Stunning Santorini

By Allison O'Donoghue

Arriving in Athens at 0400-hours is an unusual experience, I was greeted by bleary-eyed staff, not in the mood to give directions to the location of customs. Thanks to the Olympics, all signage is written in English as well as Greek. 

At customs no questions were asked, our passports stamped: absolute silence. I found my way out the front to board the bus to Piraeus Port. I was in for a bumpy ride all the way to Athens; my bags were flung from one end of the bus to the other. I watched to see how the other passengers were reacting, they were, on edge, wide eyed, with breath held. No, this was not normal. So much so that early morning traffic on the freeway were tooting their horns in protest. I prayed we got to the Port alive. We did. After that harrowing trip I arrived at Piraeus at 0445-hours. So, 15 minutes ahead of time and in desperate need of a coffee, I headed to the nearest café that was open. The Blue Star ferry did not depart for Santorini until 0700-hours, so I had a long wait ahead. Breakfast was in order and a few more coffees, you can get tea (the’) however this is an alien concept to the Greeks and costs twice as much as coffee!

Santorini is 130 nautical miles from Athens, an 8 - hour ferry ride. If you get on the ferry early and find a good seat you can relax. The ferry is huge and carries hundreds of people, two cafés and many viewing platforms to observe the passing scenery, while stopping off to pick up more passengers from tiny islands on route. However, if you wish to fly to Santorini you can, it takes 1 ½ hours and lands in the military zone on the island. When you arrive at Athinios Port in Santorini you will be greeted by signs held up with the names of the hotels, if you are lucky they will drive you to your hotel. I wasn't so lucky, so I took a taxi up the steep treacherous mountainside. There is no meter in the cab and if there is, they don’t use them. You negotiate how much you are willing to pay, if the cab driver likes your bid he will take you, if not, you will have to negotiate higher.

I stayed at the Hotel Anny in Messaria, a tiny village 3.5 kilometres south of Fira (the capitol) the winemaking region of the island. The hotels are named after the families who run them. I had the hotel to myself, the pool was empty, and so was the bar. The brother and sister team running the hotel geared up for the onslaught of tourists.

Santorini is simply stunning and is only 96 square kilometres, so getting around is very easy on donkey, bus, or you can hire a car or quad bike, and the rates are relatively cheap. Negotiating the roads is dangerous and in some parts there are sheer cliff faces. My advice is to be very careful and take your time. 

Luckily, I arrived in late May before the influx of tourists. Perfect weather, beautiful cool nights and lovely warm days – what could be better? The semicircular shape of the island is the creation of volcanic eruptions (and is said to have wiped out the Minoans), which was active as far back as prehistoric times. The volcano is located on the west side, a steep, rocky mountain that plunges into the caldera, a semicircular lagoon. It is rumoured that the lost city of Atlantis is located in this region however, this is still up for debate. The cliffs surrounding the caldera range from 150 – 300 metres and consist of red and black rock and lava that were formed due to repeated eruptions.  

Sitting on the rim of the cliffs are the islands main villages, Fira, the capitol of Santorini and the beautiful seaside village of Oia, has many troglodyte houses carved out of the cliff-side by crews of the 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 very eyes.

Fira is located directly opposite the caldera and is the most expensive area of Santorini. You might want to up the ante on your credit cards when dining or buying jewellery from this area. This is where the rich and famous hang out. Views from the restaurant’s and cafés perched on the top of the cliff-side 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 & coffee will cost you a bit, but if you want cheap and cheerful then head to Perissa or Kamari beach.

Perissa and Kamari are the party beaches, they have numerous nightclubs, bars, cafés, restaurants and shops catering solely for the tourist. 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 Australian waitresses/waiters that live and work in Santorini.

For my money I could not go past the traditional Greek salad, the feta simply melts in the mouth, as well as the mesa plates of black olives, grilled eggplant and dips with pita bread. Absolutely delicious!

The beaches are lined with grass reed umbrellas where the body beautiful strut their stuff, but don’t be put off; these are family beaches as well. The sand is black and course and very hard on the soles of your feet so bring your thongs and beware, the Mediterriean Sea is cold in May. The Mesa Vouno, a mountainous petrified volcanic lava flow, overshadows the beach at Perissa and still looks as ominous and threatening today as I imagine it did when it was in full flow.

Catching a boat from Perissa to Kamari is pretty cheap, once you get there you can hire a quad bike for the day, long as you have an international license. To hire a car for 3 days is costly, however check the petrol gauge, if it is empty point this out to the attendant and record it on your contract so you wont be hit again when you return the car. While in Kamari it is worth taking the treacherous, nail biting ride up to the ancient city of Thira (Thera). It is really narrow and takes some skill to squeeze two cars  past each other, like I said, nail biting.

Originally established by the Spartans as a fortified city perched high on the cliff with strategic vantage points to spot marauding pirates and invaders. In the 4th 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 and Persians to the Romans until a massive volcanic eruption wiped them and all the surrounding islands off the map.

Everyone speaks English on Santorini so you wont have any trouble with the language. Albeit, you will need to be very weary of the local teenage bike riders as they tear around the island at break neck speed. Thankfully, you can hear them coming as they puncture holes in the muffler to make them sound more souped-up. As an incentive to do well in school they are given bikes but have become the scourge of the island for both tourists and locals shop owners alike and that is literally the only problem you will encounter.

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

Santorini is a stunning island full of surprises, definitely worth the trip.