A View of Santorini

Santorini, Greece

I arrived in Santorini on a Friday afternoon, for a planned 4-night stay, on the Blue Star Delos. One of the docks was heavily damaged and all the ships were trying to use a single dock, making it an absolute madhouse, as well as making it difficult get through the crowd to get to my hotel transportation. This was my introduction to the island.

Santorini had been a place that I had dreamed of visiting for many years, and this year was the time to finally visit. I knew that Santorini had become a hotspot for the tourist and Instagram crowd, resulting in the islands resources reaching the breaking point while struggling to struggling to manage the crush of tourism. Still, I knew that I too needed to go there.

The view from my room, a caldera view room, at the Ira Hotel and Spa in Firostefani, was stunning. The geography of the island is unique, with many of its familiar Cycladic white buildings hugging the rim of the ancient caldera. Santorini is part of a collapsed volcano, which erupted about 3,600 years ago, leaving the island as it’s seen today. Thera is the official name of the island and its main city, but the colloquial name Santorini is what people know it by.

My first day in Santorini was relaxing, as I intended. I took a short walk to see the Three Bells of Fira, and explored the paths in Firostefani to do a little window shopping.

The next day, Sunday, the weather took a turn for the worse, with rain and high winds; I thought the shutters on my deck were going to come off at the hinges that night, as it was so windy. During a break in the weather, I walked up the main trail to Imerovigli, but due to high winds and rain, I soon returned to the hotel.

The rain finally stopped on Monday, so I made my way to Oia. It was still a bit cold and windy when I left, but despite that, there was a lot of tourists everywhere I looked. Many were already waiting near the castle for the famous sunset. I found a nice café for coffee and a bit of Greek Savory Cheese Pie, and just settled in to think about the experience of being in Santorini.

I’ve always found the Cycladic architecture to be fascinating; with the emphasis on primarily white and blue colors, although I have seen quite a few painted in pastels as well. Surprisingly it was a Greek prime minister, Ioannis Metaxas, who ordered (1936) buildings in the Cyclades islands painted in white and blue colors to symbolize the white wave foams of the Aegean Sea and the blue of the Greek sky.

Perhaps the most popular activity on the island is to watch the sunset in Oia. People begin finding the perfect spot for their pictures, hours before the actual sunset.

There has been a lot of discussion about Santorini being close to the breaking point, in terms of being able to handle the crush of tourists, and I can believe it. Even though it was early in the season during my visit (the first week of May), everywhere I looked there was the crush of visitors.

I’ve given quite a bit of thought about whether I want to return or not. I couldn’t visit the archeological site and vineyards that I wanted to, due to the bad weather; which the locals all told me was unusual for this time of year. The trail between Oia and Fira was also partially blocked, making some of the more popular sites inaccessible. The crowds were a bit too much for me, as I prefer something quieter and laid back. Naxos was more in keeping with what I wanted out of a Greek island visit.

I’m sure that I will be back, the allure of the architecture and the view from the caldera is too much to ignore.

This visit was from 5 May to 8 May, 2019; all my travel arrangements were done by Fantasy Travel in Athens, whom I highly recommend; the next time I go back to Greece, they will be my first stop for travel arrangements.