I won’t deny that I got it into my head to go to Santorini when the first Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants came out. The dreamy island with whitewashed buildings and blue domes, donkey caravans, and rugged coastline with a sheer drop into the Aegean Sea appealed to my senses in every way. I spent many years hoping to visit the tiny island. Finally, while I was living in Spain, my parents planned a trip to Athens and I decided to tag along, but I had one demand… and yes, it was essentially a demand. I insisted we fly to Santorini for a few days. It was well worth the middle-of-the-night trip to the airport, but can I say it lived up to the fantasy I’d been nurturing for years?
Oia - Santorini's Jewel
When we booked the trip to Santorini, I knew exactly where I wanted to stay. Oia is a village on the northwest tip of the island, and it must be the most photographed village in all of the Greek Islands, with its quintessential blue domes against the backdrop of the caldera caused by a volcanic eruption 3600 years ago. Called the Minoan eruption, this volcanic activity may have inspired the legend of Atlantis. There is nothing about Oia that isn’t aesthetically appealing. The old windmills transport visitors to a simpler time; the colourful buildings bring to mind a mellow sunset. The photographs don’t lie. This is a stunning village.
Except for one thing. There is something on the island that is neither beautiful nor appealing. That is us, the tourists. Between overnight visitors to Santorini and the cruise ships that dump thousands of passengers on an island with a population of around 15,000, the streets are crammed with sun hats and the dreaded socks and sandals. One can only avoid other people to a degree in Oia.
We were actually quite fortunate to visit Oia in the last two weeks of October, just before the island shuts down for the winter. In the peak summer season tourists come in waves, washing over narrow streets, and flooding into every bar and restaurant available. I don’t believe the experience would have been half so enchanting had we not arrived during the low season. The heat and the crowds of July and August probably have many people contemplating jumping off the cliffs and straight into the sea. Fall is a much better time to visit, as it is still warm enough to swim, but the flurry of activity has died down a little. I did love Oia, and it was every bit the beautiful village I had hoped it would be, even if I had to wait in line to get photos with the iconic blue domed churches. Some things are worth the wait.
In Oia we stayed at Maria’s Place, a family-run hotel with a pool overlooking the east side of the island. It isn’t in the centre of Oia. There’s a short walk down the road to get to the main part of town, but it was peaceful and certainly more budget-friendly than the hotels with views of the caldera, though budget-friendly is relative in Santorini.
Santorini Sunsets
The sunsets on Santorini, and especially in Oia, are famous. People buy tickets for sunset boat tours to be on the water as the sun performs its daily, ritual descent. On land, the tourists scramble to find the best spot to worship the sun as it meets the horizon, or fill the restaurant terraces at the appointed hour if an aperitif is more their style than photography. Couples hold hands, parents hold their children so they won’t run away, and my mother and I settle in with cameras ready, while my father wanders off because he doesn’t care about the sunset.
One could wish that Pavlo, a Greek-Canadian musician, would magically appear to play his Santorini Sunset as the perfect accompaniment to the panorama of slowly fading light.
The first sunset we watched in Oia was nothing special. No vivid colours painting the sky with warmth. It was a bit disappointing. We decided to give it a second chance the next night, in Fira, the capital of Santorini. This time we had better luck, the sun glowing orange over the volcanic islands, mimicking the hues of an eruption.
Although we did catch one beautiful sunset, I can’t really say that dusk on Santorini lived up to the hype. My hypothesis is that people are overcome with the sunsets on the island because in their normal lives they rarely stop to truly appreciate this daily phenomenon, which can be beautiful just about anywhere in the world. We just have to pause a moment in our busy lives and remember to go outside to see what nature has in store. Island life has a slower pace, and by the time sunset comes around, there isn’t really much else to do except sit back, relax, and watch the spectacle before our eyes. Of course, the sunset is famous in Santorini. People actually stop long enough to see it!
The Donkeys of Santorini
In the movie, Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, the character who visits Santorini is transported to her family’s home by donkey. I loved every second of the awkward journey, the quaint mode of transportation that in most places was long ago replaced by scooters and cars. That was the charming fantasy. The reality is stark. The donkeys are forced to work in the heat, transporting tourists up and down the stairs from the boats to the villages high above. It was horrible to see this, and it was clear the animals had a very tough life.
The idea that had seemed so delightful in the movies was suddenly a sad reality. I walked up to the village. It was necessary to forego the donkey ride I’d fantasized about for years, but I had done my research before arriving to Santorini, and I knew I wasn’t going to engage in this activity. It was disheartening, but the fate of the donkeys is much worse than my momentary disappointment.
I realize that these donkey tourist traps have become the livelihood of some people on the island. I’m not unsympathetic to their need to earn money just as the rest of us do. However, it would not be so difficult to transform this small industry into ventures that would be less harmful to the well-being of the animals. A donkey sanctuary perhaps? I would absolutely pay money to visit a donkey sanctuary knowing that these creatures no longer had to do the backbreaking work of the past, wouldn’t you?
Akrotiri - The Pompeii of Santorini
When the volcano erupted in the 16th century BC, considered one of the worst eruptions in human history, many Minoan settlements were destroyed. Akrotiri is akin to Pompeii in the sense that it is a well-preserved archaeological site thanks to the eruption that destroyed it. Beyond the obvious time period and cultural distinctions, a key difference is that Akrotiri offers a much more comfortable tour for visitors. The government constructed a building over the archaeological ruins of the village, which means you can wander through the remnants of what was once a thriving fishing town and important trade centre thousands of years ago without baking in the sun. Akrotiri makes for a great day trip on the island for those who wish to immerse themselves in the ancient past of long-lost civilizations. I had no preconceived notions of the site because it doesn’t get included in the fantasy world of the cinema, but it certainly is recommended in any guide to Santorini. The bonus is that the bus takes you right to the site, and from there you can walk to Red Beach.
Red Beach
When it comes to Red Beach, you get exactly what the name suggests, a red-coloured beach. Much of the visible geological formation of Santorini has a rusty tinge to it, but arriving at Red Beach is quite impressive as you are confronted with the ochre cliff face and amassed red volcanic rocks in stark contrast to the deep blue of the sea. It’s a beautiful location that has been left in its natural state. If you want to get a sense of the powerful forces of nature that created the coastline we see today, this is a wonderful place to do it. However, just because you’ve journeyed to the southern part of the island, doesn’t mean commercial tourism won’t follow you here. Buskers set themselves up to play for visitors, creating an odd juxtaposition of nature and human interference. I’m all for street music, but not here at Red Beach.
Boat Tours of Santorini's Caldera
Probably the most touristy thing we did on Santorini was the boat tour of the caldera and volcanic islands. Our hotel facilitated bookings of the tour and transportation. I can’t say that the quality of the tour we took was exceptional, but the sights and the experience certainly were. For our particular tour, the boat left from the port of Fira. From the sea you truly get an impression of the scale of the landscape around you and how high above the villages really are. Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with a sense of insignificance, becoming just a tiny speck in the distance for anyone on the island.
The boats take people to Nea Kameni first, the black lava island with a crater still belching yellow sulfur from vents that allow the volcanic gases to escape. It is not very often you come in close contact with an entity that has destroyed so much. The volcano is a research site to monitor activity and prevent any future disasters.
The next stop after re-embarking is at sea, to swim in the hot springs created by the volcanic activity. The thermal waters are brownish-yellow in colour because of the mud, sulfur, and other metals coming from the volcano. The water is reputed to have therapeutic qualities, though I’m not sure how effective it can be in the 30 minutes allowed on the tour to swim here. Before you go into the water, guides note that the water may stain your bathing suit. I decided any good the water might do me would be undone if I ended up with brown stains on my bikini, so I swam in the crystal clear, though quite chilly, waters near the hot springs. Next time, I’ll remember to bring a dark suit or a cheap one.
The tour ended below Oia, with a significant climb back to the village. Donkeys were of course conveniently stationed to take tourists up, but as you already know, I went up on my own two feet.
Fantasy and Reality
Like many locations flashed across the Hollywood big screen, Santorini has become a victim of its own success. Mass tourism has a way of sucking the life out of local people, until they are a shell of what they once were with little interest or energy left at the end of the day to interact in a meaningful way with visitors. The fantasy of dancing the evening away with locals, drinking wine and chatting about life’s woes and wonders, is a distant memory of travel in the past. Modern tourism gives us impressive scenery, the perfect shot of a picturesque village, but we rarely experience the culture that once thrived in these places. Today, Santorini is the backdrop to thousands of wedding and pre-wedding shoots, but these flawless photos are merely a superficial encounter with island life.
Does Santorini live up to the fantasy? Simply put, it cannot. It’s no longer possible to have the whole package, the beautiful sights, the charming people, a genuine experience of the Greek Islands here. Perhaps somewhere less popular, where visitors are a novelty and appreciated as individuals instead of a burden that is financially necessary. On Santorini, it is just a blur of faces, thousands of new ones each day, that come and go. Though the reality of Santorini isn’t quite what you wish it would be (our own fault), it is still a magnificent place to visit and I would go back again in a heartbeat. Take me back to Santorini anytime!
For a taste of Greece at home, check out my post from the Travel from Home Series.
