Santorini

You know Santorini. Everybody knows Santorini. The ubiquitous image of the island is one with the whitewashed buildings, blue-domed roofs, clinging to the cliff-side overlooking the azure Agean Sea. You’ve seen it in a million travel brochures or websites. It crossed the line to iconic long ago.

But what is Santorini famous for? It is just one of many thousand Greek isles, closer to the smallest than the largest, with no large city or attraction. Santorini is famous for what it lost. Some four thousand years ago, Santorini was a mid-sized volcanic island. Then the volcano decided to literally blow off its top, leaving an archipelago of small islands with steep cliffs (the sides of the erstwhile volcano) surrounding a small remnant of the apex which sits tranquilly amidst the sea. It is stunning.

That beauty has transformed Santorini into a requirement for the “happenin’ set,” which in turn means the island can be overrun with tourists. Not just any old tourists, but people who are most interested in being there and being seen there. Think Instagram heroes. Selfie Kings-n-Queens. So what are Judy and I doing here? We hate crowds, we are as unhip as can be, and we (generally) don’t do sunny beaches trips. What gives?

You already know we love to travel, which was out of the question for the past year. We visited Athens (briefly, a cruise day excursion) once before and we really like Greek food, but neither of us had a return to Greece high on our list. Then the Greek government decided to go big and break with EU policy and admit vaccinated tourists before the whole bloc agreed: that was a move I wanted to reward! I started researching self-guided tours of the islands (I’ll cover why not Athens in a future post) using the website TripMasters, which specializes in self-developed tours from a range of options, with deep discounts for trips planned at least a month out (due to airline costs). Unfortunately, we couldn’t know when Greece would officially open a full month out, so I decided to do all the scheduling myself.

Normally I would have left Santorini off the itinerary, but I guessed that there would be no crowds as it was still too early for the masses: no cruise ships, difficult airline schedules, vaccination hassles and the like. So I decided to make Santorini the first stop.

Santorini in the Summer, with the crowds, is to be avoided. However, there is much to like about the island: many activities (beaches, sailing trips, hot springs, wineries, hikes and so many stunning vistas), great food, and very welcoming locals. Nearly everybody speaks English, and the Greeks seem unnaturally inclined to be helpful, especially to tourists. Yes, there are too many tourist (crap) shops, rushed tours, and hawkers of souvenirs,too.

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Besides souvenir shops, what did we find? Santorini holds the archaeological site of an ancient city called Akrotiri, which was buried by lava during the aforementioned volcanic eruption. In the 17th Century. BC. As in almost two thousand years before that other famous lava-preserved town, Pompeii. The dig site, which was only begun in earnest in the 1960s, is fantastic. The government built an enclosure over an entire section of the old town site, protecting the finds, the diggers, and the tourists who visit from the elements. Akrotiri was part of the ancient Minoan culture, which flourished in the Agean islands (including Crete) hundreds of years before the Greek city-states of Athens, Sparta, et cetera.

To see well preserved foundations of three-storey buildings, with piped-in water and piped out sewage, decorative wall art, and window spaces looking out on seascapes, in a town four-thousand years old? Amazing.

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While only a tiny part of the ancient town has been excavated, it is clear this was an advanced culture with significant acquired wealth. The town was mostly destroyed by an earthquake, then rebuilt within a generation before being buried by the volcano. The lack of human remains (of the type found at Pompeii) and the small number of valuable items recovered have led archaeologists to imagine that the townspeople evacuated with their prized possessions, demonstrating an awareness unusual at any time.

Another Santorini surprise is the cuisine. The rich volcanic soil supports local delicacies like fava beans (made into a hummus-like dip with olive oil, and topped with onions, and capers), tomatoes (which have the coveted Denominazione di Origine Controllata or DOC protection from counterfeiting) served a fried fitters, white wines, and of course fresh seafood. A great souvlaki is always just around the corner (and a bargain at several Euros) while fine dining restaurants are legion and run you tourist prices (think a good dinner for two with appetizers and wine = one hundred dollars). Greek cooking in general means simple food made of high quality ingredients, always olive oil and tzatziki, and ouzo (or a local liqueur) as a chaser.

Here’s one story that says it all. Our first night in Santorini, we went out to a nice restaurant, intent on finishing a long, time-changing travel day with a memorable meal. We got a table with a great view of the caldera and had the restaurant all to ourselves. The fava and tomato appetizers were fantastic, the local wines sublime. As the sun set before us, I thought this was just about perfect.

Then I heard a loud, American voice. Out in the narrow cobblestone path in front of the restaurant. Getting louder. It was a young man from Miami, accompanying a young lady he was evidently trying to impress. They sat directly above us (on a tier) in the restaurant, and he continued speaking as if no one else was there. They were in town for a family wedding: her family was Greek (-American) and he was along as her “friend.” They discussed the peculiarities of various family members and the relationships. He enthused about seeing “all the places you talk about (sic).” He tended to drop vulgarity into his phrases randomly, as the young and uneducated sometimes do. He spoke nearly constantly, a veritable stream-of-consciousness monologue that made up in volume what it lacked in thought. They were both impressed at the man they just met, whom they knew had it “goin’ on,” because his watch was “real.” They discussed why you don’t need to go to college to succeed, and why she was “all over it” with her unspecified work. He confessed to “keepin’ it real” too, and making “a bunch” that way.

Oh, they did notice the sunset, which merited a brief comment. They finished their cappuccinos (in the afternoon?) and told the waiter they’d be back later that night–with their friends–for some “serious drinkin’.” And they were gone. For us, they were just twenty minutes of evening entertainment, and a reminder of why you don’t go to Santorini when the crowds do. Nothing could ruin the view, the food, the experience, except maybe a crowd like that!