Chapter 4 - Santorini - My Favorite

Chapter 4 - Santorini
Tuesday – 9/16/08
As we sat on the balcony, the breeze is constant. It is called “The Meltemi”, and really is what keeps us from falling over with heat exhaustion. If one can find shade, the breeze keeps it bearable. Rather scrubby trees dot the landscape, with even higher hills than Mykonos, though they aren’t quite mountains. Minimal ground coverage, but there are tended bushes full of fragrant flowers all over. The air smells of a slight sweetness all the time.

It was amazing how much sun my legs absorbed in just the couple of hours on the beach yesterday. I didn’t put sunscreen on them and they didn’t burn! Dick’s sea urchin injuries are resolving well.

Paros has been a nice relaxing part of the trip. We are taken back to the port to wait. As we look in the Fodor’s book, we see that Santorini will be similar to Mykonos & we make note to visit a winery there right away…We will be on a slow ferry today, starting about 12:00 and arriving about 3pm.

Waiting at the dock for the boat, a woman sitting next to me on the stone wall strikes up a conversation. Her name is Gabrielle, a woman in her 50’s, who is traveling by herself. She tells me it’s not her first solo trip. She is German and is a social worker. She says some countries aren’t the best for traveling alone as a woman, but Greece was fine. We talked easily for the hour wait….Her English was so good, there were only a few times I had to help her with a word. She was going to Naxos, our first ferry stop. She said it was her favorite and encouraged a visit there. I gave her the name & title of Randy Pausch’s book to pick up. What fun to hear of other people’s lives. Her grown son, also a SW in Germany, was about to be married & I told her of Sam & Jenny’s upcoming wedding after our return. She had just gotten a floater ticket on the ferry since it was just an hour to her port. So we wished each other safe travels & parted ways. The slow ferries are huge & loaded with people. I had taken a walk around the deck after we departed the port and found it VERY wamr on the uncovered dock. I didn’t see Gabrielle again to invite her down by us on our air-conditioned level that had empty seats.

Our 2 more hours to Santorini passed quickly in our “air seats” on the ferry. All the accommodations and transportation vehicles that Fantasy Travel in Athens arranged for us have really surpassed my expectations. Santorini begins to come within view and I notice that elevation is significantly higher here! The white hotels cling to the cliffs of the island. The cityscapes look like Lego toys in the distance. As we pulled into port, it was smaller than expected. It bustled with activity, but the buildings were shorter and fewer in number than Mykonos’ port. We grabbed our luggage & hauled it down the 2 motionless escalators. We were becoming experienced with hauling this luggage around! As we waited in the hull for the ferry to dock, it was warm, with foreign voices all around buzzing with expectation. Then, the familiar grind of the engine in braking & the ramp descended.

Behind the small buildings was sheer rock in many different colors & textures in layers. We stood with our heads cranked clear back to see the top! Then, our driver was there to take us on another Mercedes Benz bus to our hotel, the Volcano View Villas. Our driver, a Bosnian man, was more talkative than some of the others. He pointed up & across the bay & said, “There is where you will stay”. Honestly, it took my breath away as it sat on the sheer edge off the cliff so high. He drove the switchbacks expertly & I had to put the SeaBands back on to keep my tummy in check. The buses have to pull wide and into oncoming traffic when switching back and forth to climb the heights of the shoreline. About 15 minutes later, we pulled up to VVV & he hauled our luggage to the modern, white marble lobby to check in. After checking in, he negotiated our bags down a couple of crazily organized narrow flights of stairs that joined the rooms all perched on the side of the cliff. This was actually on the outside rim of the volcano, and the edge dropped hundreds of feet down into the deep water below. In the center of the bay water rose a dark, barren land mass that was described as “the nipple” of the volcano. It’s high point was lower than the rim that we were on. It appeared deserted on the nipple, without the familiar blue & white structures. The volcano last erupted in 1956, and sent surviving Santorini residents to neighboring islands for the 2 years that it took for the sulfur & ash to dissipate and become livable again.

Our room was a lovely suite. The bathroom had a Jacuzzi tub. Our veranda, with table and chairs, overlooked Nea Kameni (the nipple), on this west side of Santorini.

After settling in, we decided to check out the winery that had been pointed out by our driver. We walked back down the road, heading South to the road that he indicated was the winery road. Have I mentioned that the Greeks drive like maniacs? We really were aware of traffic flying by us as we walked. The winery road ended up being an incline of at least a 45 degree angle & so when stopped to take a breath, we took more pictures!

Finally, we reached our destination that had such a beautiful view off their expansive veranda. Unfortunately, we missed the winery tour hours, but they still served patrons. We ordered a tasting of 6 wines of theirs, Santo Wines. The platter came with firm, strong-flavored white cheese cubes, a small bowl of dark olives, dry toast croutons, and a tomato/olive dipping sauce. We both enjoyed the last dessert wine the best, “Vin Santo” and got an additional glass to share sitting on the veranda enjoying the volcano view.

While sitting, a group of Orthodox monks in their black robes, all about 30-40 years old, came in for some refreshment. That’s one of the enjoyments of the trip for me…suddenly seeing unusual, unexpected things.

Refreshed, we started back down the road, now about 7:30 pm. Carefully descending the hill in the darkening sky, we decided to stop at Zorba’s Mexican Restaurant! Yes, really! We sat down on the outdoor veranda. Our waitress came and we immediately detected her American accent. Asking about it she said she’d met a Greek man in a Colorado college. She said, “He was cuter when he was 22!” Now 32 years later, they were here and their son was in college in Colorado!

After our meal, we got back to the room, exhausted and satisfied with the day’s adventure.
Wednesday – 9/17/08

The most difficult thing about the trip is keeping up with the journal! We get back from adventures & have just enough energy to shower & lay down! At breakfast, I enjoyed my first bit of Greek yogurt, mixed with peaches, raisins, & a bit of jam to sweeten it up. The yogurt is a higher fat content, but so delicious.
After breakfast, we prepared for the morning tour of the volcano we had arranged the previous evening. A bus picked us up and others to take us back to the port. We boarded a smaller ferry there and sat on chairs that were secured on the deck. We took off on the clear blue water to the west side of Nea Kameni, the island nipple of the volcano. That side had a small port where some of the people jumped off the side of the boat & swam to a cove that had hot springs. Closer to shore the spring areas turned into mud pits. We had brought our suits along, but decided that the 30 minutes allotted to this activity wouldn’t be worth the trouble. We were amused by the people who came back, some with errant mud on their faces & bodies. The WC’s onboard weren’t very clean, so people wrapped towels around themselves & changed their clothes on deck.
Then we took off for the north end of the nipple and came into another port. We were tied up to a bigger boat that allowed us to walk across their deck to the dock on shore. It was so barren on the island, very few living things were evident. Our “guide” said he’d meet up with us & we all started up the path to the top. We climbed and climbed, each step making me wonder if I’d really make it to the top! I’m not sure how high the elevation was, but I’ve not climbed as high in such sun and heat. There were points indicated on a brochure, although I never saw the signs for the last couple of points. We’d rest intermittently, letting younger, faster climbers get past us on the loose stone path. We finally made it to the top, just as the guide was starting to give the information about the volcano. Of course, we took many pix and basked in the success of the climb! I’m so glad I’d been working out harder lately!
There was no smoke from the center, or signs of activity from the volcano. We did catch a strong whiff of sulfur as we walked on the east side where the rocks were yellow-tinged in color. After a bit of walking around, we started back down…easier, but we had to watch our footing on the various rocks on the path.
Back on the boat, we both enjoyed a Coke that never tasted so good! The return ride on the ferry was beautiful & we got back to our waiting bus at the port.
Famished, we enjoyed lunch in the hotel & a siesta in the room. Washing our faces, we got ready to see the black beach, called Kameri, expecting to cool ourselves off in the water. The hotel van took us to Thira to catch the public bus to the beach. A 10 minute ride & we were dropped off…No signs pointed to the beach, so I asked if anyone knew the way. A woman with a German accent said, “This way…”, so we followed down the street strewn with shops & tavernas.
Arriving at the beach, we found that the dark sand was not smooth as expected, and ranged from coarse sand to actual black pebbles. Not many people were swimming since this southeast side of the island was now in the shade of the massive cliffs surrounding it barring the sun this late afternoon. We sat for a few minutes on lounge chairs to relax. I noticed there were cigarette butts ALL OVER. You couldn’t walk 6 inches without stepping on one. I told Dick that it wasn’t “sand”, it was ashes that made up this beach. How sad that people were so thoughtless. Even at the volcano, empty water bottles littered the bottom of the craters.

Along the shoreline, shops lined the street & we perused a bit, then headed back to the bus stop. We stopped in a bakery & grabbed a couple of ham & cheese baked items and an apple for our supper at the hotel. The bakery owner treated us to a baked custard-filled phyllo dough sweet that dripped with honey. It really was delicious. Just as we left the bakery, our return bus arrived and we were transferred back to Thira where a VVV van then returned us to the hotel.

Stopping at the mini-market for more drinking water, we enjoyed our bakery goodies for supper. We fell asleep easily with all the activity of the day.