Scowering the Snow Covered Cliffs of Santorini

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Another early morning found me needing more sleep after a bit of a restless night in which neither of us seemed to be able to nod off. I made the brilliant decision to don my cargo pants shorts with its many deep pockets, some sealed by Velcro for keeping items secure. I’d wanted to where these out on tour before this, but some of the places, such as Ephesus made this impractical as some religious sites have dress codes that these pants simply wouldn’t meet. I got my shoes on, and then proceeded to put together everything we needed for the day and packing the backpack. I then couldn’t find my small wallet (the one with my room key a little money and a credit card). Then I remembered that it also had Sharon’s room key from the night before when we went to the Pinnacle because her pants didn’t have any pockets. I told Sharon I couldn’t find my small wallet that I take out on tours; and, she didn’t seemed too concerned. Okay, so maybe I do lose things all the time, for a bit, but I almost always find them again. The record time for me finding something again is 13 years when my gold Seiko watch (gift from my father) was lost when it slipped into the shrubs outside my former condo’s front door. I found it just before I sold the condo while doing a little landscaping, a gold glint caught my eye just before I was going to drive a shovel into the ground. A new battery and it worked just fine and I’ve used it these past fifteen years without any troubles! Sharon was busy with her email and photos and I think I was bothering her. When I said that her key was in the wallet as well, she was a little more concerned and a little more than irritated with me: “How could you be so…” Well you finish the sentence. We checked the safe, my pants, the closets, the clothes that need to be washed, my suit coat once, twice, thrice, even a fourth time… but no wallet. We moved the nightstands, checked under the bed. Sharon was about to have us go up to the front desk to get replacement cards when she asked an innocent question, “It’s not in your pants?” And I said we checked the suit. And she pointed at the ones I was wearing. Well, it wasn’t in the pocket on my left side where it is normally kept; but, evidently I slipped it into the pocket on the right. Today is starting well.

Sharon was put out by the time we’d wasted looking for the wallet, and she hadn’t gotten to do what she wanted on Facebook. Her cousin whom she hasn’t seen in 50 years is also cruising in the Mediterranean and we’ve missed being in the same port in Athens, Istanbul and Ephesus by just one or two days. But today, her Oceanic cruise and ours are both visiting Santorini and Sharon hoped that we might have another one of those planned accidental meetings; alas, I’ve put a monkey wrench into the mix. We hurried to the Lido: me for my oatmeal, fruit cup and banana, Sharon for her French toast.



Santorini is a tender port, so we were given our bus color/number stickers upon entering the Showroom. In Santorini cruise ships are required to use the local tender vessels. Our tour is called and we board a roomy tender, looking for an Oceana cruise ship. We spotted the “Mein Schiff” and a French vessel and another ship; but, no Oceana. We later learned that her cousin’s ship was to arrive around noon. It is quite a sight, seeing 4 cruise ships at anchor in the caldera left by an ancient eruption. During the peak during the summer up to 7 ships can be anchored here at one time, and the visiting tourists can double the population on the whole island. The cruises start arriving in March and continue into November. I’m thinking all of these cruise ships coming spending all this time in this seawater filled caldera… this is a scenario that doesn’t end well. In 1956 there was a 7.6 earthquake that leveled many of Santorini’s buildings. From the caldera side looking at the cliffs in front of me, I can see the sheer faces topped by tightly meandering white washed houses which look like reflective snow; especially when approaching from the sea. This is a land of conquest, where the random disarray of streets were once meant to confuse any invaders… and I’m wondering if the tourists are now the invaders! As an American it is hard to fathom a culture that measures its history in multiple hundreds of years. There is the 300 year period of Venetian occupation. That was followed by 300 years of Byzantine occupation. And even these; although, many centuries back have left their mark visible even today. For example, under the Byzantine rule the denizens of Santorini were forbade from displaying their flag. In defiance, they chose to whitewash their walls and painted the domes of their roof the bright blue, colors that even today are those of Greece’s flag.

We visited Oia (ē’•ă) and because our guide chose to come here first, we beat the crowds coming to this scenic location. Our guide gave us great tips for finding super views of the buildings and their blue roofs finding several were multiple blue-topped buildings could be captured in a single tight shot. We were dropped off near the ridge top and made our way to a square. The morning sun was ascending and the temperatures were beginning to rise. As it turned out, the lighting was perfect for our shots. We walked down the narrow pedestrian alleyways, exploring the paths diverting to the left as our guide had suggested are were rewarded each time. We passed one enterprising vendor who actually posted a sign “CAT FOR RENT” and slinking around the enclosed front narrow courtyard (perhaps 2 to 3 feet deep) was a calico cat. Sharon can do without the cat, so we walked across the alley and enjoyed two scoops of gelato: chocolate chip and pistachio for me, chocolate and caramel for Sharon. I took mine in a cone and Sharon hers in a cup (2,50 Euro’s per scoop). Sharon asked if I would be getting a baseball cap, and I thought if I could find one that featured the whitewashed dwellings and blue roofs of Santorini, that I just might. So far, all of the souvenir shops we’d spotted were all selling the same caps which mostly just said “Santorini” on them, and one design which said “Santorini” about fifty times in different sized and colored fonts splashed across the bill and cap. As we made our way back to the bus we passed visitors from a dozen additional busses that had arrived in Oia. Sharon did eventually find the restroom (or WC) that our guide promised in the parking lot for busses. You had to spot the sign to direct you to the hidden spot; but, it does cost 0,50 Euro’s. And what is with this using a comma separating the Euros from cents in their money? The guide says free WC is available at vendors where you buy something, even a bottle of water; but, this particular WC was highly recommended as being new, clean, and never having a line. And I think Sharon gave it two thumbs up as well! Our guide managed to snake his bus out of the parking lot past the over several dozen busses parked there, and two more trying to get in. The spot he was vacating was a highly prized one, and a driver wedged in the entrance pulled forward slightly as the two busses slipped by each other.

Our next stop was atop the mountain, at an elevation of about 1,400 feet. It is quite a view looking down into the caldera on one side and down to the more gentle slops where the agriculture of the island prevails. The island is predominately volcanic material, with volcanic rocks and pumas. This mixture yields a highly absorbent soil that captures water from the morning dew. This spongey soil supports hardy grape vines that require no additional irrigation. Most of the palatable water on the island is that captured rainfall collected from the roofs of the buildings. Our guide advised us to ignore the sign in English advising that cameras were not allowed because this is a military installation; but, it would probably not be a good idea to take pictures in the direction of the red-and-white access barrier just 100 feet down the ridge and its armed sentries. Overhead various communications antenna and dishes loom. On the non-caldera side the islands airport can be seen. During the summer 60 flights per day come and go, many of them charters. Now, there is a daily flight from Athens. There were just two busses at the top when we arrived, and two more showed up as were preparing to leave.

Our next stop was at a 900 year old church. We could take pictures inside, but not with the flash. There were many icons inside the small chapel. Two of them were priceless, encased in protective and climate controlled chambers. The icons across the top of the chapel in the front were those created after the originals were stolen in 1995 and never recovered. Lighting was very poor inside, made problematic by outside light finding its way in.

The bus ride up and down is on a narrow winding switchback road. Anyone with fear of heights or other anxiety issues or those prone to muttering things like “We’re all going to die.”, probably shouldn’t go on bus tours in Santorini. Me, I just “relaxed” my eyes, knowing Sharon would jab me in the ribs if there was anything to see. Besides, I was paying attention to the tour guide! We arrived at the beach and we had about 30 minutes to explore this luxury resort beach front. Dried palm umbrellas graced the free reclining beach recliners positioned on the black rocky and sandy beach, with wooden walkways serving as separating aisles down to the approach to the water. Each beach area is served by a bar/grille and prices seemed quite reasonable. Sharon and I just had a Coca-Cola. On our honeymoon we’d gotten a Sunday at this same spot, and as we remember it was just about the most massive glob of ice cream and toppings we’d ever seen, short of being a Zoo at Farrell’s

Sharon didn’t remember that we’d be getting lunch on this tour, but she also didn’t remember it being as long as it was turning out to be. The next visit was a winery for a wine tasting and lunch. We tasted the white wine first, very dry and not really to my liking. The next was the specialty Santorina wine which we were told was also a white wine, except that the grapes are allowed to dry in the sun and it is essentially made from raisons. The color is that of a deep rose and the wine had a nice sweet taste, but not one that was overwhelming. I quite enjoyed this wine and was sorry they’d taken Sharon’s glass away or I might have enjoyed a second glass of this. Next came the buffet, and two different carafes were brought out for this meal: one white and one red. I chose to skip the white and reached for the red to poor myself a glass. I was surprised that the carafe had been chilled quite cold! The white was sitting for the other end of the table and the lady at the end asked for the red. “It’s cold,” I warned her, but she didn’t seem to mind, until she tried it, and didn’t really care for it. It was better than the white wine I’d tasted earlier. There was some nice Greek Salads with cucumbers, tomatoes and feta cheese and Romaine lettuce. The spanakopita was cold, which didn’t make it my favorite. There was hummus and again the meal offered nice fresh bread but no pita. Sharon pretty much couldn’t find anything to eat; although, she tried some of the chicken and potatoes (which she found to be, how did she put it, dreadful). It was for me more in line with my mother’s “okay”. I would have liked some baklava for dessert, but it was not to be!

Our guide shepherded us to the walkway atop Fira above the cliffs overlooking the caldera and ships below. From here, the recommended way down to catch the tender is by the cable car. The alternate choice is to walk down (which we were to learn, from Jeremy and Audrey our Trivia partners, takes about thirty minutes); or, if one is really adventurous one can pay 5 Euro and ride down atop a donkey. We needed to make our way towards bell tower, beneath which we would catch the cable car. I spotted a money exchange place which offered a much better rate than I’d seen before, in a place that doubled as a car rental agency. He was helping someone else to rent a car, and it seemed to be taking forever. Eventually they got to a point where they had to fill out the contract information, and the guy could spare a few seconds to help me. I told him how much I wanted to change, he quoted the amount of Euros that matched the posted exchange rate, and the whole transaction took place in less than 30 seconds. I didn’t need to show a passport as I had when I exchanged money the first time; and, there were also no forms or receipts to sign. We continued on towards the bell tower, following the blue painted up-steps in the walkway with an arrow indicating ahead to the cable car. These eventually disappeared as the walk up the hill leveled some and we came upon a line; which, from our previous time in Santorini we knew was the line for the cable car. It was a long line. That’s when I spotted the hat for Santorini with the white buildings and blue roofs. Sharon waited in line and it took me about 5 minutes to buy the hat. Sharon had moved just fifteen feet in that time, which I suppose matches 6 cable cars full of people going down the hill. We had 45 minutes to get to the bottom of the hill. It seemed to us many people were passing us by; but, I can’t say for certain they were cutting in line ahead of us, it just seemed that way. There are six cars on each cable all together, and they hold six people each, and they take six minutes to go up and down the hill. This sounds like an algebra question where you need to solve for “t” to see if there is enough time to make the last tender to the ship; but, it’s a ride that costs 5 Euros (or the serial numbered coupon that the tour guide gave us, which she made clear was no good for the donkeys). We were somewhat concerned realizing that there were about 75 people ahead of us entering the building below the bell tower where the cable car ticket booth was and only about 10 minutes before our 3:30 PM deadline. The ticket taker also had exchange rates posted so it’s likely if I’d come straight there, she could have exchanged at the same rate as the rental car guy. Oh well, live and learn. We made it into the final car and all of the cars were jammed full of people to its capacity of six. Even though the sign indicated, maximum 6 people per car, it also indicated a maximum weight of 450 Kg per car. I figure that our car was over by about 100 Kg, and it pretty much seemed to be true of all of the cars ahead of us as well. The average per capita weight works out to 165 pounds. I didn’t bother to mention any of this to Sharon (she can read about it in the blog).

I got of the cable car, make my way down the steep steps of the loading/unloading dock, and down some final steps to the plaza and pier. An official looking person, who may have been from our ship, wearing a blue coat and gold braid on the sleeves with a typical captain’s cap smiled spotting my Red-6 Holland America tour sticker said to me, “Ahh, Der Nieuw Amsterdam dja, gooood, dju jest missed da boat!” He smiled. “No, iz djoke. Go to the last boat, dja.” These DAM Dutchmen and their sense of humor. We walked past the tenders for four other cruise ships: First “Mein Schiff”, then the French boat, then came the Oceana so it was now in port but Sharon’s cousin was off on tour. A tender for another cruise ship was just pulling out; and, I thought it was the one for the Nieuw Amsterdam that I was just missing. There was another tender beyond that which was for our cruise ship, and it was waiting for us… we boarded and we were on our way. This tender was much more like one of the ships tenders, it was cramped and very humid inside. Sharon and I had difficulty maneuvering to the few remaining seats up front and on the other side of the craft, and we were well underway before we did get seated. Our ship was perhaps the farthest from the pier at the cable car landing, and when we pulled up, another tender was leaving. We told them ashore that there were several people behind us in the cable car line. We later learned that one of the tours was late returning, and that the cable car had broken down after we had returned. I’m pretty sure everyone did get back on board; although, the captain did announce that we would be late leaving, but not late arriving at our next port of call.

We had just enough time to stop by our cabin, freshen up, and head up for Sudoku and Team Trivia. Sharon is skipping the Vigil Mass today, noting that she can go to mass in the morning on Sunday. We nearly tied on the Sudoku Easy puzzle; so, I guess we can count that as a draw. And neither of us finished the Hard puzzle before Jeremy and Audrey showed up. I’d ordered two gin and tonics on the Happy Hour special; so, I could repay Jeremy for the one he gave me the other day. But as luck would have it, he wasn’t permitted to have the one I’d gotten him, so Audrey gladly accepted the drink. Dave likes to get rolling with some easy questions, such as “What is the world’s most commonly used seasoning.” He followed that with an odd question, “What is the most popular creature consumed by humans both before its birth and after its death?” It’s akin to asking “What comes first, the chicken or the egg?” But then, that would be giving it away! And everyone should know the name of the rabbit in Bambi! It is of course Thumper. Would you care for a touch of salt with that chicken? What hand (left or right) does God extend to Adam in Michelangelo’s rendering of The Creation on the Sistine Chapels ceiling? Right would be correct. It’s a good thing for our British teammates who knew what premier British soccer club Cristiano Ronaldo played for: Manchester United. Most of the teams in the room seemed to know this. We got through the main round without skipping a beat! The four bonus questions followed: “What type of candy (brand name) sells the most worldwide?” Dave said that he was “Looking for brand names such as Butterfinger or M&M’s.” Sharon postulated Hershey’s Bar, probably true at one time. Then she wrote down M&M’s but crossed it out when Dave offered M&M’s as an example. I didn’t see her cross it out (or hear the example) but came to the conclusion on my own that it’s probably M&M’s. Nobody offered anything else, and Sharon was muttering something about “But he said that as an example.” Next Dave hit us with “What player quit rugby to play in the NFL for the San Francisco 49’ers?” My uncle Neal might have been able to help with this one! But none of us had a clue. Then someone from a table next to us whispered something about Jarryd Hayne to Audrey, and we went with that. (I guess that person just became our honorary fifth person of which we’re allowed six, so technically it wasn’t cheating). We drew a blank for which actress played the role of the fifth element in the movie of the same name? We learned later it was Milla Jovovich. And what legendary hero successfully fought Grendel? I recognized this as either Norse or Germanic mythology, and I dismissed Sharon’s “Superman”. I just couldn’t come up with “Beowulf”. We tied with 4 other teams with 19 points. Dave said that there needed to be a tie breaker since he didn’t have 4 bottles of champagne to give away. “How many different languages, including tribal dialects, are spoken in the Sudan?” I figured that it was likely over 100, and some in our group were leaning towards much lower numbers but none wrote anything down. I wrote down 65, and Jeremy shrugged. I figured all that we needed was to be higher than anybody else. We were higher than the team that said “3”. We were higher than the team that said “9” and I was amazed that two teams chose single digit numbers. The next team picked “13” and my confidence was soaring. The actual number was indeed over 100. We won the champagne and more Mediterranean Cruise pins. And that gentleman/honorary team member that gave us that NFL player’s name, we got him to accept the bottle of champagne… So life is good.

It was another smart casual dinner in the Manhattan Dining Room. I had the goat cheese, prosciutto and tomato appetizer, followed by the Greek meatball soup and then the stuffed chicken breast. Sharon had the chicken with an oversized undercooked baked potato. All agreed it was the largest baked potato that they’d seen served on Holland America. For dessert Sharon had the chocolate cake with blueberry cream, and I had the crème Brule.

The British comedian Stevie Jo offered his brand of cheeky humor and innuendo in the Showroom. He had a positively hilarious bit about his suitcase that got destroyed by the airline so that all that came down the carousel was the extender handle for rolling the luggage behind you. Sharon is certain that it must be based on a real incident.

In the piano bar later I ordered Long Island Iced Tea as I waited for Sharon. This is another drink to skip on Holland America. I think they used the same syrup they made the very bad margarita with for this cocktail as well! The piano player was playing requests, but mostly making sure that everyone knew about his show the next night in the Queen’s Lounge. We watched and listened and sang along a bit and had fun. Okay, so maybe we did more lip-sinking than anything else. We stayed about one half hour before deciding to call it a night.

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