November 17 - Santorini, Greece

When you see pictures of Greek islands they are probably taken at this beautiful place.  We’re anchored in what is a caldera of a still active volcano. Santorini, or Thira as it is sometimes called, is an island in the Cyclades, which also include the island of Mykonos which has windmills often seen in travel photos of Greece.  This is part of the South Aegean Volcanic Arc.  During the Bronze Age dating back to 3000 BC to sometime around 1650 BC there were settlements of the Minoan people here.  The Minoans are the people who built the palace at Knossos on the island of Crete and we know them because of the stories about the Minotaur in the labyrinth of Knossos.  Sometime around 1650 BC there was a major eruption here and the settlements were buried under mountains of ash and ejecta.

The island remained unsettled for centuries until sometime around the 9th century BC the Phoenicians founded a settlement. As time passed the Greeks came followed by the Romans, Ptolemaic Egyptians, and Ottomans.  During WWII first the Italians occupied Santorini and then after Italy surrendered the Germans took over.  There was evidently a British Special Boat Service commando raid on Santorini and the Germans killed a number of locals as reprisal for the raid.

We’re anchored below the town of Fira which is perched on the caldera’s cliffs about 1300 ft. above the water. It is spectacular to see.  The buildings are white-washed so they gleam in the sun and many of the roofs are painted blue.  Today we have an absolutely glorious day with  the temperature around 70* F.  We’re the only ship here so the narrow streets aren’t crowded at all.  I have been here in the summer when it’s very hot and there can be as many as 6 ships (some of them mega-ships) anchored here.  It’s truly not a wonderful experience then.  On the flip side because it’s the end of the season many shops and restaurants are closed.  On balance I’d rather have it this way.

That's Oia atop the cloff on the far side of the caldera

This is Fira perched above our anchorage

The path going up to Fira is not for the faint-hearted

To get ashore there is a tender service.  Once at the base of the cliffs you have 3 choices: 1) walk up the winding path which has around 580 steps or 2) ride a donkey up the same path or 3) take the cable car. I’ll let you guess which option I chose.

Once up in Fira I walked a little but it’s not the easiest walk because the streets are all cobbled and uneven and there are steps along the way.  I wandered a little and took some pictures but as I said  earlier I would estimate that at least 50% of the businesses were closed.  There is an interesting archaeological museum in another town but I’ve been there before so I didn’t feel a need to take a bus there.  The last time I was here I went to a cooking demonstration and to the other main town Oia but I didn’t need to do that again. Instead I found a little cafè that was open and had a drink and watched people go by.  Eventually I made my way back to the upper terminus of the cable car and headed back down to the tender and to my home away from home.

A street in Fira with a church at the topo

Not very busy

A few people browsing

My friend Hilary came here several years ago with her late husband and stayed for a couple of weeks in one of the hotels perched on and carved into the cliffs.  She’s a sun and beach lover so they had a wonderful time.  I’m not sure that would be something I’d enjoy because I no longer like basking in the sun.  I think a few days might be nice though and you can fly in here.  I think this would be an absolutely wonderful, romantic place for a honeymoon.

Tomorrow will be the last day for many of my shipmates.  As I mentioned yesterday our port was changed because of weather so we’re stopping in Nafplio.  They offered a tour to Epidaurus and Mycenae which I haven’t been to so I booked it.  I’m looking forward to that except that the tour begins at 8 AM which is way too early for me.  Such an early start will make dancing late tonight hard to do.  Oh well, we all have to make sacrifices.  

The town looked golden as the sun was setting