Santorini

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The ferry from Athens pulled into port at 7:00a or something. People filtered off the ship to their rides. We didn't have a ride that we knew of. We found a taxi after scanning the pick-up vans for all the other hotels. The friendly driver took us to our prearranged hotel in Kamari. We were too early to unload in our room, so we headed off to find a restaurant.

The beach was 2 blocks away and it was easy to find a restaurant there. Whaddaya know, they were all outdoor restaurants. The one we chose served us absolutely terrible eggs and charged us a mint. So far the food had not been impressive.

After breakfast our room was still not ready, so we took a long and needed nap by the side of the pool. We awoke to a ready room and unpacked. The staff warned us to close the windows when we weren't in the room because the wind could really whip through.

Finally settled, now let's have some fun. We found a tour operator down the road and booked ourselves for tomorrow's "Santorini in a Day" tour. Today we would rent a motorscooter and tour a part of the island ourselves. After a quick trip around the block by myself I was refreshed enough on my motorcycle skills to allow Kelly to ride with me. We took off and headed for the Monastery at the top of the highest hill.

To get there we had to pretty much go around the whole mountain. We stopped plenty of times for scenic views and eventually found our way to the top. The Monastery was a little white church like all the rest of them accept it was behind a fence. A sign asked that we not take any pictures of the military installation up there. We investigated a path that led towards the ocean. It was very hot outside and the path was desolate, so that idea was abandoned.

Our motorscooter wouldn't start. Great. A passer-by told us it was probably overheated and that we just had to keep trying. Eventually it kicked-in, and we were on our way back down the hill.

On the way back to Kamari we stopped in Pyrgos. This was the best part of the entire trip! Pyrgos is a little town that ascends the hillside. The only road brushes the side of the town at its base. The rest of the town is accessible only by foot (or donkey) up the meandering staircase paths. Pyrgos was the prototypical Greek village -- lots of small, pristine white houses with lots of blue trim. There was a small yard where a very old woman dressed entirely in black was hanging her laundry to dry. There were a number of churches and bell towers. What made this place so much fun was its quaintness and charm -- no souveneir shops, authentic, and non-touristy.

Kelly and I separated to go take our own pictures and couldn't find each other for 15 minutes in the labrynth. She made it to the top where she found a donkey tied to a tree and decorated with a hand-woven bridle (in the coming days we saw plenty of family-owned donkeys). We burned a lot of film in this quaint little town. Kelly's pictures turned out way better than my disappontments.

When we found each other again, we went back down the narrow stair-paths to our motorscooter. An outdoor restaurant sold water, of which we were running short. We stopped to rest and have a drink before heading back to Kamari.

Back in the hotel we cleaned up and went to the beach for dinner. We ate at an outdoor restaurant, of all places. Kelly tried baklava for the first time and really enjoyed it.

Greece is known for its stray cat and dog population. They were prevalent in Santorini, mostly around mealtimes. Surprisingly though, the animals were well-behaved. They never accosted you for food instead waited patiently on the sidelines hoping for a scrap.

After dinner we walked all along the beach past many touristy souvenier shops and outdoor restaurants. One of the restaurants we passed proudly displayed their selection of fresh squid and fish. I was sickened. The beachwalk was really alive at night compared to the day. I don't know where everyone was during the day, probably sleeping or out on motorbikes.

The beach was a black-sand beach, actually more like pebbles than sand. Not really a place where it would be comfortable to put your towel down and lie around. Lounges and umbrellas adorned the beach -- you could rent them if you wanted to use them.

The next day we boarded our tour bus for our "Santorini in a Day" tour. Our first stop was Akrotiri, a 3000 year old city buried beneath volcanic ash. It surprised us that all excavation activity was sheltered beneath a corrugated tin building. It made for a stuffy visit.

The guides said that no skeletons had been found, implying the citizens had warning to escape the devastation. They also supposed that the fleeing people could have been later killed by a tsunami if they rowed/sailed in the wrong direction. Nobody knows what happened.

Akrotiri was a pretty advanced society. They had 2-story homes, indoor plumbing (a hole in each house that led to drainage underneath the streets), and cable TV. Just kidding about the last part.

Archeologists discovered many pots. Many were in excellent condition spared from the volcanic ravages hid safely beneath the beds. They presume the citizens placed them here on purpose as if they were expecting to return. The pots were believed to store food.

Our next stop on "Santorini in One Day" was the caldera island of Nea Kameni. Our ship landed and we took a brief hike to the top were it was excessively windy. From the top of the caldera you could see the little white houses on Santorini's cliff shores -- they looked like snow! You could walk to the bottom of the shallow caldera quite easily.

Our next stop was supposed to be the hot springs, but it was too windy to navigate there safely. We skipped the springs and continued in the ship to Thirasia, another island across from Santorini. Very few inhabitants lived at the top of the steep hill that we hiked up. We could have paid to ride the donkeys up, but we were ready for the challenge. At the top of the hill, we had lunch at a friendly outdoor restaurant where the proprietors' broken English found the word "please" after every sentence: "Hello please." "Sit down please." "Menu please?" "Thank you please." Somehow this habit worked its way into our own private vocabulary!

Our final stop was Oia (Ee-ah), back on Santorini at the northern tip. Oia is famous for its sunsets, and that's the time we were arriving. Another huge staircase awaited our ascent; Kelly took the donkey this time while I hiked. The donkeys knew exactly where they were going and needed no direction from their passengers. The donkey ride ended short of the top, and there were still about 100 stairs left for everyone to take. Boy were people complaining about that!

Oia was windy, too. We hunted for the prime sunset photo spot and very patiently awaited the extravaganza. Many people were staking out their claims around the city themselves. The residents of Oia must be sick of this daily pilgrimage, but I guess tourism is where the money is made. It seemed like an eternity before the sun uneventfully dipped beneath the approaching cloud bank and sunset was over. We made our way back to the bus and somehow got lost on the way. Luckily the tour guide recognized us on the road and had the bus driver stop to collect us.

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Mick@micktravels.com

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