but we don’t care, we won't be spending much time in the hotel. We venture out to discover we are the only guests in the hotel, translation, no breakfast available. We’re told, “You will have to go out for breakfast”. With the hotel to ourselves, the pool is empty and no breakfast bar, even though we paid for bed & breakfast! The brother and sister team running the hotel are gearing up for the onslaught of tourists. So, what are we? I thought as we were the first guests that maybe we’d get excellent service. Nope. More on that later.

Fira

It's late May and the weather is perfect, lovely warm to hot days with beautiful cool nights.

The semicircular shape of Santorini is the result of numerous volcanic eruptions, which was active as far back as prehistoric times, and is said to have wiped out the Minoans. The volcano is located on the west side, a steep rocky mountain that plunges into the caldera, a semicircular lagoon. It’s rumoured to be the lost city of Atlantis, some evidence is said to have been discovered in this region, however jury is still out. The cliffs surrounding the caldera range from 150 –300 meters and consist of red/black lava rock cliffs formed due to repeated eruptions. 

View from the top of Thira

Santorini is only 96 square kilometres so getting around is incredibly easy, either on a donkey (poor things, out of compassion, we didn't ride one.) or by bus. If you have an international drivers licence you can hire a car or a quad bike with relatively inexpensive daily rates. Negotiating the roads can be very, very dangerous and in some areas sheer cliff face. My advice, be extremely careful and take your time. We hired a car first at $90 eruo for 3 days. The petrol gauge is empty, I point this out to the attendant who grunts in acknowledgement, I annoy him further by writing ‘zero petrol’ on the contract and asking him to co-sign, lest I be charged upon return. I suggest you take a picture of the petrol gauge and the car, so you're not hit up for previous dings or made to pay for petrol you didn't get. 

Ruins of Thira

Sitting on the rim of the cliffs are the main villages. Fira, the capitol of Santorini is located directly opposite the caldera and the most expensive area of the island. You might want to cash up before dining or buying jewellery from this area. This is where the rich and famous hang out.

Views from the restaurants and cafes embedded on the top of the cliff are breathtakingly beautiful. The Mediterranean is as blue as you can imagine, however, from this vantage point you will pay for the privilege, a beer and coffee will set you back 15 ($30 AUD). It’s totally worth it, the view is stunning. The jewellery and gift shops in Fira are hellishly expensive, a small trinket can set you back a pretty penny. Albeit, it’s worth remembering that Santorini is only financially viable for 6 months of the year - the winter months are scarce so what they earn in spring/summer they live on throughout the winter months.

Sunset over the Caldera

If you want cheap and cheerful then head to the party beaches of Perissa or Kamari with numerous nightclubs, bars, cafes, restaurants and shops catering solely for tourists. If you desire a full English breakfast, pizza or spag bol this is where you come to satisfy your Western palate. I was surprised at how many Westerners live and work on the island. The wages are dirt-poor but the lifestyle/party factor is high and that’s why they stay. One Aussie worker told me he couldn’t save enough money to get home. The Greeks rely on the barter system, somehow but he can’t envision bartering his way off the island, he might be marooned on Santorini for life. Oh well, he could do worse than paradise, although being a small island has it's drawbacks with everyone knowing everything about everyone.

Perissa Beach

Lets talk food: simply put if you like fish then you’ll be in heaven. I love fish so I had my fill but for my money you can’t go past the traditional Greek salad, the fetta melts in your mouth and the mesa’ plates of black olives, grilled eggplant and dips with pita bread are mouth watering. I know you can get these dishes anywhere but there’s nothing like the real deal. I also love the simplicity of the Greek diet, with rudiment ingredients. Absolutely delicious! The waiter rolls his eyes when my son orders a pizza and spag bol. “Western kids won’t eat Greek food. Only European kids eat Greek food.” However my kid was 19 and his palate should have developed a bit more by now.

Cafe' at the village of Oia

The beaches are lined with grass reed umbrellas where the body beautiful strut their stuff, but don’t let that put you off; these are family beaches as well so you'll feel at home.The sand is black, course and very hard on the soles of your feet so wear thongs/sandals and be warned - the Mediterranean is icy cold in May. 

Seaside village of Oia

The Mesa Vouno, at Perissa is a mountain of petrified volcanic lava flow which overshadows the beach and still looks as ominous and threatening today as I imagine it did when it was in full flow.

Volcanic rock formation

We spend the first 3 days driving around the island, exploring every inch and as strange as this may sound I did get lost a number of times or ended up in the same spot over and over again. How? I don’t know, its not like the island is that big!.

Catch a boat from Perissa to Kamari once you get there you can hire a quad bike for 20 for 24hrs, excellent value. While in Kamari it‘s worth taking the treacherous, nail biting ride up to the ancient city of Thira (Thera). It’s a very narrow, one car road and takes some skill to squeeze two cars past each other without one cascading down the cliff. 

I screamed all the way up and all the way down the mountain, much to my son's disgust.

Ancient city of Thira

The Spartans originally established Thira as a fortified city perched high on the cliff with strategic vantage points to spot marauding pirates and invaders. In the 4^th century BC the ancient city of Thira was transformed into an Egyptian naval base with an established garrison.The area has been inhabited for centuries from the Minoans to Persians to Romans until a massive volcanic eruption wiped them, and all the surrounding islands off the map.   

The beautiful seaside village of Oia has many troglodyte houses carved out of the cliff-side by crews from merchant ships for their families.The restaurants in Oia perch right on the waters edge and serve fresh seafood fished out of the Mediterranean right before your eyes. The food is divine and the sunset is magnificent.

Everyone speaks English on Santorini so you wont have any trouble with the language. However, you will need to be weary of the local teenage bike riders as they tear around the island at breakneck speed. Don’t worry, you’ll hear them coming, they puncture holes in the muffler to make the bike sound louder. To be honest, it’s quite irritating; the noise smashes the beautiful ambience like a sledgehammer, especially at night when they gather in large groups. They're bored out of their minds, my advise just keep out of their way.

Kamari Beach

Santorini stands out from the other Greek islands due to striking characteristic architecture. The beautiful white washed buildings with blue dome roof dugout structures illustrate the ingenuity of the locals in exploiting the environment in search of easy, inexpensive housing establishing the islands uniqueness.The churches on Santorini, although very much a part of the islands cubist architectural style show Western influences in their relatively large size otherwise most of the housing is rather small, and built deep underground for comfort in the hot summer and cold winter months.

Under construction

Lighthouse

Oia

Cable car

Now back to the hotel. In the end it didn’t matter that we were totally ignored by the sibling owners. We had a great time, entertained ourselves but it's safe to say we’ll try somewhere else, if there’s a next time. Do your research and don’t always trust what the flyer says. It's all about experiences and Santorini was a wonderful, memorable experience and one I’m so glad I got to share with my son, even though he spent the first 3 nights gambling with Albanians at a sleazy bar, nursing Ouzo hangovers. Anyway, I nipped that in the bud, plus he ran out of money, I'm still glad we shared a week on Santorini. 

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www.santorini-greece.biz

Karmari Beach