Santorini: A Vacation on the Edge

Hey friends! I hope the change of seasons is bringing you only fair weather! A few fluffy clouds would be ok, but no bad storms.

Steep Hillsides means Sea Views for everyone!

As the season changes, you might be looking for a great place for a short break. If you are in Europe, you can do no better than a few days in Santorini, a world-class destination that is an excellent value. Santorini is a fantastically picturesque island within the Cyclades group in the southern Aegean Sea. Greece may have experienced an economic collapse a few years ago, but the IMF’s loss can be your gain! Greece is thriving and it is ultra-cool, but it is still an excellent travel value.

Santorini has the type of views that everyone imagines when they think of an exotic Aegean island. It offers colourful buildings, with bright blue being a dominant hue, nestled on the steep cliffs with breath-taking views across what Homer called the “wine-dark sea”. The view from nearly every hotel is a stunning panorama of sky, cliffs and sea stretched as far as vision allows. It is simply one of the most romantic vistas in the world. I like it there so much, I had an image of Santorini placed on first page of my website. (https://www.journeyhero.net).

Santorini is a donut shaped set of islands with tall cliffs facing the inner body of water. It is donut shaped because it used to be the single volcanic island of Thera, but the volcano erupted with incredible violence around 1200 BCE, then collapsed, and the sea rushed in to fill the void.

There is a plethora of historic sites to explore on the island, but my favourite is Akrotiri, the ruins of the Bronze Age city that was destroyed in the fatal eruption. Akrotiri is only about 10% excavated but what’s been uncovered is stunning. The beautiful naturalistic Minoan style of painting that includes sea-animal motifs and bright colours is just as colourful and beautiful today as it was more than 3,200 years ago! 

The Akrotiri Lighthouse at Sunset

You can walk in the footsteps of ancient peoples and stand where no one could for over fifty generations. One thing very interesting about these ruins, however, is that not one single human remain has been uncovered as of yet.  This might mean that the local population had enough advanced warning to affect an escape. I like to think that they rode away on a cloud to a happy future!

One exciting activity is to swim in the volcano that has poked its head tentatively above the waves close to the centre of the previous island of Thera. The small island is actually the barren top of the still-active volcano but the water inside the caldera is clear and warm. A small boat can travel far enough into the mouth of the sunken volcano to drop you for a swim. The air smells of sulphur but the water is warm like a bath for swimming. Once you start swimming toward the inner part of the volcano, the water warms quickly until it is quite noticeable. Swim any further toward the heat and you are liable to cook like a soup!

The most mouth-watering salads and fresh ingredients!

Santorini is not all about adventure though. It is especially a place for relaxation. Most of the hotels are cut into the soft tufa rock deposited by ash falls in the many eruptions. This means that your hotel room will face the cliff face and have a lovely cool cave-like feel. Santorini practically invented the infinity pool and lazing by the pool is one of the most common pass-times in this idyllic location.

The restaurants are trendy and offer the best of seafood, Greek and nouvelle cuisine. The local wine is called Assyrtiko and it is a lovely, super dry white wine cultivated nowhere else.  The wine is exceptional and best served very cold.

Stairs, stairs and MORE stairs!

One note that might be helpful… There are a LOT of stairs to be negotiated on Santorini. You will be going up and down stairs constantly to move from your hotel to the restaurant to sight-seeing and even to catch transport. So, leave the big bags at home and bring your walking shoes.

The airport is small and easy to navigate. There are great non-stop options from many places in Europe and frequent connections over Athens International Airport. For a fun way to reach the island, consider taking the fast ferry from Piraeus, the port of Athens. Souvenirs from the island include pottery and replicas of Minoan artwork. These are reasonably priced and provide lasting memories. By all means, stock up on the Assyrtiko wine; it is a great value there.

If you go there, enjoy your Greek Island Idyll and think fondly of me!

Love,

Isabella