Well here I am in Santorini!!! I departed Japan on 22 April, returned to Perth for 4 days and then flew to London, Gatwick on 27 April, and then took the train to Harpenden, where I grew up. Five days in Harpenden and off to Santorini with the family for my nieces wedding that is no longer happening!! However as the flights and accommodation were paid for we decided to go for a holiday anyway. And it was a good excuse to spend time with the family. We stayed at El Greco Resort which was about 10 minutes out of the main town, Fira. Initially it was incredibly windy but it settled down after a few days.
Some info on Santorini to follow: Santorini is one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. It was devastated by a volcanic eruption in the 16th century BC, forever shaping its rugged landscape. The whitewashed, cubiform houses of its 2 principal towns, Fira and Oia, cling to cliffs above an underwater caldera (crater). They overlook the sea, small islands to the west and beaches made up of black, red and white lava pebbles.
I lit candles in the Catholic Cathedral for our dearly departed loved ones. Such a beautiful church to sit and remember.
Santorini’s commercial development is focused on the caldera-edge clifftops in the island’s west, with large clusters of whitewashed buildings nesting at dizzying heights, spilling down cliff-sides and offering gasp-inducing views from land or sea. Thira, the island’s busy capital, sprawls north into villages called Firostefani (about a 15-minute walk from Fira) and Imerovigli (the highest point of the caldera edge, about a 30-minute walk from Fira). A path running through these villages is lined with upmarket hotels, restaurant terraces and endless photo opportunities.
We decided to walk from Fira to Firostefani to Imerovigli to Oia on the Sunday. It was about 10kms along the cliff tops which involved a lot of ups and downs and it was incredibly windy from the east, but the five of us made it!! Well done Lisa, Jodie, Darren and Lexi, and of course, myself!!!
These three conjoined settlements draw most visitors, together with the stunning and quite exclusive village of Oia in Santorini’s north. There’s a growing number of hotels in the island’s south, offering caldera views to the north and northeast. Once in Oia we met the rest of the family and found a lovely restaurant for lunch, overlooking the ocean. Oia is a very upmarket town full of designer shops. It has a certain charm. We found a quiet bar to sit and have a drink in before heading back to El Greco.
On the Monday we went on a boat trip. We motored on a wooden boat to the volcanic island where we had the option of hiking up the hill to the crater. From there we went to the smaller island next to the volcanic island and swam in the volcanic sulphur waters at the Hot Springs. That was an experience. Very enjoyable. To get to the small port of Fira, to get on the boat, we climbed down 600 steps. You have an option to go up and down in the cable car. Some of our group decided to climb back up the 600 steps when we returned. It was quite hard! There are also donkeys there that you can hire to take you up the 600 steps, but I wasn’t going to put a poor donkey through that!!!
We had a wonderful 5 days, lots of walking, sightseeing, eating and drinking, and even a few hours sitting around the pool!! Now time to head back to Harpenden and get ready for my next trip to Slovenia and Croatia next week with good friends Joe and Margaret Sweeney.
Watch this space!!!!
