Brand new and very large ferry with cars, trucks and people on board on several decks, escalators/elevators, plus restaurants and bars etc. So a mini cruise of 2 ½ hours for about 16 euros each. Sailed past several islands before pulling into the horseshoe shaped remains (Caldera) of what was the rim of the volcano. (Last earthquake 1956.)
Wow! Everyone should come to Santorini, it is a fantastic arrival scene with all of the white houses clinging to the volcano rim 1,000 feet above as you enter this large natural harbor. I don’t want to write things in the blog that can be read in any guidebook but I am going to insert one quote from Lonely Planet that I like very much and that captures the mood as we continue our island hopping to this third island of our visit so far. (Try not to fly into Santorini, you’ll miss the magical boat arrival).
“I love hopping off of the ferries. All that rattle and crash of loosened anchors and the churn of water under big props grinding astern. All those locals and fellow travellers amassed behind the ramp as it slowly descends into a burst of brilliant light to reveal yet another quay, mirroring the same human excitement and anticipation. The lines snake ashore, the ramp clangs and grinds onto the quay. And then the two-way rush begins. Hello Syros, Mykonos, Paros, Amorgos, Folengandros. Here we go again….”
We were met by the van from the small hotel that we are staying in and then driven up the zig-zag road to the rim and then to our hotel a few minutes away. We have dbl. bed plus a single bed in our room, plus refrigerator, private bath and balcony. Filtered sea view through a bunch of wires and a telephone pole. 35 euros/room/night. San Giorgio Villas Apartments, Thira, Santorini. (Ask for room 7-the best room and our room). Great hotel and Giorgio is very friendly and helpful.
We walk the few minutes through Thira to the rim overlooking the Caldera to have a drink and watch the world famous sunset view from the rim. It is truly fantastic.
Sunday October 3rd. Greece can be expensive and inexpensive. Breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and coffee is 20 euros. Each coffee is separately charged. And so we normally eat on our room balcony and use our room refrigerator to provide us with Greek yoghurt and honey. Dinner at Nikolas (he seems to be able to speak to every tourist in their native tongue) in Thira is more reasonable where two modest entrees and a carafe of house wine can be 25 euros. Mama’s is also good for both dinner and breakfast.
Here’s some of Mama’s menu:
Tzatziki-Yoghurt dip with garlic and cucumber.
Roasted “Gigantic” white beans (butter beans we guess) are delicious.
Fried Goat’s Cheese (“Saganaki”) 4 euros
Mama’s chick pea balls. 5 euros
Eggplant balls stuffed with Feta cheese
Pork Souvlaki (kebab) with fried potatoes, onions, tomatoes, plus Tzatziki and pita bread is 9 euros.
Stuffed zucchini (beef) 8 euros
Small carafe of ouzo or a carafe of house red is 6 euros.
We rented an ATV (4 wheeler motorbike and a lot of fun) and drove around the island. We visited Oia (“Eea”). All the guidebooks tell you it’s better than Thira and it tries to be upmarket, (there are some $1200/night rooms there) but we liked Thira more.
We visited the Minoan ruins at Thera and were very pleasantly surprised by them. Huge town set on the very top of this mountain, it takes 2 hours just to walk around the ruins.
The Greek Islands are great but it’s very odd to visit them since the only commercial activity now is tourism so in Mykonos apparently 80% of the Greeks leave for Athens in the off season and the place practically shuts down. Thus it makes you wonder what exactly you are visiting-is it just a stage setting? Santorini does have its very unusual and spectacular setting and we liked Mykonos with its little winding streets deliberately designed to confuse pirates but we decide to leave the island hopping and head for some “real” Greece if we can find it. So we will divide the remaining two weeks between Crete and the Peloponnese/Athens.
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