Santorini

We woke up and walked essentially across the street to our high-speed Seajets ferry that transported us about two hours from Crete to Santorini. The ferry was new and clean, and we had a doughnut and yogurt for breakfast. 

Here’s a photo of the boat in the old port in Santorini and people disembarking. As our private tour guide, Joanna and our trusty driver, both locals, drove us up the mountain, we could see the boat off for its next island then eventually Athens. 







The name "Santorini" is a contraction of Saint Irene, after an old church in Perissa and due to Venetian / Italian influences. But the official island name is Thera - it is the largest island of a circular archipelago formed by the Santorini caldera and the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands. It is essentially the rim of an old active volcano and only Thera and Thirasia are inhabited. 

As the port is in the south and our hotel is in the north, I decided to book a private and customizable tour to essentially have a one way transfer, to kill time before afternoon check-in, and to sightsee the southern part of the island. Knowing us, I knew it would be difficult for us to leave the hotel or go too far after settling in. 

So first, we learned about the white wine grapes which are protected by having the vines wrapped like wreaths. The ring formation protects the grapes from the wind and the sun, and never watered as the volcanic earth and pumice rocks soak in water from the sea and rain and replenishes the vines. You just saw rings of grapes all over the island…



We then walked through Megalochori, a well-preserved village in the southern part of the island and with its classic Cycladic architecture:









We stopped for this panorama viewpoint and where we could see the circular ring of the caldera:



In the middle, Palaia Kameni which is inactive on the left and Nea Kameni island which is an active volcano on the right:



There was only one cruise ship in the harbor. Joanna said the most she’s seen is 7 at the height of tourist season and for this island population of just 15,000. 



As we parked at the southern Akrotiri Lighthouse, we saw a whole slew of Koreans across two cars, but didn’t talk to them. I thought my mom would as she hung back while Justin and I walked up and enjoyed the views: 





The small island in the front and left is called Aspronisi or “White Island” as it’s made of pumice:



Next, at the Red Beach we enjoyed a violinist and took in the deep red cliffs due to the volcanic landscape:





Although we initially declined it, we ultimately decided to pop into the Akrotiri Archaeological Site. We learned then Joanna majored in archaeology at university in Crete and her grandfather and great grandfather were involved in the original excavations of this once-flourishing Minoan city, buried in volcanic ash for over 3,500 years. Here’s a model:



Then the covered ruins with an easy viewing and accessible platform: 





It’s several stories deep - we also learned Santorini buildings today can’t be higher than three stories due to the possibility of earthquakes:



And more large original jugs like we saw at Knossos:



For lunch, we were brought to Taverna Perivolos where we ordered Santorini Fava, a local dish of fried tomatoes (Santorini is famous for their tomatoes), grilled octopus, mussels, and calamari washed down with a Radler. We were also shown Greek hospitality with espresso liquor:





The tavern was in front of Perissa Black Sand Beach. In addition to Red and Black, there’s a White Beach only accessible by boat - all three colors are due to the varying volcanic sediment:



After passing several Venetian castles and windmills, we visited the capital, Fira with its busy shopping streets and square:







Then we drove to our hotel passing by the terraces that are no longer used for farming as everything is now imported and eastern views from the very high highway: 





Here’s our hotel, Mystique, awashed in the signature white of the northern Oia village with many steps on this hillside:



After the welcome lemonade drink and being checked in by the front desk associate who loves all things Korean and BTS, we were shown our 2 bedroom suite which was white on the inside and cavernous:





With a nice, but drizzly and cloudy view:











I managed to motivate and hopped into the jacuzzi which soothed my aching shoulder (it was diagnosed as being impinged right before this trip):



I tried to convince the others to join, but they rested in comfy beds. Mama Kim did play photographer for a bit:





The cliché activity is to watch the sunset from Oia town. Although it was cloudy, we decided to go as it’s our only full night here. We called a taxi for Mama Kim and headed to the town center where we saw lots of people from around the world. But it wasn’t that crowded as there were no cruisers. 









Here’s Thirasia island, the only other inhabited island in the caldera:



Mama Kim hung back while we walked up to the panorama point where I caught her taking photos of us:





Photos from the sunset panorama point:







Recommended by my brother’s friend, we ate at Lotza Tavern where we ordered a salad, mixed seafood and rice, mussels saganaki, and spaghetti: 



Then we popped into some souvenir shops and contacted the hotel for a taxi. These days, the hotels and concierge contact you via WhatsApp and it makes communication pretty seamless. We then navigated the hillside steps back to our room…