Travelogue – Santorini: Atlantis Rediscovered (June 2002)

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to visit one
of the most beautiful and unique islands in the world
– the picturesque isle of Santorini. I last visited
Santorini, or Thira, as the locals call it, back in
1987, and eagerly awaited the chance to return. My
friend Brad and I decided to head to the Greek islands
for an early summer getaway. After a day of hanging
around Athens, climbing up to the Acropolis and
meandering through the myriad cobblestone streets of
the ancient Agora and Plaka, we headed out to
Santorini for four wonderful days of sun and sea.

Caught a quick 35-minute flight on Aegean Airlines
from the new Athens airport to Santorini. Countless
islands dotted the beautiful azure seas,
simultaneously baked by the direct summer sun and
cooled by the constant Aegean tradewinds.

Santorini is part of the Cyclades islands chain, and
the island enjoys a rich history of myth and lore.
Around 1650 BC, a cataclysmic volcanic eruption
occurred on the island, causing its center to
collapse, and leaving a hollowed-out caldera
surrounded by spectacular cliffs. It is truly one of
the world’s most dramatic geological sights. Some
archeologists suspect that the apocalyptic volcanic
explosion led to the demise of the entire Minoan
civilization (recall the ash and soot from the Mt. St.
Helen’s explosion in the early 1980s – multiply that
times 5 to get an idea of the distructive nature of
the Santorini eruption.) The island’s violent
geothermal past has given fodder to the imaginations
of writers, artists and mystics throughout the
centuries that have followed. Volcanic activity has
subsided greatly during the past few centuries, but
minor tremors are still common.

Fira is the capital, and lies at the center of the
island on the eastern side of the caldera. The small,
whitewashed village clings to the craggy volcanic
cliffs, some 300 meters above the caldera bay below.
The bay is, in fact, so deep, that ships are unable to
drop anchor, and instead must link to one of a couple
of buoys anchored near the manmade docks. We stayed
at a beautiful villa in neighboring Firostefani – a
short 10-minute walk north of the center of Fira town.
The villas were terraced, each with its own balcony
looking out westward over the impressive caldera.
Sunsets were, needless to say, breathtaking!

http://www.minavillas.gr/

We rented a car for one day and explored the island.
Some highlights included a stop at the black sand
Perissa beach, a hike around the lighthouse on the
island's southwesternmost tip, and a leisurely
afternoon stroll along the colorful alleyways of Oia,
on the northwestern tip. Enroute, we enjoyed drives
alongside beautiful orchards of olive trees and
vineyards. Greek Orthodox churches abound, and all
include the trademark blue dome that is so world
renown as typically Santorini. Eucalyptus trees
provided occasional shade from the blaring midday sun.
The brilliant flowers of bougainvillea bushes stood
out against the whitewashed buildings and
crystal-clear blue skies.

Another day we took a sailing trip around the caldera,
which included a stop for a hike on the volcanic cone
island at the middle of the caldera, and a neighboring
islet with natural hot springs. We subsisted most of
the week on wonderful Greek salads (tomatoes,
cucumbers and delicious feta cheese) and grilled
calamari. Yum!

One highlight was on our final morning on the island,
when we were searching for a place to have breakfast.
We saw this sign that read “Mama’s Breakfast Café”,
with the catchline “Mama loves you babies!” As we
took a picture of the sign, we heard Mama call out to
us “Hi Handsomes! Come on in!” We couldn’t resist,
and were soon greeted with a big hug and kiss by this
bubbly 50-something Greek woman. Brad returned her
kiss on the cheek, to which she promptly retorted
“This is all business here, Honey. I’m still gonna
take your money!” Mama then asked us what we wanted
for breakfast, and proceeded to whip up a feast for
us, her first customers of the day. We couldn’t leave
the place without receiving another hug and kiss from
Mama, along with her instructions to be sure and
return soon. WE LOVE MAMA!!!

June is the ideal time to visit Greece, prior to the
invasion of European sunseekers who throng to the
islands during the July/August peak season. The
weather was perfect – hot sunny days and cool,
comfortable nights. Amazing. Santorini is definitely
one place not to be missed!

Yassou!

Mark