Santorini

13^thAugust 2018

The overnight trip to Santorini was through some rough seas. We soon discovered that not everything in our cabin was totally secure, with the small fridge ejecting itself from the wardrobe at one stage and most of the drawers were opening and shutting on there own. Nevertheless, we have been in a lot worse and I got a good nights sleep. 

There were some pale faces at the breakfast table and quite a few no shows. It appears quite a few people, including some of the crew, were seasick.

Arrival at Santorini was delayed by about 30 mins due to the conditions, but by around 9 am, we could see the island and by 10 am we were tied up to a large mooring buoy just off the dock at the old port. Whilst this was going on, a large tender had arrived from the shore and took us ashore.

Approaching Santorini

The tender arrives to take us ashore

Most of us had opted to do the optional tour on Santorini, but as has been the case at each port, Sakis our cruise director ran a short orientation tour for evertyone before we split up. The old port is a very small settlement at the base of a very steep cliff face. Santorini is built on an extinct volcano, with the harbour  being the crater and the township itself located on the peak of a remaining part of the crater cone. 

The old port where we disembarked

There are three options to get up to the town, Fira, walk up the steps, ride a donkey up the steps or catch the cable car. Fira is the capital of Santorini. Naturally we did the latter. Once at the top Sakis took us for a quick walk around the town before the group split up and those of us doing the tour boarded our bus. We are lucky there are no large cruise ships in the harbour today, so the town is not overly crowed.

The cable car arriving to take us to Fira

The streets of Fira

The view from Fira back down to the harbour

Our tour first takes us to the excavations of the ancient city of Akrotiri. In many was it is similar to Pompeii. Santorini experienced a volcanic eruption some 3600 years ago, which is believed to have been the biggest the World has ever experienced. The city of Akrotiri was completely buried in ash and only rediscovered last century. The site is under cover and the excavation is believed to represent only 10% of the total town area. The findings suggest that a sophisticated population, mostly merchants that thrived on trade once occupied the city. 

Our next stop is Oia, on the Northern coast, probably the most photographed city in Santorini. It is also our lunch stop, so after taking many photos we found a nice tavern with sea views and sat down to some excellent salads for lunch.

Many shots of stunning Oia

Donkeys passing the Taverna where we had lunch

By 3 pm we have to be back in the township to meet up with our group and catch the bus back to Fira, which takes about 20 minutes. The countryside looks pretty barren, but is apparently good for growing grapes and olives, as the pumice based soil has excellent drainage and the soil is quite fertile. Grapes are grown as bushes rather than high on trellises to provide some protection from the high winds and strong sun. Other than these two forms of agriculture, Santorini lives off tourism, which is by far the main income stream.

Grape vines growing as bushes on the barren land

Once back in Fira, the main tourist area is full of people, and we don’t really need to do any shopping, so head for the cable car to take us back down to the old port. The tender will pick us up to take us back to Galileo at 5pm, so we settled in to a local café by the water for a drink whilst waiting. It seems most of the rest of out group have the same idea. There are 2 people hanging around our group with suitcases, whom we discover had missed out departure from Piraeus and are now joining us for the balance of the trip.

A small protected harbour at the old port

On board tonight it is Greek night commencing  at 7pm with octopus and ouzo on the sundeck upstairs. Once everyone has had their appetizer, we are treated to some Greek dancing, by three local ladies, and some audience participation. I am not sure that the ouzo improved anyones’ dancing skills.

Octopus and Ouzo is served

and the dancing begins on the sundeck

Soon some volunteers are called

and then everyone is involved

After a final appearance by our dancers, we retire downstairs for dinner

When all of the festivities were completed it was approaching sunset and we ventured downstairs for dinner, which is a Greek themed buffet of very nice dishes and very sweet desserts for those who chose to indulge.

The whole setting of the dancing on the sundeck with Santorini as the backdrop was quite stunning.