New-Yorker-blog-karenrobbins

Sadly it was our last day on Santorini. We were scheduled to fly back to Athens at 7:30 p.m. There was still a day to look at a few places we hadn't seen yet but a lot depended upon whether we could leave our luggage at the B&B. We didn't want to leave luggage in the car that could be seen. Our host was so gracious. She suggested that since they weren't expecting anyone until late that night, we could stay until 6 in our room.

We packed our things, leaving some clean clothes out to change into before the flight home and started out to explore the part of the flat side of the island that we hadn't seen yet. The road we took followed the eastern shoreline. We passed through one area that appeared to be somewhat industrial. Then a section where it looked like the wind had carved a modern sculpture out of the sandstone.

As we neared the airport, we found another black sand beach only this time it truly was sand. Obviously this was also the windward side of the island. The surf pounded against a small breaker of boulders that protected the beach area. While the sand was nice, the beach area was not nearly as nice as the one by Kamari we had seen the day before. But if you were looking for a place with fewer people, this would be it.

The main sight for our day's outing was the wine museum. I expected us to spend a couple of minutes looking at a few old wine presses and then move on. I was pleasantly surprised. The museum was built below ground level and took you through several long hallways punctuated with vignettes of historical wine making processes. Many of them even had animated models in them. (One animatronic female was going through the motions of kneading bread.) The price of admission included an audio guide in several languages and was narrated quite well--just enough to tell you what you needed to know and not so much that you were tired of standing to listen.

The museum traced the history of wine making on Santorini from the viewpoint of the Koutsoyianopoulos brothers who founded the winery. They were in a sailboat trying to make it to another island to sell their oil when a storm blew up and they put into the safe harbor at Santorini.

At first they used Santorini only as a market place for their olive oil that they produced on mainland Greece but eventually due to the "clever sharpness of their minds" they started the first winery on Santorini in 1880. Between the two brothers, they had twelve children, two of whom they say became scientists which probably led to some of the advancements made in the wine making there.

One of the old wine presses in a display showed someone helping to crush the grapes with his feet and sure enough, there next to the display was a picture of how they did it back then.

The tour answered one of the questions we had about the vineyards we had seen on the island. Most of them did not have posts and wire for the vines to be tied up on. As we read and looked at the displays we discovered that the winds that whip across Santorini at times are not good for the grapes and so instead of tying them up, they wind the vines in a circle, almost making a basket and the grapes are protected in the center. It cuts down on the amount of grapes produced as opposed to the other method but otherwise they would not have good grapes if any for their wines.

We saw the progression of storing the wines in wine skins and then to bottles. Before the donkeys were carrying people around, they were carrying wine skins.

 After WWII, they began bottling their wine but they did it manually as there was no electricity on the island until 1967. 1967? I did a double take and sure enough a little farther on was a display of old electrical boxes from when electricity was first introduced to Santorini and the date was 1967.

We spent much more time there than we expected. It was all done very well and was quite interesting. Back in the gift shop and main tasting area that had lots of tables to accommodate tours, we sat at the bar to enjoy a taste of the wines made there. Our 7 Euro ticket to the museum included a taste of four different wines: a white, a red, and two dessert wines one of which was extremely sweet.

As I looked over some of the fancy bottles they now have I thought to myself that they had certainly come a long way from those old wine skins.

By the time we were done, it was time for lunch and we decided to return to Kamari and eat at one of the restaurants along the beach. We picked one arbitrarily--they all looked good. On the menu was moussaka, another Greek traditional dish and something we'd never had. Now I knew it had eggplant in it and neither of us is fond of it but we were both game to try the dish. We ordered one to split in case we didn't like it and Greek salads on the side.

We should have ordered two. It was heavenly. I can't begin to tell you exactly what it tasted like. There was some mild cheese, a little eggplant, a sauce with meat (kind of like a Bolognese sauce) and it was baked like lasagna in a small casserole. Later, before leaving for the airport, we ordered moussaka again at a restaurant near our B&B but it wasn't quite as good. It was a little dry and didn't have the beautiful flavor of the earlier one.

AT 5:30 we checked out, thanked our hostess, Maria, again for taking such good care of us and with a small tear in my eye, we left for the airport. We would spend the night at the Athens airport hotel and fly home in the afternoon. It had been a wonderful three weeks exploring Spain, the Black Sea, and the paradise they call Santorini.

With a little fear and trepidation, I looked at the mountain ahead of us as we drove from Imerovigli to our planned outing for the day. Profitis Ilias (Prophet Elijah) is the highest point on the island boasting a view from almost 1600 feet above sea level. The mountain gets its name from the monastery that was built there in 1712. We've driven up mountains in several countries and more than once to the top of Haleakala on Maui. How bad could this one be?

I read somewhere on a travel site that if you were prone to motion sickness and wanted to make this drive, you might want to take something before you start out. Good advice. The switchbacks were some of the best I've seen but thankfully the road leading up was good and we didn't pass any huge tourist buses.

We arrived at what looked like a parking area and nuzzled into a spot. The view was spectacular and we weren't even all the way to the top yet. Not knowing if it were possible to drive to the monastery (it was) we walked up the rest of the way. The walk was kind of fun since we were enjoying the warm sun and the cool breeze from the ocean. In the middle of summer though I don't think it would have been as enjoyable.

The courtyard to the church at the monastery was open as was the church and we slipped in through a doorway in the wall that surrounded it. The monastery actually looks like a fortress of sorts but I think if you build something that high up in the middle of an island that lies in the middle of the sea, you want to buffer the wind.

There were only a handful of people wandering around and the courtyard was so peaceful, you wanted to linger. We enjoyed the views. Now more familiar with the island, we could pick out points of interest where we'd already been.

Inside the small church, the gold accented icons and furnishings gleamed in the morning sunshine that peeked in through small windows. At one time the monastery apparently owned its own ship and conducted private business for the monastery. Later it became a school where the Greek language and literature were taught. Today it houses a collection of artifacts from the Greek Orthodox religion.

On our way back to the car, we were stopped by a couple on a four-wheeled ATV. They asked if we spoke English. Bob's answer: No. American. They got it. The Aussies always do. We had a great conversation with them about what we'd seen and tried to help them navigate their map. Bob tried to get them to convince me that the ATV was the way to see the island but somehow looking at the wife on the back I wasn't convinced--not at my age anyway.

At the base of the mountain, we followed the signs for Kamari, the town where there was a large black beach. Kamari was definitely a beach town. The road that ran the length of the beach had lots of hotels and restaurants on one side and open air cafes and smaller restaurants on the beach side. It was too early to eat lunch but it was too inviting to pass up a chance to sit and enjoy the fresh air. We found a cafe with cushy chairs and ordered two cappuccinos.

The black beach is a little rough to lay on since it is mostly pebbled but there are lounge chairs and umbrellas for as far as the eye could see available for a rate of 5 Euros for the day. You pick your spot and go to the hotel or restaurant that hosts the spot and pay for the use of it. If I were going to spend a day at the beach in Santorini, this would be the place. There were showers along the beach and here and there a booth to change clothes in. And lots of places to enjoy snacks and a meal.

Apparently not having his fill of switchbacks and cliff side roads, Bob decided we needed to see the other port on Santorini. It's a newer one and has access by road making it a little easier to get tourists on excursions into a bus and on their way. If you have an excursion by coach, this is where your tender will bring you. Your ride up will be thrilling. This is also the port where the large ferries come in from the mainland and probably other islands. It's a pretty fast ferry but it still takes about five hours from Athens to Santorini. We had considered taking it but understood that sometimes due to weather the runs can be canceled and we didn't want to be delayed.

The temperature was climbing and we had already decided that we were going to spend the afternoon just being lazy. We drove back to Imerovigli and our B&B, Casa Bianci and parked. Just around the corner from the little school where we parked, we had seen a supermarket. At home it would be considered a convenient store but we found some great cheese, a fresh loaf of bread, and a sweet delicious apple to munch on for our lunch. It was our concession to our diets. Are you buying that?

The afternoon was spent reading and downloading another book from the library at home. (Love my Nook).  We took a short walk--after all, exercise and diet go hand in hand. We were being so good. Then we freshened up, put on long pants and grabbed a sweater for our evening in Fira. I know that sounds crazy but once the sun went down, we found the evenings cooled off considerably.

In Fira, we parked in the public lot and walked past the cathedral where people were already gathering for the sevenish sunset. We wanted to find the restaurant that had been top-rated on TripAdvisor.com. Unfortunately it was not along the cliff side where you had a view so we doubled back  to search out a spot for the sunset.

We were near the funicular that transports people up and down the cliff side to the old port. On a previous cruise stop, we had taken it to the top. It was the alternative to riding a donkey up a stepped trail with lots of those wonderful switchbacks. I remember the ride in the funicular well because the woman sitting next to me was so scared that she shook violently all the way to the top. Can't imagine how she would have survived a donkey ride.

There was a spot we claimed in one of the cafes where we ordered a couple of tropical drinks and again watched a beautiful explosion of color as the sun dipped below the clouds on the horizon. Then it was off to the restaurant. What we didn't know or expect was that it was also the end of the day for the working donkeys. As we rounded a corner, they were all waiting in a small courtyard to be led home. Suddenly, we found ourselves pinned against a wall as the donkeys began following their owner. Closer and closer they came to us. I wanted to stare one in the face and say, "Hey, look. I didn't ride your back today. Don't take it out on me."

They eventually passed and we crossed the street to our restaurant unscathed and hopefully not smelling like donkey. The restaurant was on the second floor and looked out over the corner of two narrow streets. We ordered a Greek dip called tzatziki that came with pita bread. It was a cucumber and yogurt mixture. Delicious. I was feeling a bit adventurous. Actually, we had tried to order one thing each meal which was truly Greek and I knew that sardines were a specialty of the area so when I saw them on the menu, I decided to try it out.

The sardines were grilled in olive oil and were a bit crunchy mostly because of the little bones in them. There wasn't a whole lot of flavor but they weren't bad--just not as good as most of the other things I'd ordered in the past few days. I smothered them with lemon and ate them all.

While we were eating, another bunch of donkeys were making their way home. They looked weary. What a life.

After dinner we strolled through some of the narrow pedestrian streets where shopkeepers were still open. I wondered if that was because there were still cruise passengers out and about or if Fira just stayed open late because there were so many people milling about.

This would be our last evening in Santorini. I wasn't sure I was ready to leave yet.

Our friend at the Budget rental counter when we arrived had emphasized over and over again that we dare not miss the Ancient Thera exhibit (spelled Thira on our map). Even though it was the afternoon and the sun was getting hot, knowing the whole thing was under cover, we decided to visit.

A large parking lot I'm sure filled with tour buses at certain times when the cruise ships were in cost us three Euros to park. Across the street and a short walk up a sidewalk and we stopped to buy tickets for 5 Euros each. There was an option to have a guide take you through the dig but we decided that was probably more information than we wanted to try to absorb.

Once inside the building, I was immediately reminded of Xian and the Terra Cotta Warriors. The enclosure is not nearly as large as the one in China but it is very nicely done and certainly makes the visit much more pleasant. Ramps and viewing platforms afford you opportunity to see everything that is there. At one spot you can even walk down into the town and along part of it's road between buildings.

The settlement predates the the volcano's eruption around 1600 B.C. that created the present shape of the island of Santorini. The inhabitants, Minoan, are thought to have come from Crete and settled here. The ash from the eruption buried the town but also preserved much of it. It is an amazing experience to walk through such ancient remains of an era we can only imagine.

There is thought that the stories surrounding the eruption of the volcano back then led to the legend of Atlantis. According to a National Geographic site I found, Plato told the story of Atlantis somewhere around 360 B.C. He told of a utopian civilization made up of people who were half god and half human. Of course it was embellished with tales of gold, silver, and exotic wildlife.

The volcano which wiped out a large section of Santorini and took out civilizations on Crete and other islands around the area with a huge tsunami fits with the idea of Atlantis sinking into the ocean. However ocean explorer, Robert Ballard, doesn't think this is the place of which Plato spoke because it doesn't coincide with the time Plato said Atlantis was destroyed.

James Romm, a professor at Bard College in New York state, believes that Plato created the story to support some of his philosophical theories.

Charles Orser, curator of history at the New York State Museum in Albany says the legend of Atlantis is a story about moral, spiritual people who lived in a highly advanced civilization but became greedy, petty and morally bankrupt. And of course, in the end, were destroyed by the gods they angered.

Atlantis or not, the archaeological  dig was most interesting and a not to be missed spot to visit if you have the time.

It was another beautiful sunset that evening. Another terrific meal, this time in Imerovigili, and a nice climb up the stairs back to Casa Bianca and our lovely room. I could really get used to this.

A bright beautiful morning greeted us as we sat enjoying the best coffee we'd had in a while on our little patio  area at the back of our room. The patio looked out into a courtyard of sorts where the pool to the hotel in front of us was off to our left a bit and a backyard to another B&B or a residence, I could never decide which it was. They hung out laundry almost daily but a lot seemed to be personal items. Between the two buildings though was a break with a spectacular view of the sea and a little bit of the caldera--the desired view of visitors to Santorini.

The main island of Santorini is curved around the two volcanic small islands in the middle of what is called the Caldera. A caldera is a large crater formed by volcanic explosion or the collapse of a volcanic cone. In this case, the ocean filled in the crater creating a picturesque area with spectacular views all the way around. The last eruption of the volcanoes was in the 1940s.

As we finished the last of our coffee, we studied the map our Greek rental car friend had marked for us and decided to divide the island up into four sections and do one a day. That would give us lots of time to linger where we wanted to stay longer and let us also have plenty of time to just kick back and relax at Casa Bianca.

Amoudi Bay

Camera bag on my back, water bottle in hand, we headed for where we had left the car, in front of the school and across from the church. The churches in Santorini are distinctly white (although we saw a handful of pastel colored ones) with a blue dome. On this small island, there are well over 200 churches. One doesn't have to walk far to find a place of worship which is good because walking is the only way to get around in many places and then it is up and down steps--lots of steps.

When we got to the car, I was amazed at what little space there was to maneuver. Had we really made it here without bumping into anything? We jiggled out of the parking spot and down the little hill praying all the way that we wouldn't meet another car coming the opposite direction.

After a turn onto the road we were to take, I looked down a huge hill. Had we really navigated that last night? I imagined what I felt was like a drunk who wakes up to discover he's somewhere and has no idea how he got there.

Thankfully the area we chose to explore the first day was not one that was extremely busy. To the north of Imerovigli the island curves around and there was a little town called Oia that we headed to. We drove through the narrow streets and followed the signs that led to Amoudi Bay, a place to see and find a good meal according to Maria our B&B host. Finding a good place to park was a little more of a challenge. We squeezed into a spot and continued on down the road to the steps and then down to the harbor.

The day could not have been more perfect. It was warm but a cool breeze blew off the water. The narrow walkway was bordered by water and shops and restaurants. I think one of the places may have been a small fish market as well. They were just beginning to serve lunch and all the grills along the way were getting fired up.

We decided to pass on the grilled octopus. There was a grilled fish that looked perfectly done and I would have loved to have sampled it but by the time I saw it, we had already ordered. Our appetizer was something called tomato balls which were more like crab cakes only with tomatoes rather than crab meat. They were okay. The next course, our seafood salad made up for them. Fresh garden greens and veggies and assorted grilled seafood. Heavenly.

During lunch, we had watched a steady stream of people walking a pathway to the cliffs next to us. There was even a bridal couple accompanied by a photographer who braved the rough trail. Curious, we decided to follow the trail to see where it led. Of course to do so, we had to ignore the sign. It was a bit treacherous in parts but it ended up near a place where you could climb down into the water. I think some may have been snorkeling there. And on the little island that jutted out nearby, there were boys diving off the cliffs. We watched for a bit and returned the way we came.

On our way back to the car, we noticed a pathway with steps that led straight up the cliff. There on the steps were several donkeys waiting to take passengers and/or cargo to the top. Donkeys are used in several places around Santorini where there is a harbor and people need to get up to the town above. If you cruise to Santorini that is your choice in the old port where many of the tenders dock. You can take a funicular to the top or ride a donkey.

One side of Santorini is very hilly and the other is very flat. That flat side has most of the beaches. We drove along the flat side to return to Casa Bianca and stopped to admire one of the black beaches. There was no easy way to get down to it so we admired from afar. The black sand and/or pebbles are from lava.

We spent what was left of our afternoon napping and reading. After all, we'd just finished a two week long cruise. Seriously, the heat and all the climbing can get to you and we wanted to enjoy one of the best things this island had to offer--a sunset over the caldera.

In Fira, there are lots of places along the walkway in front of the cathedral and beyond where you can stand, or sit in a cafe or restaurant and watch the sun set over the volcanic islands in the caldera. We found a cafe and sat at a table sipping fresh tropical drinks (mine was mango!) and watched the cruise ships weigh anchor and the sun dip down behind the volcano.

Dinner and then a drive through the crowded narrow streets of Fira navigating around people and cars and motorbikes. An exciting time and the end of our first full day in Santorini. What would tomorrow hold?

The Aegean Sea was getting darker as our plane flight, made later by a delay at Athens, passed over the dark silhouettes of Greek islands below us. It was a short flight, only a little over a half hour. Barely enough time for the flight attendants to serve a drink and clean up.

We collected our luggage quickly enough and walked through the exit doors to the area where the rental car companies were. Many had already closed up shop but our friendly Budget representative was there waiting for us and eager to tell us all about Santorini. By the time we were done, we had a map with all the sights circled and a hand drawn map of how to get to our B&B, precautions about drinking only bottled water and not parking on the street (which most everyone seems to do anyway), opinions on the best beaches. . .the list went on.

I thought by the time we left we were going to be adopted into his big Greek family. He was great but we were tired and anxious about our drive in the dark to our B&B. We'd been to Santorini before and knew that the roads could be very narrow and difficult to navigate in the towns. Squinting to read whatever signs we could find, we saw a few arrows that indicated Imerovigli and followed them Imerovigli is a little town just north of Fira, the capital or main city.

While we didn't exactly follow his route (we veered left when we should have veered right) we eventually recognized the white church he had told us to look for. "Pull over and call her (Maria, the manager). You will not find it on your own." We did and she led our car a short distance up a hill and showed us where to park in front of a school. We unloaded our luggage which was was too much since we'd been on a cruise, and pulled the bags up a narrow walkway between two white walls. At a break in the wall, the entrance to Casa Bianca was lit with candles in glass lanterns. We walked up a couple of steps and into the courtyard subtly lit with soft accent lighting around a small central pool.

Maria gave us a choice between rooms because we were staying four nights. She wanted us to be comfortable and she wasn't full that night. We chose the junior suite it was only about an eight step climb and I figured after all the step climbing we were going to do in the next few days, when we returned we didn't want to climb any more than necessary. She left us to settle in after explaining that breakfast would be served in our rooms with a call to the desk. Once I had seen the little table and chairs outside our back door, I knew that was going to be the spot for coffee and whatever other goodies came our way in the morning. I'd have to wait until morning to see the view but I was sure I'd like it.

Hunger gnawed a bit and even though we were exhausted, we needed to eat something. We went back down near the church where we'd stopped and found a grill there that served us a salad and sausage bites that we split between us. I wondered if I'd regret the spicy sausage later.

The room was comforable and the shower a relief after spending a hot day in the Athens sun seeing the sights. We collapsed into bed and slept like logs (if logs sleep) knowing that we had four days to enjoy the island and lots of time to relax. Perfect.