As with everywhere else I was visiting, I had no idea what to expect. Dumb, perhaps, considering the expense; but at least I had no preconceptions so everything came as a surprise.
The ship dropped anchor, and tenders took us to shore, where we boarded our buses and began 'the climb' to the top.
I recognized my seat-mate from the chorus and lucky for me he was chatty; not overly, but I pretty much toured alone so it was a welcome diversion.
It was a nice drive to wherever we were going. I thought the windmills offered a sweet touch. Once flour mills and ??, they are mostly B&B's. OMGosh, while researching I found a place called Windmill Wonder, I could definitely stay in something like that.
The scenery was different from what we'd seen on tour thus far. Our first stop was Megalochori, a small town where today's guide claimed to be from. Turns out it's touted as a 'hidden gem' in other travel blogs.
The town was dead - no one seemed up and about save a few other tourists. I love back alleys like this - I always wonder what's at the end, but I was on a tour.
We heard how the town's population was dwindling - hard to earn a living here, so many people either moved-to or commute-to Athens, I heard that on a couple of islands. It was the same in Puerto Rico for young people, but life in America was too different for some and they eventually returned to the island. Probably the same in Greece.
Darling homes and streets, but what's this? Following a devastating earthquake in 1956, the town decided to leave these homes untouched, as reminders.
"It was one of the biggest earthquakes of the 20th century that struck in the early hours of July 9, 1956, almost leveled Santorini, causing an explosion of the Thira volcano and a huge tidal wave." Costas Papazachos, professor of seismology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
I see now that my 'travel blog' would not be complete without a picture of Megalochori's Bell Tower, it is beautiful. We walked beneath it's magnificence and it was hard to snap a pic without heads, but I managed.
It led to a charming plaza. I love plazas in different countries; such a sense of community, at least when there're people around. It's like sidewalk cafes - so common elsewhere, but in America? We gave up so much charm on the way to becoming an industrialized powerhouse.
Onward to our main destination and the origin of those iconic photos:
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| Oia, Santorini |
Our bus parked in the large lot among these many others. It was bound to be more crowded than Megalochori, but JEEZ, I didn't expect Coney Island in the summer.
We walked towards another plaza, here's the beautiful Church of Panagia Platsani, with its own Bell Tower. It has a confusing story about a Virgin Mary icon found in the sea and placed in a church; but which mysteriously moved (during the night) back to a different location, day after day, until folks decided to build a church where the icon chose. You can read the story in the link.
Churches are all over the place in Greece, but I was surprised how many could be crammed in these tiny towns. Here's an explanation I found on Wandering Through Time and Place with Curtis and Peggy Mekemson:
"Why so many? One or two large churches could easily accommodate the population, especially since the majority of the population is Greek Orthodox. The answer lies in the fact that Oia is a fishing village and the life of a fisherman is filled with danger. When things become iffy, religious folks, and even not so religious folks start talking to God and making promises. “Get me through this and I’ll do so and so…” There is a long list of options. In Oia, for those who could afford it, the offering became “I’ll build you a church.”"To make things a little more personal, the fishermen dedicated their churches to whatever saints they thought were looking out for them. The saint was their go-to guy (or gal), their direct line to God. And even today, the feast day of the saint is a big thing at the various chapels. One final note: many of the churches are privately owned, passed down within a family for generations from the original builder."
"In 1938, the Greek government ordered residents to paint their buildings with limestone whitewash to help stop the spread of cholera. Limestone was considered a powerful antibacterial and disinfectant material at the time."
Now it's more to keep everything postcard-pretty. Certainly keeps them cooler.
I can't quite remember the order of events, but at some point Larry and I did some exploring. Oia was packed with people jostling in and out of tiny shops and competing for perfect selfies. Following a line of tourists, we had to slowly step down to the great viewpoint where Larry kindly took one of the few pictures of me on this trip, top shot. I reciprocated, hoping I handled his camera phone properly. Click click and we had to move on for others
When I commented on the number of people despite the early season, the guide said there were only two cruise ships in the harbor; I should see it when there's seven! No thanks. At one point we parted ways, with the sweet guide assuring me the tram and stairs were towards the right, I wouldn't miss 'em as long as I kept walking.
Look at the size of the cruise ship in front of ours. Granted, there's the distance factor, but still, it's HUGE in comparison. I never wanted to cruise on something that large, and was thankful our ship was more manageable. I know there are even larger, but they must be geared towards families. There weren't many kids on the Celestyal; again I thanked my lucky stars.
I swung with three others, snapping pictures facing backwards on the way down; the better POV, turns out. The last time I rode in a tram was over 30 years ago. Still disappointed when the ride was over.
Here's a closer shot of the stairs on that dog-leg trek. It's probably a beautiful experience, but the Eiffel Tower taught me it's NOT so easy to walk DOWN a ga-zillion steps; ok, 250-300 long ones.
How did they get the equipment and building materials there?
We reached the bottom. Ammoudi Village was probably cute to poke around, but I'd already done my shopping and I'm not a fan of octopus or feta, so I just headed back to the ship.
Only after returning home did I read how I apparently missed the most spectacular sunset, from either up top or down below. Tons of people, but beautiful. Hadn't even thought about it.
I did stand at the railing later in the afternoon, when the sun gave Santorini a lovely glow, here's a poor composite. No wonder it's so popular - go see for yourself!
Coming soon: Mykonos and Delos
From the beginning: Athens and the Parthenon
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