Santorini — julio and christina

christina

When we arrived at dawn the sun was rising and I was trying my Greek on for size after a 15-year hiatus of being here. Apparently, I wasn’t ready for prime-time. The taxi driver dropped us off at a church and I thought he said to go left… we walked down a rough cobblestone path for about 20 minutes – all downhill (with our luggage in tow) before I realized we had left Imerovigli and entered the next village of Firostefani.

It really was a beautiful sunrise while dragging our wheelies up the same cobblestone path after 20+ hours of traveling from California through Paris and then Athens (over-nighting in the airport) and then finally arriving back to the church where the taxi had left us. Turns out the entrance to the hotel was right there behind a gate (with barely a sign) and some steps… I promised myself that moving forward if I had any questions on directions in Greek I would double check in English. No need to let my pride handle the navigation.

When we got to the gate it was, of course, locked. Thinking that nobody could hear us and in an act of travel exhaustion/desperation, Julio jumped over the medieval fence to open the door from the other side – a little parkour at 6am. After considerably ripping his brand new sweater and cursing the iron spikes, we watched in embarrassment as the hosts walked up the stairs to greet us and show us that all we had to do was reach in through the gate and open it from the inside and voila – should’ve thought of that! Onwards…

A lunar other worldly place that captivates you in life as in your dreams, Santorini is truly magical. That’s why there are boat loads, literally, of people going there everyday in the summer months. Arriving at the tail end of the summer season, I had asked our cab driver where to go that was off the beaten path. He laughed, and said there is no such place on this island. Years ago, when I was here with my cousins in 1999 and again with my parents in 2001, there were Greeks vacationing here – not anymore. It seems that foreign tourism has picked up considerably while prices have skyrocketed making the island out of reach for average Greeks and certainly anyone without deep pockets. There was no longer any place in Thira (the main town) that even played Greek music at night. Not one – according to every person I asked. There was, however, a “Greek Wedding” interactive play – (kind of like a Tony and Tina’s wedding for you NYers) where you can attend “wedding theater” and be one of the guests at the party! I am amazed to think of tourists going to a theatrical celebration in order to participate in our culture…it blew me away and brought up many questions - Is this Greece now? Where is the line between authentic culture and fabricated culture? How are we (and every tourist place) selling ourselves and with it our roots? (Anyone want to start this in Astoria?)

Though the streets are overcrowded, and I was overwhelmed by the differences since I was last here, the island still speaks its magic through its natural beauty. Standing over the caldera, a sunken volcano, you cannot help but feel like you are on another planet. The rich solar/lunar dichotomy of the day (the sun is so strong) and night (cool, windy and fluid) was evocative of the deep feminine energies of the planet and felt channeled from the core of the Earth, reflecting a true sense of balance.

Recognizing the history of the land here and watching the sun set into the sea and the moon rise over the edge of the island is as if you’re on Mars. The vibrant reds and blacks of the volcanic land juxtaposed with the whites and blues of the architecture are unlike anything else I’ve ever seen. It’s one of those places that you can keep coming back to and will amaze you every time. Connecting to this awe was the history of the ancient culture that once thrived here. We went to the ruins of Akrotiri where a part of the ancient Minoan civilization was based. The Minoans were an ancient civilization from 2600BCE that were based throughout the Mediterranean and were the source of the myth of the Labyrinth and King Minos. The artifacts here displayed an overwhelming presence of spirals and sacred symbols that evoked a rich civilization, and even one with a very different landscape pre-sunken volcano. There was a mural of monkeys in a forest found here which begged the question of what this land was like before? How will our world look in a few thousand years – will future generations dig out the remnants of skyscrapers?

JULIO

The Cycladic island of Santorini is stunningly gorgeous and other worldly. It appears like some kind of other far off planet or lunar landscape. There are many reasons why: its nature, beaches and cliffs are simply stunning. The white architecture built into the caldera is like nothing you have ever seen. The vibe is exotic, luxe and intoxicating. In contrast, almost immediately you can tell you're on the hottest, most popular tourist track of all the Greek Islands. There are far more many more Chinese, French, English, Italians and Germans than Greeks present on the island at all times (I saw and heard only a handful of Americans). There are many cruise ships in the port and if those cruise ships are there, you can bet that the town center of Thera (pronounced Feera) is quite choked with people. As is the sunset destination of Oia which everybody seems to scramble to at dusk. We stayed at a lovely five star hotel called The Vasilicos up on a hill just a bit up from the town center and under the village of Imerovigli. The hotel was fabulous. The service and the people working all became a great part of our experience in Santorini. We traveled to the archeological museum of Akrotiri, Perissa, Kumari Beach, Imerovigli and toured the various museums that the town center of Thera has to offer.

We enjoyed some of our first Greek meals and experienced the great hospitality and also the slight hustle-you attitude that you find on the high traffic Greek tourist track. You notice a lot through restaurant culture here. Food is generally cheaper then the US and the pace is MUCH slower. Like three hours slower then western standards. The food comes out immediately but finding your waiter to pay the tab at the end of your meal is extremely difficult. People really savor their meals here. Almost everyone smokes two or three cigarettes after dinner and enjoys spirits, cordials or more coffee. I am most certainly starting to regret quitting smoking since society here seems to be built for smokers as opposed to the West were they are tarred and feathered.

Another thing you find in Santorini is that most of the people working are there seasonally and live in Athens or elsewhere in Greece. They work there because there are very few good jobs in Athens and Greece period due to the economic crisis and it’s likely that you will find extremely intelligent, over-qualified people working in hospitality to make ends meet.

Riding the local bus was a thrill due to its insane and chaotic terminal. Simply a parking lot/obstacle course with a complete lack of systemic methods. No lines, tickets, gates or uniformed officials. Confused, painfully foreign tourists clamoring about and Greeks yelling at them to board here or there and at what time filled the station. The Santorini buses are all piloted by two very unenthusiastic swarthy Greek chaps. One driving the bus and one spotter/money collector. At every stop the spotter would yell the name of the stop at frightened tourists sitting on the edge of their seats through obstacle-ridden topography. Truly an amazing scene to watch unfold .

It seems silly to mention but makes an impression on any western tourist due to its daily multiple use: the restrooms. WC’s (wash closets) as they are called in Greece. Apparently there are only two inch sewer pipes in all of Greece so NO toilet paper is flushed in Greece. All waste paper is placed in a small, closing wastebasket next to the toilet. This definitely took some getting used to and along with access to hot (your are on an island) water made me realize how spoiled we can be. As I read the many reactions to these cultural differences on various blogs and Tripadvisor, I became a little ashamed of how much people complain about cultural differences. Most westerners on the web really sound bad when addressing these issues. I get it. Its different and can be gross but get over it. They don't have toilet paper in some countries.

Generally Santorini is incredibly romantic, filled with sun-drenched white architecture, incredible beaches, fancy and upscale restaurants, and tremendous coffee houses. We met some awesome people at the hotel and out and about we will never forget. Santorini is definitely a must while visiting Greece and may win for best Greek island.