May 15: Exploring the island of Santorini - Part 1

After a marvelous sleep (peace and QUIET), we merely had to pick up the phone to call Andreas and he brought our breakfast to us on our PRIVATE terrace! Lovin' it! Very substantial - coffee, juice, hard cooked eggs, gorgeous thick Greek yogurt and dark honey (the Greek staple) and a variety of baked goods. Tasty and filling.


The plan was to spend the next two days getting to know the REAL Santorini - that is the smaller villages and areas AWAY from the busy hub of Thira. It is possible to take local buses to various locations around the island but this requires a great deal of time and patience since the schedule is very "flexible" and we didn't want to spend any of our precious time waiting around. So we arranged for a rental car to be dropped off close to our hotel so we could make a quick getaway. The cost was 40euros per day including FULL coverage which is important. We also put in about 30euros worth of petrol (1.27euro per litre - MUCH more expensive everywhere in Europe).

Once again, the weather was flawless as we headed off toward the southern tip of the island. First stop was PERISSA BEACH with its black sand beaches and gorgeous water. MANY happy memories of lazy days spent here in my youth! We had a lovely walk on the beach and soaked up the scenery. Very dramatic - tucked in beneath ragged hills and dry landscape. The water was FREEZING so neither of us went in although Karel stuck his feet in. YIKES!




We stopped for a coffee at one of the MANY beach side cafe's and soaked up the atmosphere. It's still a great place to go - from where we sat, we spotted an ancient monastery HIGH above us. HOW and WHY did they do this??? Insideour taverna were some amazing old paintings - like this one.

Santorini has a fascinating history - one that makes it unique in every sense of the word! The island was formed by cataclysmic geological spasms which shook the entire Aegean. The volcano on Santorini sank the central part of the island and created an enormous underwater crater which was 83 square miles wide - called the CALDERA. (apparently there are only two such calderas in the world - the one in Santorini and one in China which is not inhabited).

History tells us that this cataclysmic eruption caused tidal waves which destroyed the most influential nation of the time - CRETE - and the entire Minoan culture. According to a local pamphlet I picked up "after this there were many more eruptions during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. During all these eruptions emerged the is;ands of Old and New Kameni as well as the small island of Thirasia. According to Heodotus the Phoenics and later the Doric colonists settled the island. The Doric leader was THIRA and from him the island took its name"

In 275 AD "Santorini took its name after the church of St Irene, in 1537. On May 5th 1820 Vagelis Matzarakis raised it flag of revolution in Thira and in 1830 with a protocol of London, it was joined with the newly established country of Greece"

Anyway, I loved this old painting - imagining what it was like to arrive at THIRA by ship in 1782 and seeing those windmills that are STILL an iconic symbol in the Cyclades Islands of Greece!

Carried on further south to RED BEACH - which is very close to AKROTIRI which we did NOT visit this time but which I HAD visited in 1984. It is an ancient Minoan city being excavated (a VERY long process) and is amazingly preserved under many layers of rock. Karel and I didn't go this time but it is an interesting place to visit if you are looking for some ancient history!

Red Beach is a LOT of work to get to - but uncrowded and very serene because of this!
Karel and I took a picnic with us and just chilled and relaxed there for an hour or so. Once again, the water was FAR too cold to go swimming although (I have to admit it) there were several people in there cooling themselves off. Hmmm - it would have been nice to rent a couple of loungers and we DID ask about the cost. I think it was fairly average - 5 euros each for the loungers and 5 euros for the one umbrella - so overall it wasn't tooooo bad. Certainly NOT like the French Riviera. But we didn't - just did it all AU NATURALE!