I arrived at 2am, with no where to go, planning to camp for the nite near the port to make my way inland during the light of the next day. I hitched up the ridiculous hill that would have taken me over an hour to get up had I walked, setting up camp in a partially constructed building facing the east to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately, I had not taken into account how much colder Santorini was in comparison to Rhodes and thus I suffered a sleepless and freezing night until sunrise when I packed up and started walking. I tried to hitch into Thira but have since concluded that the public transport is so good here, no one except the bus will pick you up. I caught the bus to Thira and then onto Oia, for what reason, I'm not really sure, I just... Went. Tourist information told me the youth hostel was closed, leaving the cheapest rooms at 45€ a nite. In a panic of what I would do without sacrificing my dream of exploring Santorini, I sat in an Internet cafe in a car rental business. Looking over at the brochure, it hit me. I will rent a car and sleep in it cuz that equals out to less than a hotel, it will be warm, and I'll have transportation to see everything faster and out of the way. So indeed, that's what I did. Now I find myself in a hotel on wheels, warm and safe from the elements. Everybody is concerned for my safety but Santorini has a crime rate of basically zero, crime is tourists against other tourists. The island is only slightly bigger than Bermuda at 29sq miles and the population is less than Bermuda at 10,000! But over 100,000 in the summer I'm told!
Santorini is a place I have been dreaming of visiting for as long as I can remember, for as long as I have understood the notion of travel and for as long as I have been fascinated with the writings of Atlantis. There is more evidence that Santorini was the intelligent society that Plato wrote of than there is of it being any other place. Despite the name that has stuck for centuries, the great culture was likely not located in the Atlantic but was in fact a Minoan Crete civilisation. The evidence at Akrotiri is undeniable and geographically, it's the only island that fits Platos' description. Tho I heard while I was there there are claims of it being in Spain now. He described it as a round island and originally, it was. Now it is a cresent surrounding the volcano that created it with some islets left within the caldera, the inhabited one forming part of the remaining circle. The rest was swallowed by the sea in the catastrophe we all know as Atlantis today. To look out into the distance at the steep cliffs that once continued to the centre volcano and think that much could collapse into the sea is phenomenal and a stark reminder of how we are truly at the mercy of the elements.
Unfortunately, the Akrotiri excavation site is currently closed, tho I did go there and peak. Apparently becuz a roof caved in, killing a tourist. The other archeological site is ancient Thira, atop one of the highest points of Santorini today, it takes 21 U turns, snaking up the steep hill to reach it. Although there isn't much there, one can't help but be in awe of how advanced the Minoans were and how the site was once a bustling city, the centre of the Mediterranean in technological advancement and government. Despite all that mysterious history and touristic hype, the ancient site I enjoyed the most was Skaros Castle ruins. It took me several attempts to find, I could see it, just couldn't reach it but finally, down the winding steps and past the fancy hotels of the steep cliffside, I found the stairs that lead down and out to the lonely rock protruding from the sea. The medieval ruins were once the capital before new Thira became the centre but little remains of it since a 19th century earthquake. Paths lined in daisies lead around and up to the peak which seems to have also been part of the castle with rooms still existing beneath. I neared the top determined but thinking as I climbed the last section how long it would take anyone to notice I was missing and further more, where I last was, so I gripped a little tighter, taking time to sure my footing before the next step. So many times here I've thought, 'Wow it would suck if there's an earthquake right now.' You can literally see how everything would just slide off the edges and into the ocean. It's amazing they build where they do, every main tourist destination is a disaster waiting to smack into the sea. Trying to keep the thoughts of shifting earth from my mind, I headed down, spotting a church on the outer ridge of the rock. It's the most secluded one I've seen yet and if it were warmer, I would be sleeping out there in a minute. It was a surreal experience wandering around thru the narrow paths and countless steps seeing just how large the castle must have once been and how it was woven within the rock as well as around it.
I set out for the volcano amid pouring rain and 8' seas. The only lone traveler in scoops full of tourists. The hike up the volcano is testing and does not peak as one might think it would. The paths are defined and oddly, the centre has the least black lava rock of all the areas on the islet. The sulfer smokes out lightly in the intense wind of the day as a woman measuring activity sits idly by. The hike back down is equally as difficult, particularly when you're under the impression your boat may be leaving without you and you rush. It was then onto the hot springs. A 50meter swim thru the icy sea into the browning red algae pool that is not as hot as it's made to sound. The boat was tilted so far to one side from the on lookers watching the swimmers make the dive. It was a nice swim that I needed and by the time I got back to the boat, I didn't want to get out.
Tho I was in good spirits I was depressed at the idiocy of the people around me, over hearing meaningless conversations, small minded babble, typical American girls. While driving to Oia, my thoughts of the mentioned were easily ignored away from the source and I soaked in every corner of what would be my last driven stretch of the island. Oia is similar to many of the other caldera clinging towns but the energy is different. Known for its sunsets that draw crowds to mingle with bottles of wine on the edge of town and as the last fleeting light of fire melts into the Mediterranean an applause rings out. Oia is a small town full of happier and more friendly people, moving at the pace of the sunsets, relaxed and enthralled with life in Santorini. Not to say other parts of Santorini don't have similar energies. Of my entire week in Santorini, this was where I met the most people. One of whom in particular I got the chance to bond with. Though she is Hungarian, she has more love and appreciation for the island than anyone I met. My time with her was inspiring, a bubbly young spirit that flows in sync with the universe, whose warmth makes one feel instantly comfortable, as if you'd known her for a lifetime. We shared conversation over dinners and appreciated the magnificence of the calderas' salty sea air. We would have stood there longer, on my last nite, in awe of the bat that squeaked above us and how the volcano disappeared within the centre, despite the near full moon, but it was too cod and I had to prepare for my ferry to Crete the next day. A hug goodbye and a last embrace of Santorini and her undeniable beauty ended my trip, with only the bus to the ferry to follow.
Τορα! Καλημέρα Κριτι!
Now! Good morning Crete!
Santorini is more than the pictures of emerald blue in stark contrast of white do justice. It's a wanderers' paradise, but if one looks to go where no tourist or traveller has gone before, that is likely not possible here. Every single corner caters to tourists and considering how many there are now in off season, I can't imagine what high season is like. Still, it's not to be missed and is truly unlike anywhere in the world. Perched on the caldera cliff tops, peering down at the ocean, the ocean moves in a slow motion, breathing in rolling swells, in a twirling soft embrace of every rock, each wave smothering the last before a shattering white end. Tho I could sit for hours watching the breath of the sea, Santorini makes hours pass so effortlessly.
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