Santorini Review

I first heard of Santorini when we began planning our honeymoon. Researching the island, I realized that while I might not have heard of Santorini before, I sure had seen it. If you’ve ever seen pictures of beautiful whitewashed houses and domed Greek churches perched in sheer cliff sides, chances are you were looking at pictures taken on Santorini.

History and Geography
Santorini was inhabited by natives from Crete around 3200 B.C. Evidence of the influence of Minoan civilization on the island has been found in the ruins at Akrotiri, the famous archaeological site on Santorini. Prior to the volcanic explosion that reformed the shape of the area, Santorini was called Stroggili, for its shape. Around 1500 B.C. the volcano, which was originally the center of the island, blew up in an enormous explosion that caused erosion and damage as far away as Crete. The explosion was so immense that it created a deep caldera, and the shape of Santorini as it is today, a crescent around the deadly volcano.

Present-day Santorini is comprised of five islands. The main island is Fira. On the western side is the smaller island of Thirasia, which is the western part of the rim of the caldera. In the center is the active volcano itself, Nea Kameni, then the older volcano Palea Kameni and finally a very small chunk rising from the sea behind both of those small islets, known as Aspronisi.

Getting There
Getting to Santorini was not an easy task. There were no direct flights to the island, and very few direct flights from the US to Athens. We departed Jacksonville, Florida on a United flight. It took us five flights and twenty-two hours to reach our final destination.

First Impressions
Santorini looked great from the air, but not so magical upon landing. We were on the eastern side of the island, which is flat. I felt like I was at any one of the dozens of island-style airports I’ve visited over the years. It was dusty, and hot and sunny and not terribly impressive.

Our driver from Sun Rocks picked us up and took us up through the crowded and rushed town of Fira to the villas where we were staying. I got out of the cab and crossed the street, as he grabbed our bags from the trunk to bring to the reception. Sun Rocks is nestled on the western cliffs, and as I crested the top of the island and saw Nea Kameni off in the distance, with the sun hanging low overhead and the most pristine, blue waters far down below I was stunned into silence at the exquisite beauty. I’ve heard Santorini described as a place that is so beautiful it feels that you’re not even on Earth, and I have to agree.


Getting Around
In spite of the fact that it’s a small island, Santorini is not the kind of place where you can get everywhere on foot. We could walk between Fira – Firostefani – Imerovigli easily. It took about 25 minutes to pass through the three cities which are all perched on the western cliffsides facing the caldera. Getting other places required coordination.

Car rentals are everywhere and are fairly reasonable. They rent Smarts (little 2 seater cars), Fiats, and other European-style cars. We chose not to rent a car because the traffic in the towns was insane and intimidating. You can also get around using rented bicycles, or via cabs. We chose to take taxis to most places and found that the taxi rates were reasonably priced and we could snag a cab from just about anywhere we wanted at any time of the day or night. We decided that to catch the highlights of the island, we should take a bus tour, so we arranged for one in downtown Fira.

Places to Go/Things to Do
Santorini is no Disney World. Most of the attractions in Santorini are natural or historic. There are museums all over Fira, including the Museum of Ancient Fira/Thira which we found impressive. The museums are reasonably priced and include local artifacts from nearly 5,000 years ago.

We also went to Akrotiri, the ruins on the southern tip of the island that are currently being excavated by archaeologists. Evidence of ancient civilizations abounds in Akrotiri, showing that the people of the time actually had plumbing, two story buildings and other characteristics of a highly advanced civilization.

If you wish to check out some of the natural wonders in Santorini, you can take a tour from the old port to Nea Kameni, the volcanic cone in the center of the caldera. We did this, and had a magnificent time walking through the lava rock and standing deep in the crater of a still active volcano. If it seemed like we had emerged on a different planet because of the ethereal beauty of Santorini upon my arrival, it seemed like we were on an even more bizarre planet on the volcano. The water surrounding the volcano is green, and red from the rust of the iron. We were surrounded by hot black lava rocks, and yet strangely some beautiful reddish grass still managed to grow in that environment. Walking the volcano was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It’s not for the faint of heart though. One member of our tour group had a panic attack and had to be helped back down to the boat, while another one suffered from bad fatigue. Those visiting the volcano should bring bottled water and an ability to withstand sheer heights on unstable lava rocks. It’s not for everyone.

We also visited the beaches and visited Santo winery, the largest winery in all of Santorini. There we learned how they grow and harvest the grapes, in small baskets that they fashion from the vines to protect the grapes from the wind and enable them to retain moisture from the morning dew.

Shopping and Dining
Shopping is most plentiful in the town of Fira, though the northwestern town of Oia also has many notable shops. We found many traditional Greek clothes, pottery and arts to bring home with us.

Dining is amazing anywhere on the island, but most especially in Fira and in Oia as well. We had traditional Santorinian dishes such as “tomatokeftedes” (fried tomato fritters), “skordalia” (an amazing garlic paste) and of course the famous Santorini wines. The service in every restaurant was graciously attentive; waiters anticipated our every request. During our entire vacation, we had nothing but stellar service, which is actually not surprising given that we only ate at small family restaurants on the island. Almost all of the restaurants offered outdoor seating, most with a striking view of the caldera, Therassia, and the sea.

Our favorite restaurants were the windmill cafe in Oia, where we watched the sunset and the 1800 restaurant in Oia which offers fantastic upscale dining. We also had some favorites in Fira, including the Dionysus restaurant and Nikolas, both of which are in downtown Fira and offer traditional Greek food. On our last night we went to The Blue Note in Imerovigli where we enjoyed the most spectacular sunset of our entire vacation, along with some delicious traditional Greek fare.

We purchased olive oil, crusty hot loaves of bread and bottles of wine to take home with us and enjoy on our balcony as we overlooked the volcano each night after a long day.

While I didn’t enjoy the steps on the island very much (you have to walk up and down steps to get anywhere), it is a good thing that they had them, otherwise I would have gained even more weight from our decadent meals during our honeymoon!

Overall Impressions
We definitely felt like strangers in a strange land while visiting Santorini. The environment is different from anything that we see in the United States. The locals are friendly, but not all of them speak English. Signs abound in Greek, as do menus, though you can usually find English translations on the menus. There was a lot of cigarette smoking going on everywhere, which actually surprised me a bit, simply because here in the states, smoking has been banned in so many places.

We visited in late April/early May, during the last week of the low season. It felt like the perfect time. In the summertime, Santorini is more crowded with cruise ships and vacationers on holiday. Sometimes we felt as if we had the island all to ourselves. The weather was perfect throughout our visit.

Cat's Bottom Line
Santorini is a great destination for honeymooners and couples. It’s not a place to take the kids, as there’s not much to entertain them unless you have a child who really loves history. I’d recommend not going if you have problems walking or navigating stairs. There are no access ramps in Santorini. Elevators don’t exist there. It’s a physically intense sort of place. What the island does have is an ancient charm, and a majestic beauty the likes of which I have never seen in my life. My body may be back in the states, but my heart is still in Santorini!

Websites
http://www.santorini.net
http://www.santorini-greece.biz