Something to Declare

May 22-23, 2024: Santorini, the Last Word

Up early Wednesday to go to from Crete to Santorini. The high-speed ferry was notable for the smell of diesel fuel, and the number of passengers (around a thousand). Aahh, tourism!

We went straight from the disembarkation to the Koutsoyannopoulos Winery for a morning tasting and a visit to the Wine Museum:

Thence by bus to the biggest town on the island, Fira.

As noted before, Santorini has also been known by the Greek name Thera or Thira. When the Venetians took over the island (along with Crete) in the 13th Century, they built a church to honor Santa Irini (or in Greek, Irenyi), so the island itself took the name, pronounced locally as “Santorini.”

We were also told that Santorini had once been a round-shaped island, until the catastrophic eruption of a volcano around 1,600 BCE. The center of the island sank, leaving the eastern portion of the island, shaped like a crescent moon, with a smaller remnant (Therasia) to the west. Of the volcanic cone itself, only the small islands of Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni remain above water:

Fira looks down on the body of water that covers the former crater, which is today called the Caldera. Below is a view of the Caldera looking West from Fira, with Therasia to the right and Nea Kameni to the left:

Our hotel, the Santorini Palace, is quite lovely, with a design that imitates the white-washed, domed shapes that dominate the island. Our room has a small balcony overlooking the Aegean.

Dinner was nearby, at the Remvi restaurant, giving us views of the Caldera at sunset:

The haze evident in some of these Wednesday photos is not due to bad photography. Blame it on the remnants of the Sahara dust storm that’s been lingering over Greece and other parts of Europe for the past month. Today (Thursday) was a different story:

This morning we were off to the southwest part of Santorini, to the archaeological site at Akrotiri. These are 50 acres of excavation of a town that was buried by the volcanic eruption referenced above. The scientists are unsure of the culture that had been destroyed. Were these the remains of Minoan (early Cretan) culture, or were they from a period before?

In any event, the whole town had been covered by volcanic ash and lava (think Pompeii). This was a bad thing. On the other hand, the lava and ash preserved the town for the archaeologists to unearth.

No human remains were found, so the theory is that earlier seismic activity was a warning that led the inhabitants to flee in time by boats.

Most of the cultural information about the town came not from the ruins, but from the frescoes that were dug up. For example:

(Fresco photos courtesy of Tour buddy, Randy Rich.). The ruins themselves contained evidence of a taverna (see the amphora-shaped vessels below), and also a home with a toilet and a bathtub:

Amazing that this culture had sophisticated, functioning plumbing and an elaborate sewage system (something that had to be re-invented after the fall of the Roman Empire).

Later in the afternoon, we visited the town of Oia (pronounced “EE-yah”) on the northern coast of Santorini. While the rest of the group went off to look for the best vantage point for photographing the picturesque blue-domed church,

(stock photo from internet), Stef and I went off in search of a small repast. Found a taverna with jaw-dropping views of the sea and cliffs, and enjoyed wine, grilled octopus and fava beans with pita:

Our trip now comes to a close. Tomorrow we return to Athens and the flight back to the U.S.

As a postscript, we offer an homage to Odysseys Unlimited, and to our incredible tour guide, Ms. Athanasia Androutsopoulou, known to us as Nancy (shown below with Stef):

So καληνυχτα (“kalynychta” or good night!) to Greece and to you all, till next time. The next edition will come out in July, when we’re in Vienna, with our friend, Randi, from Boston. The tentative title is “Wienerschnitzel.”