 22 April 2007Santorini I am up early this morning. The Daily Program in our stateroom's mailbox last night informs us that the sunrise will be at 06h36 this morning and I want to be up to see us sailing into Santorini. Way out there in the wet early morning gloom the islands of Santorini come into view.  The Internet is great, isn't it? You can find anything. Who knows? Maybe I didn't even go on this trip at all and just downloaded all these pictures off the Internet? Anyway, thanks to some good soul at Touristorama (from whom I stole this map) we can have a bit of an idea of what we're getting into on our way into Santorini. When you see Santorini from the air (or on a map like this) the overall circular shape makes it quite obvious that it is a volcanic caldera. (Or, I suppose, some kind of impact crater, but that wouldn't make sense.) In this case a volcano that exploded gigantically thousands of years ago (1628 BC) and ended the game of Civilization for the Minoans (and left this giant caldera for cruise ships to visit). The volcano has remained active ever since and remains so today. One might then ask the obvious question of why people would choose to live on an active volcano over the course of thousands of years, particularly in light of the fact that it had already once proven to be a civilisation-ending type of volcano and also grumbles enough to level most of the buildings on Santorini a couple of times every century. Perhaps they applied the ancient wisdom that lightning never strikes the same place twice. While true of lightning volcanoes almost always strike the same place twice. Whatever the reason I personally apply the same logic to visiting Santorini as I do to California. I have no idea why the crazy locals choose to live there but as long as I don't die when I visit, then I am okay with that. Anyway, I have taken the liberty of marking our planned route into amongst the islands this morning with the pale yellow line. We approach from the North-West, entering the caldera by passing between Oia and Omos. We then turn South and circle around the volcano at the centre and stop temporarily to let some of the passengers off at the port of Athinios (including us). From there the ship will go on to wait near the port of Fira until this evening.  The sun rises on a somewhat cloudy day here at Santorini as we pass by the town of Oia, perched on the rim of the volcano. For the record, I am just going to use the placenames that are used by normal people (IE non-Greek). Not only to avoid confusion but also because in my researches of Santorini I have been rather annoyed by the fact that sometimes you can't find anything listed under Santorini and you have to look up "Thira" instead. (Thira is the main island, whereas (I suppose) Santorini is the entire collection of islands.) Do the Greeks want people to come and visit their country or not? If so, then I suggest that on their tourist books and websites that when you look up Santorini that something be listed there instead of just nothing. At the very least something that says "Santorini: See Thira". When I get a message that says "Your search returned no results." I just assume that Santorini must therefore not exist after all, despite rumours to the contrary, and I'll go on vacation in Austria instead, where you can do a search for Vienna and it still brings up results for "Wien". Just an idea.  Way off in the hazy distance the windmills of the town of Oia are visible through the morning gloom.   Up on the Sky Deck we get a view as the Veendam passes into the caldera of the volcano.  Up ahead of us are the two island bits at the centre of the caldera which nowadays is the active part of the volcano.  Up ahead on the left through all that mist is the main town of Fira.  Looking back we see the town of Oia again on the right and we are now officially in the caldera of the volcano.  As the Veendam makes its way through the islands we have a bit of breakfast.   As we circle around the volcano island things we can see Fira in the distance.  The two volcano island things as we sail past.  A bit of sun coming out now. I hope that's a sign that we'll get some sun today. But it's not raining, at least, so that's something. (The deck is wet from overnight rain, just in case you wondered.)  I am amazed that people would choose to live up on the rim of a volcano like this.  I'll just wander around the deck for a while and take some random pictures of what's going on.     The town of Fira off to our left side in the distance.  The Veendam slowly comes to a stop and small "tender" boats approach to take passengers ashore. Santorini doesn't have any docks big enough to handle such a large ship, so going ashore requires a short boat ride.  Off in the distance is some rain and nasty look clouds. Fingers crossed that at least it won't rain on us today.  The main town of Fira off in the distance (yet again).  Some tender boats heading over toward the Veendam from Fira.  Even further in the distance the town of Oia can be seen. That's where we are headed first this morning, but our scheduled time to catch a tender boat off the ship isn't for a while yet, so I will just wander around and enjoy the views.  A zig-zag pattern across the face of the rock shows the road up the rim of the volcano from the port of Athinios, where we are headed shortly.     Some random views as I wander around the ship.  Finally it is our turn to leave the ship and we step out of the hatch on one of the lower decks and climb down to the waiting tender boat below.  Everyone is sitting inside. Forget that. I want to sit on the top in the open air.  A view alongside the Veendam from the tender boat.  And so our little boat pulls away. You can see the stairs where we just came out at the right side.      The ride in to shore is too short for me. I'd have liked to drive around a bit more.  And so we step onto solid ground once again at Athinios - the Veendam still visible in the distance.  Fast forward a bit now and we've made our way all the way along the main island to the town of Oia at the Northern end. Looking back we can see a bit of sun as well as the Veendam waiting off of Fira in the distance.  A close-up of the Veendam through the haze. The Veendam will wait there until we're all back aboard this evening.  A view down over some of the houses of Oia. Notice the dog sitting at the left side.  Probably now is as good a time as any to mention that the town of Oia is actually pronounced "ee-ah", not "oy-ah".  Not all of the houses in Oia are in such good shape. Remember that there are periodic earthquakes that damage or destroy the buildings. Most of what we see has been built in the past 50 years.  The dog takes a nap on a precarious ledge. Dubrovnik was a city of cats, but it seems that Oia is a city of dogs. I have seen not a single cat yet.  Making our way to the Northern end of town toward these blue roofs.   Not all of the colour schemes are white and blue, as you can see from this ruined building.  The narrow streets are rather charming, don't you think?  Something about the décor of this place makes me want to go home and paint the new beach house apartment in white and blue.  There are a lot of churches in Oia - something like 70 or 80, I heard someone say. Which is a lot since I don't think more than a few hundred people live here.  This must be the town's only cash machine, tastefully tucked into the local décor.  Like I said, not all the décor is stark white. These sudden Earth-tones contrast sharply.  Continuing down through the narrow streets. I am not sure where we're going, but somewhere down here must be the windmills we saw this morning as we sailed in.  The first cat of the day. I like the dogs better.  Cat and blue roofed church in the distance.  What an odd place this is. I have no idea what the design of this house is for, with these empty spaces in front.  A view over some more of the roofs shows the variety of colour schemes in use here in Oia.  This church has chosen to clash in colour schemes. And in the distance is the Veendam, if you look.  Hmmmm. I rather like this orange as well. Maybe I'll paint the new beach house in orange?  Yet another church, as you can see from the bell tower sticking out.  The white disappears as we head down a bit on our way North.  Maybe the volcanic fumes make people a bit crazy and bent on making everything extra colourful?  Or maybe it is the otherwise drab landscape of a volcano rim that makes the locals feel the need to colour things up?  A view back across the town of Oia. As you can see, it's easy to get lost in all these little streets going up and down the cliff.  Another dog, overlooking the town somewhat majestically.  Finally we find our way to a nice viewpoint overlooking the town and the windmills that we saw this morning.  Looking WAYYY down we can see a tiny fishing village.  It was through this channel and into the caldera that we sailed a few hours ago.  This angle is one of those postcard picture kind of angles, so you'll forgive me if I take the same picture a couple of times.  Check out that pool down there. How cool is that?  The same view, but showing the cliff all the way down to the village below.  From here you can really start to get a sense of how perched on the rim all of these houses are.  Once again we see the Veendam way off in the distance waiting for us.  This view is so amazing, I can't help but feel compelled to take more pictures.  A close-up of the windmills and the maze of streets that remind me of an Escher print.  A strange statue on someone's roof overlooking the caldera.  This one house is almost entirely blue. Maybe I should paint the beach house entirely blue? No, I don't think so.  Yet another dog. Oia is definitely a dog town.  The exposed wall of this church reminds me of the Orthodox churches in Kosovo somehow. I find it interesting that here they take the effort to cover the underlying masonry with plaster.  If anyone is in the market for a nice plot of land in an amazing location on the rim of a volcano, then this is for sale.  The Veendam in the distance, glimpse between some roofs and chimneys.  There is no lack of rooms to rent out here in Oia. Most advertise as being in "traditional" style houses, which I cannot see evidence that there is anything BUT "traditional" style buildings here.  Oia even has an Easy Internet Café. A Traditional Easy Internet Café, I'll bet.  One last view from Oia before we head all the way to the Southern end of the island and to the highest point of land on Mount Prophet Elias.  Fast forward and we have arrived at Mount Prophet Elias, the highest point of land in Santorini. As you can see, not all of Santorini is volcanic rim, in fact beyond the rim of the caldera the land slopes away to being rather flat.  The view from the mountain all the way across Fira and the Veendam to Oia in the very very far distance, toward the left side.  Perhaps zooming in make is more clear. Way off in the distance (top-left) is Oia.  A few weeks ago I wasn't sure that there even was an airport on Santorini. I didn't know there was enough flat land to build one. Now I know better.  Way down below us is the largest beach on Santorini, that lines nearly the entire South end of Thira.  I am very surprised to learn that Santorini is an incredibly dry place and that there are cactuses. Here in the middle of the Mediterranean the exposure makes for very little rainfall and constant wind. (And yes I know that it's supposed to be "cacti", but don't be so pretentious.)  I am further surprised to learn how the Santorinians grow wine. This is a typical Santorini vineyard, where the vines have to stay as close to the ground as possible to conserve moisture and protect them. So what they do is weave them into little circular basket shapes.  Another typical Santorini farmer's field, which looks a lot like trying to grow tomatoes on the beach.  Fast forward a bit again and we arrive at the main town of Fira. Down below is the Veendam, still waiting for us.  A view across Fira with Oia in the distance.  I guess we'll wander the streets of Fira for a while and see what there is to see.  Fira is similar to, but not quite the same as, Oia. There are fewer cute houses and blue roofed churches here, but the basic principle of living on a volcano rim is the same.  Fira also has a lot more bars and hotels and restaurants and seems to be more of an active place than the somewhat sleepy town of Oia.  Lunch is Mixed Grill at a restaurant overlooking the caldera (with the Veendam down below, of course).  Some tender boats make their way back and forth between the Veendam and the port of Fira. There are three ways to get from the bottom of the cliff to the top. The first is a cable car, the struts for which you can see at the bottom of this picture. The second is to ride a donkey. The third is, of course, to just walk.  A view across Fira gives an idea of just how far down it is.  This is a nice view of the inside of the caldera of the volcano, with the Veendam and the volcano island things behind it. You can take boats over there to hot springs, apparently.  From the winding streets of Fira one gets a sense of what the Greek Islands are all about and why the Greeks (Ionians, Minoans, etc) were such sea-faring people in ancient times. In the distance another island can be seen. In a world with islands just at the limit of sight it only stands to reason that one will find ways to get from one to another.  This is the Cosmopolitan Suites Hotel in Fira, Santorini - apparently one of the Great Hotels of the World (according to the plaque).  That terrace looks like a nice place to lie in the sun or sit in the pool, don't you think?  Fira has a lot more Earthy tones to it than Oia did. Less bright colours.  After a long day of shopping we stop for a drink before heading back to the ship. This is the view from our table perched overlooking the town of Fira.  Down below us the tender boats continue to go back and forth between Fira and the Veendam.  Some interesting rock formations with Oia off in the distance.   You might have noticed from all these shots of the Veendam that it is actually spinning around in place (using its thrusters, presumably) as it sits waiting there.   Fira is a cat town, as you can see. Not many dogs in evidence here.  And so we start the long walk down the cliff to catch a boat and return home to the Veendam. Way above you can see a folded terrace umbrella. That is where we were just sitting to have a drink a moment ago.  Down below us are the waiting donkeys. Whether we ride those or walk we have to go down the same path.  I am not keen on riding a donkey down the cliff, to be honest. I'd rather walk.  The donkey guys wait around to take people down the cliff. I have to tell you that these guys are a bunch of pricks, however. You see, when you leave the ship the crew gives you a voucher for a free donkey or cable car ride. A lot of people choose to not use either and just walk down and enjoy the views. Their voucher just goes to waste, in other words, but obviously the Holland America line only later pays the donkey or cable car people for as many vouchers as are turned in. So what the donkey people do is tell people who are walking that they have to turn in their voucher for walking down, which isn't true, of course, but some people are stupid and hand over their vouchers and put some unearned Euros into the pockets of the dishonest donkey drivers.  It's not the Donkey's fault that their owners are slimy dickheads.  Some more cactuses remind us of what an incredibly dry place this is, all cloud cover evidence to the contrary. (And as for "cacti", well, the spell-checker has no problem with cactuses. It must be a word after all.)  Some donkeys make their way up and the cable cars can be seen behind them going up and down.  In the distance a ferry arrives from some other Greek island somewhere, heading for Athinios.  Another pack of donkeys makes their way down the path to the bottom.  A funny little door along the path and more cactuses.  And even more cactuses. Somewhere out there some cats are caterwauling.  Fast forward a bit and we've climbed all the way down to the bottom. It was a long way and even though it was down, the steps were a bit tough on the knees. Anyway, here we see that the lower part of Fira is a dog town, not a cat town.  And so we queue up to board the tender boat and head out to the Veendam.  A VERY short ride brings us alongside the Veendam and we wait to climb on board.  I love climbing aboard the ship from out here on the water in the middle of the caldera.  From the bow of the ship we have a nice view of the town of Fira right ahead of us.  Zooming in a bit we can see the path that we just walked down. From this angle you can really see how far down it is - equivalent to walking down a very tall skyscraper.  Way off in the distance across the water is Oia.  Looking back we see that behind us are the two volcano islands.  With the sun coming out I decide to wander around the ship a bit and enjoy the views of Santorini before we depart.     And so, as the sun begins to set behind us, the Veendam lifts anchor and starts to make its way out to open water again.  Some may recall that just a week or so before this trip a cruise ship sank here at Santorini. And you might therefore have been wondering where exactly that happened. Apparently that was right here at the base of this cliff where you see the two boats and the netting.  I assume that the netting is because the ship is leaking oil and so that keeps it from spreading out over all the water.  Sitting up here on the bow of the ship is my favourite place to sit for watching the ship sail out of habour.  These broken clouds make for some nice god-rays, don't you think?  Another ship heads out to sea and into the sunset.  Fira recedes into the distance behind us.  The captain informs us that we have some extra time so we'll do some scenic cruising around the caldera before heading out to sea. Basically we'll follow the reverse route as we did this morning.  Soon we'll turn to the right and head to the North again.  As we are now cruising around, it might be interesting to mention where the word "cruising" comes from. Apparently it comes from the olde days of pirates and the Dutch word "kruisen", which means "to cross" and describes the pattern of back and forth sailing pirate ships would do to find their victims.   Through gaps in the volcanic islands we can see Oia in the distance.  Fira as seen from the opposite side of the volcano islands at the centre of the caldera.       Slowly we make our way North and out to sea past Oia.  Looking back into the caldera and toward Fira.       I think that I have to say that Oia is my favourite part of Santorini (as is evident from the number of pictures I take of it as we sail past).   And so, passing through the channel, we are in open waters once again.     Several last views of Oia as we steam away.  One final look back into the Caldera as we leave Santorini behind us.  The sun breaks on the incredibly red stones beneath Oia. You may have noticed how much variation there is in the rock layers here at Santorini.  This view really shows how the ground slopes away from the tall rim of the volcano and flattens out. In the distance is Mount Prophet Elias, where we were this afternoon.  A final view back toward the islands of Santorini before we head to dinner.  And so the sun sets over the Greek Islands and another day comes to an end. But there are more Greek Islands ahead of us tomorrow as we make our way overnight to the island of Rodos. Until then let's check in with the Daily Logbook to see where we're at: Fact of the day: The volcanic explosion at Santorini in 1628 BC is thought to be the largest in the Earth's history. (By which I assume they don't count the earlier days when the Earth was forming and most definitely had much larger explosions.) Distance travelled (Dubrovnik to Santorini) = 603,5 Nautical Miles (1116,5 km) Total distance travelled = 3190 km |
