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Published: September 16th 2007
We woke up this morning at anchor in the caldera at Santorini, Greece. After going up the wrong set of elevators, we decided to eat breakfast at the Aqua Spa instead of the main restaurant - fewer people, healthier food - all round, a good mistake! Because we were getting ashore via tender boats, we had to get our tender tickets in the theatre - we picked up our tickets and were on tender #3 - and #2 had just left. Our timing was great!
The tender boat dropped us at the very small port at the bottom of a very steep cliff. We had the choice of taking the gondola up the cliff, riding a donkey up the switch-back path, or walking (sharing the path with the donkeys.) We chose a 1-way ticket up on the gondola - and had no queue! Within minutes, we were at the top of the cliff, in the centre of the town of Fira.
Tom’s mind was set on renting a 4-wheel ATV for the day (recommended by the events coordinator on the ship) and so we started by searching out our vehicle. Within 30 minutes we were helmeted and looking for
Oia one of the 250 churches on the island
Oia one of the 250 churches on the islandgas. After a quick fill, we headed toward the town of Oia - recommended by many as the most picturesque town in all of Greece. We followed signs and ended up on a nearly-deserted road along the far side of the island. It was a good way for us to get used to the 4-wheeler without having to share the road with cars and busses.
As soon as we made it into town, we parked the “bike” and started off on foot. Once we rounded the first corner in town, we were awestruck by the beauty of the stark white and light pastel-coloured buildings against the blue sky and dark sea of the caldera. Each turn in the street brought a new breathtaking view. There were few tourists in Oia at this hour of the morning, so we really enjoyed a relaxed exploration of the beautiful town. Most houses are white and perched on the side of the cliff overlooking the caldera and the bubbling volcano. Some of the houses are light pastel colours… peach, blue, yellow… with dark accents around the doors and windows. There were churches everywhere - generally small single rooms, but nearly always topped with
a bright blue domed roof and white cross. All the roofs and lines of the buildings are curved - giving a beautiful, calming feel to the entire town.
After lunch at a small restaurant looking over the caldera, we jumped back on the 4-wheeler and made our way to Kumari beach - it was packed! The beach itself was long and filled with black volcanic sand which was too hot to walk on in bare feet. We hadn’t really realized the heat of the day until now - the breeze from the 4-wheeler had been keeping us quite comfortable until now.
Our last destination was the opposite side of the island, to try and get a panoramic view of both Fira and Oia at once. We got part way to Akotiri and stopped for a cold drink… once again, overlooking the caldera. Unfortunately, time was short and we had to return the vehicle. We had a little bit of time to explore Fira before finding our way back down to the port and the tender boats. As we explored the line for the gondola, we decided it was too long to wait, and headed for the donkey trail.
Oia church and bells
Oia church and bells Sharing the 300+ steps with the donkeys was not the most pleasant experience since we had to be very careful where we stepped, and the smell wasn’t great either! It took us an hour to make it down, get a spot on the tender boat and step back on the ship for the night.
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