Santorini: The Ultimate Greek Island Disneyland

J:  We spent two nights in Heraklion, Crete to see the museum and Knossos Palace.  It is stunning what has been recovered from the 4,000 year-old Minoan civilization.  Then we took a two hour ferry north to Santorini.  We learned the night before we left that the ferry to Santorini had been canceled for two days due to high winds.  So we were pleased that we had a reservation for a rather small hydrofoil, which was packed with the backlog of the previous days' travelers.

J:  Santorini is what we expected and more.  The towns are perched at the edge of the cliff which form the caldera of the Thera volcano.  Some believe that the explosion of the island and resulting earthquakes in about 1450 BC caused of the collapse of the Minoan civilization on Crete.  Clearly the five-story buildings at Knossos collapsed from an earthquake.  An amazing fact is that not a single body has been found in the rubble of the palace.  Somehow the disaster must have been anticipated.

J: We rented a car, drove to a wonderful hotel near Oia (pronounced EE-Ah).  At the hotel I discovered that my pocket camera wasn't in my pocket, but rather in the pocket of the seat on the ferry.  A tourist office explained that the same ferry returned later in the afternoon, so we drove back to the port, waited for the ferry and found the camera exactly where I'd left it.  The bonus was that we were at the water level for the sunset -- Santorini's most celebrated attraction.

G: Santorini is probably the most unusual island I have ever seen--the inside of the crescent-shaped island sheer and rugged as it drops to the coves and harbors below, the outside semi-flat farm land.  From a distance the island appears snow-capped when in fact small white-washed villages are perched on the top of the island's "spine".  With our rental car we were able to criss-cross the island from top to bottom, adding to my sand collection with black sand and red sand from the windy and chilly beaches.  No bikinis on Santorini today.



















G:  When the cruise ships are in, the alleys of the villages of Fira and Oia are flooded and buzzing with tourists.  This being the near end of the cruise season though, the shops and restaurants are beginning to close and the shopkeepers look as though they just want us to leave them alone as they count the days.  Faded hats and dresses, exposed for  the season to the intense sun and wind, hang sadly outside some shops while restaurants  prepare for winter by closing the shutters and removing canvas awnings and umbrellas and stacking chairs inside for the winter.  One can't help but wonder what it must be like to be here after the tourists have gone.

J:  Last night we joined the "herd" at the north end of Oia for the daily worshiping of the sunset.  Surprisingly, most of the restaurants face south, with only a few on the west side with a sunset view.  But the folks gather along the walkways and sit on the walls and steps to enjoy the end of the day.

G:  The light is what makes Santorini in fall one of the most special places on earth.  Photo after photo, whether in the bright morning sun or the fading light of sunset, produced some spectacular moments for us.