GREECE & ITALY
Spring of 2001
Santorini! We're here!
We've already quit trying to decide what day it is, much less the time of day "back home." This is the view from our patio, after sunset .. that's a huge cruise ship on the right .. about ten minutes after we arrived.
Though it doesn't look like it, this is a volcano and we're perched on its rim.
With such a long trek to Greece ahead, we decided to get a running start by spending the night in Chicago. You really have to want to go to that far-off place on the map, because it takes a major effort. First, you fly 9 hours across the Atlantic to Milan, where you have a 2 hour layover, then you change planes and take off again for the 2½ hour ride to Athens.
It was rainy and dreary in Milan, but almost as if on cue, as soon as we headed across the Ionian Sea, the sun came out, the sea turned that brilliant blue, and what were unmistakably Greek islands appeared below. We weren’t in Kansas any more, Toto.
We landed at the spanking new airport in Athens. Built by the Germans, it is a model of efficiency. It shines, all blue and white, with marble everywhere. We’d planned to stay over in Athens, before the final push to Santorini. The problem was, the Greeks had the job of building the roads between the airport and the city, and since they had only had 30 years to finish them .. no roads. Oh, there was the old two-lane one, but not the major highway necessary to handle the traffic. Therefore, the trip into town takes a loooong time. No hotels by the airport either. So we decided to continue on to Santorini.
Another two hour layover and we boarded the twin engine turboprop which would take us to Santorini. The wind was blowing at 25 knots, but we took off directly into it, and the pilot, accustomed to such gales, got us aloft with hardly a bump.
We flew at about 8000 feet over brown and green and mauve islands like jagged pieces of a puzzle. Each is different, but each is at home in a dazzling blue Aegean Sea. The entire scene has a mystic, almost spiritual appearance. It’s easy to imagine this as the home of the ancient Greek Gods. It lends itself to myth.
At last, 8 time zones and nearly 17 hours after we left Chicago, Santorini rose from the sea below us. At that moment, our exhaustion vanished. It was worth all it had asked of us to get here. Maybe it’s fitting that it can’t be easily acquired. Perhaps it must be earned in order to be fully appreciated, like most things of value.
Many believe Santorini was Atlantis, referred to by Plato, and earlier by the Egyptians. No one really knows. What is certain is that, about 1400 B.C., the enormous volcano here erupted with the greatest explosion known to man, three times larger than that of Krakatoa. It hurled itself high into the air, and sent all but the rim of the volcano to the bottom of the sea. The crater, or caldera, it created was 84 square kilometers. The Aegean rushed in, filling it.
The resulting tidal wave may be what destroyed King Minos’ palace of Knossos on the island of Crete. Some say it caused the Red Sea to part, allowing Moses to lead his people out of Egypt.
Today, Santorini is the world’s only inhabited rim of a dormant volcano. The giant isn’t dead, only sleeping. It shook itself with an earthquake in 1956, leaving many dead and much destruction. The island is deserving of its ancient name, Kallisti, Most Beautiful One. It’s awesome.
Our hotel, Neoklassiko .. our apartment the three windows at the front. Wow!
The first night, we were struck by the profound silence after the island goes to bed. All you can hear is dogs barking in the distance, and if you listen closely, the sea crashing against the cliff 1000 feet below, and the beating of your own heart. Wound close together, like spoons, in our narrow little bed, we fell into a deep sleep.
Here we were this morning in the main town, Fira. We were loaded for bear and looking for breakfast .. and a hat for me, in that order. I couldn't stand it that Dick has this wonderful big sunhat and I was wandering around bareheaded.
Then, back to our hotel, and more gawking from our room's patio at what's spread out below ..
Our patio with a view ..
On the patio .. with Rita, the charming hotel owner. She met us with orange juice and cookies, and the offer to help however we needed. A widow with grown children, she lives in Athens during the winter.
Another cruise ship, as seen from our bathroom window .. who needs a patio?
This afternoon, (is it Thursday?), we struck out for the other side of the island. Away from the volcano's rim, it's an arch-typical Greek island, except for one thing:
Kamari Beach is black pumice, instead of white sand; it's what's left from the explosion of the volcano so many years ago. In another month, it will be packed with seriously red bodies as tourist season hits its stride.
Across the street from the beach is the Kamari Beach Hotel, pool and bar. Thirteen years ago, when we last were here, I had a lease on the second bar stool from the left ..
Those were the days.
More to come ..