The Traveling Martens

Santorini, Greece

Are the cliffs of Santorini, Greece the most beautiful view in the world? - June 2005

The flight there: We got to London Heathrow plenty early to catch our Hellas Jet flight to Athens. With all the extra time, we went to a French cafe in the airport to play cards and drink wine. Relaxed and ready to go, we followed the sign to the Hellas Jet check-in and waited around for someone to show up. Not seeing anyone about an hour and a half before our flight we started asking around, and found out that Hellas Jet, our airline, had gone bankrupt during our trip! Amazingly, this was the second time this has happened to us, in 2001, our airline went bankrupt on just a 5 day trip to Amsterdam. No worries though, British Airways picked up our flight in Amsterdam, and Olympic Airlines, the Greek national airline issued us new tickets this time. Racing on foot over to the Olympic terminal, we checked in to our new flight, leaving London at 10 pm and getting into Athens at 4 am. No problems with the flight, and we arrived at the new Athens airport which was built for their recent Olympics. The new airport is amazing and was super nice. We crashed on the floor and did a crossword puzzle while waiting for our 6 am flight to Santorini. On take-off, we lifted up over Athens and the hilly surroundings and immediately headed out over the water. It was only a half-hour flight, but we flew over numerous islands on our way to Santorini. It was cloudy and still dark when we left Athens, but we saw the sunrise peaking through the clouds during our flight. Santorini's small airport is on the opposite side of the island from the cliffs, but it was still hilly, so the small plane flew right above the water, and then banked hard and landed between hills at the last second. We walked down the steps from the plane onto the runway and walked to the small terminal. It was a cool, crisp morning and our hotel owner (who looks distinctly like a Greek Elvis) met us in front and took us the short drive to the hotel. We stayed at Villa Blue Sky, a short walk on the other side of Thira town from the cliffs. We went to our room and took a much-needed nap.

First, words can't describe the beauty and uniqueness of this island. The islands here were created over thousands of years from a giant volcano. The main eruption was one of the largest eruptions in the past several thousand years. After the explosion, most of the volcano sunk into the middle, leaving a circle of islands around the perimeter and a still active volcanic island in the middle. Some believe this is the lost island of Atlantis and there are ongoing excavations of ancient civilizations in sites around the island. Santorini is the largest of the islands, forming a crescent-shaped half moon around the center volcano. The edge of Santorini facing toward the center is a sheer face of cliffs hundreds of feet high. There are no high-rises on the island, just the bright white stucco homes with blue roofs hanging on the edge of the cliff. There are a maze of stone and marble walkways between the homes and shops and you walk through the buildings and suddenly come out to one of many cafes with a terrace overlooking the water far below. You can wander up and down, as the buildings are stacked on top of each other, everyone with incredible views.

We caught a bus Thursday morning down to the small port at the base of the cliffs. The road is a narrow strip of gravel with sharp switchbacks slowly winding down the face of the cliff. At the port, we boarded a boat for the volcano! The active volcano here is a small island in the middle of the ring of cliffs and is what is leftover from the previous explosions which destroyed and sunk most of the land here. The volcano is like being on an alien planet, with hills and craters covered in sharp, black volcanic rock. We hiked an hour past several craters to the top. There is no molten lava within view, but the island is hot and you can dig just a few inches into the ground and feel hot steam escaping. There are holes in the rocks with sulferous steam coming out.

We then took the boat just a short way to a very small island with hot springs in one tiny cove. The boat had to park in the deeper water off the cove, so we put on bathing suits and jumped overboard into the Aegean Sea with the blue water between 65 and 70 degrees. Getting closer to the cove, the water turned a bright green, and finally a bright red-rusty color at the hot springs, and the water became warmer and warmer, reaching 85 degrees. Standing in the red mud in the springs, the water was a reddish color we've never seen before. We picked up the mud and spread it on our skin, turning us a bright red. In fact, our swimsuits may be permanently stained a reddish color, but it was worth it!

Thirresia and Oia in Santorini, Greece

Next, we took the boat to Thirresia, which is a small island on the other side of the volcano from Santorini island. Only 300 people live on this island and it is a small fishing village. We ate lunch sitting at a table out on a walkway in the water. The water here is clear and the port was shallow, so we could see the fish and round stones under the water. Tiny, colorful boats float in the water and old Greek men work on repairing boats pulled up onto land. We got to enjoy some wine and a few hours on this island before heading to Oia, which is an artists village at the northern tip of Santorini island, and is famous for watching the sunset. We arrived at the port and walked the steep, narrow walkway all the way up the cliff, dodging donkeys carrying the less-adventurous up the mountain. In Oia, we scouted out the highest terrace for a three hour dinner with fresh bread, sun dried tomatos and olive tapenade, a plate full of cubes of parmesan and proscuitto, and a great pizza. Another wonderful sunset in Santorini.

We spent most of our last day walking around town, shopping, and enjoying the view. After a couple of hours at our hotel pool, we went to a rooftop restaurant for a snack- a chocolate crepe with ice cream and fresh strawberries! Yum! Later for dinner, we went back to the same red rooftop lounge we had eaten at previously. The view brought us back, lounging on the pillows high up on the cliffs, watching the sunset. Our waiter was happy to see us again, and brought shots for the three of us again before leaving. We see this everywhere, an 80 year old couple doing shots of ouzo after dinner, and waiters bringing shots with the receipt to anyone they know. Everyone has been very friendly and seems to realize that they should be- they are living on a beautiful Greek island!

Next: Off to Mykonos!