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Published: August 6th 2007
Inviting?
You can see where they get the colours for the Greek flag.To everyone who told us that we really should go to Santorini; thanks. We arrived exhausted and wondering if we would be able to get accomodation. The boat seemed to pull into the side of an enormous black cliff. For a moment it appeared as if we would have to either fly (difficult without wings) or get out the climbing equipment and start scaling the cliff face. On closer inspection, each of the buildings that lined the port turned out to be either an accomodation booking agency or car rental. Ten minutes later we were sitting in the courtesy van on the way to our hotel. In another ten, we were lazing by the pool and admiring the view.
Santorini was formed by the volcano that destroyed the Minoan civilisation on Crete. When you look out over the sea at Fira, it is easy to see the origins of Santorini. The whole island forms a giant ring (caldera is apparently the correct scientific term) around a central plug of black lava. It must have been some cataclysm when it blew.
This is a great place to do nothing. The hotel is not busy and is five minutes walk to
Fira
Perched precariously above the blue the centre of the capital (Fira). After we had spent a few hours rejuvenating, we hired a quad bike (thanks Jess) and had fun putt-putting around the island. The views here are phenomenal. All stark black cliffs, white white buildings and deep blue seas. You can drive nearly all the way around the place in under an hour. Rest is the most appropriate response.
After the second day, our feet have almost stopped hurting. Nearly three weeks into our Grecian odyssey, we have sampled most things on the 'traditional Greek fare' menus. We are now looking forward to the changes that Switzerland will bring.
By the way, we had a flying visit to Iraklion the day before we boarded the ferry for Santorini. The main aim was to visit Knosses and the musuem. Unfortunately, the museum was closed for renovations and access to the Knosses archeological site was limited because of ongoing maintenance work. Most of the site could still be reached, however, the parts that the guide book implored us not to miss were inaccessible. We tried to use the book's photographs as prompts for our imaginations but the whole event became a little tiresome and we
Santorini Scenery
You can see the volcanic plug on the right while the island curls itself around the edges of the huge volcano that gave it birth. left after only an hour or so. In truth, we weren't that disappointed - Richard tells me that he has been well and truly "stoned" on this trip.
A BIG PS
We didn't fly out as planned because when we arrived at the airport at 6am we discovered that all the planes had been grounded due to a baggage handler's strike in Athens. What a pity - stranded in Santorini.
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We were able to recover more by lazing around the pool. We hired a car and saw the parts of the island that we missed. We took a sailing boat out to the volcanic plug in the middle of the island ring, walked around the rim of the smoking volcano and swam in some hot (well tepid) springs. Ohh, and we met a few new friends - an expat Kiwi and part time Aussie resident who is currently residing in Iceland, and a Canadian couple who have kindly invited us to stay with them when we drop by Vancouver in July. AND, we managed to avoid the cold snap that put the snow on the Alps ready
for our sunny Switzerland sojourn. Things couldn't really have turned out any better.
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Cheryl
non-member comment
Holiday bliss
Santorini appears to be my type of holiday destination. Good food, beautiful surroundings, rest and relaxation. What more could you want? Richard it's good to see you haven't had to give up your chocolate addiction on this trip. It looked deliciously messy. I'm so envious of the foods you have been sampling along the way. Bring on Switzerland!