Santorini
Day 1
Flight to Santorini (Aegean)
Sub-hour flight that demands a window seat to admire the beauty of the Aegean from
Car Rental Issues
An International Driving Permit isn’t a driving license. We learnt that the hard way by forgoing a fully prepaid rental and having to DHL the actual license from Singapore (for our next car rental). Contrary to our preconceptions, all the rental companies (even the small ones) we found were sticklers for rules, refusing to rent without a license or to those under 21.
The postcard Oia sunset at our literal doorstep. Elitists might savour sneering at the villa-less tourists jostling in the streets below. With four bedrooms and separate living/dining areas, it’s more than adequate for all but the largest of families. Unfortunately, no pool in winter and interior fittings are poorly maintained and shoddily restored. Some doors are unable to be closed and locked due to paint clogging up the locking mechanism.
Supermarkets
Stuff your luggage with groceries in Athens cause even the supermarkets here charge the tourist ‘tax’
Cats
They’re everywhere. Lazing on ancient Greek ruins, traipsing around the cobblestoned streets of Athens and roaming around the patio of our Santorinian villa.
Stargazing
With only the Aegean Sea before me and farmland behind me, Oia might be the perfect place to sneak in some astronomy. Alas, my binoculars were on the other side of the globe. Skies weren’t ideal anyway, with frequent cloud cover. Still a huge improvement over city stargazing.
Day 2
Santorini Buses
Don’t be stupid like us. Just get a rental car. Taxis are ludicrously expensive (EUR50 from airport to Oia, EUR40 from Fira to Red Beach) and the buses irregular (roughly hourly) with a proclivity towards capricious timing changes.
Walk to Fira Harbour
Ambling down the zig-zagging Karavolades Stairs, we are hit by the unmissable smell (and sight) of donkey dung. On every. single. step. Cater half an hour for a leisurely stroll and some phototaking.
Donkeys
A crucial mode of transport on the steep slopes of Santorini since time immemorial, donkeys are a key part of the island’s heritage. Even now, the creatures are still deployed to support construction projects in areas without vehicular access.
More problematic is the commercialisation of donkeys and mules to ferry tourists up the winding steps of Fira harbour, amidst accusations of animal cruelty. Even disregarding those concerns, I still wasn’t keen to pay a premium for a slower and more dangerous means of transport. Particularly when the donkeys don’t seem too healthy
The whole island is an expanse of black rocks, piled into mini hills. About a 20 minute trek to the top, which gives a unobstructed view of even more black rocks.
Nea Kameni is warm, even in winter. Perhaps it’s the active volcano underneath, or simply the black rocks absorbing sunlight.
“Hot” is quite the misnomer. I swam the ~50m from the ferry, expecting a little relief from the freezing Aegean waters, which never came. At best, the waters are slightly warm, and very rusty (hence the orange-brown coloration)
Definitely not worth the shivering on the ferry back but does seem to smoothen skin though.
Cable Car
A quick and affordable (EUR6) means to ascend to Fira, avoiding the slippery and defecation-covered Karavolades Stairs. With only five cabins, it might require a long wait in summer.
Winter Thoughts
Having visited in November, it’s a mystery why anyone would go in summer. The jostling crowds, the stifling heat, the price-gouging hotels- all swept away by winter. The promenades of Oia? Peaceful and quaint. The 4-hour hikes? Rustic and cooling. Better yet, the hotels are half-price.
Santorini used to close to tourists in winter, and even now it’s only semi-open during off-peak months. We would Google Maps our way to an eatery, only to find it shuttered. Besides the main street of Fira, we grew to expect most places to be unavailable. At the same time, the 15-20C daytime air is perfect for hiking. Slightly too cold to dine alfresco or (literally) chill in a patio though.
A sandwich ‘boutique’ well deserving of its 5.0 Google Maps rating. These guys really take sandwiches seriously. Sub-EUR10 for Santorini is rather affordable considering that each meal is prepared upon order. Highlight must be the Unami Smashed Burger, which is really erm… unami.
Limited seating even in winter so be prepared to stand around.
A rare ‘cheap’ eatery on Santorini at EUR3.6 per pita gyro. Freshly prepared and filling enough for a meal. Served warm and bursting with toppings. Meat and pita are both savory. Crowded around dinner time and staff can get agitated, but food is prepared quickly.
Day 3
Oia to Fira Trek
No better way to experience Santorini up close than a 10km trail along the cliffs. An easy and mostly paved trek, it’s the perfect family activity. Trekking along the coastline provides a paranomic view, from Oia to Akrotiri in the south
Dog Guides
Nothing comes cheap in Santorini. Except our volunteer trekking guides, dutifully charting the path with urine. The little critters joined us for a full 5km, even stopping to wait when we took our usual touristy selfies. Perhaps they were after a little nourishment, which unfortunately we had none of.
Just 300m off the trail is yet another little church. Not sure what’s with Greeks and inaccessible churches. Perhaps it’s the solitude-induced connection with God. It is sheer incongruity that makes these places stunning. Descending painted steps and peering onto a freshly whitewashed church with only shrubs and the Aegean for company is truly unparalleled.
Amidst the fine winter rain, we sought shelter (with our canine guides) in a decrepit café. Whimsically titled “no name café” by whoever added it to Google Maps, we were glad that it was closed for winter, particularly after reading the reviews (of it being open).
A short detour from the Fira-Oia trek, Skaros Rock presents an unique peek at Santorinian history. A few foolhardy tourists (myself included) can be seen exploring the ruins of this former Byzantine fortress. Ignore the signs declaring the rock ‘very dangerous’. Getting to the top, which involves a pair of 1.5m steps, might involve a slight danger of death, but exploring the rest of this settlement certainly does not. Bring out your inner armchair archaeologist and admire the myriad caves and ruins around Skaros, all without a gaggle of fellow tourists creating a nuisance around you
Final steps to the top
View from (near) the top
Garden-like ambience and large portions. At EUR15-20, not expensive for Santorini. A number of interesting dishes- including lamb in pot and beef ragout. Note that grilled pork is dry. Santorinian Salad (EUR9) is good value for the size
Ironically, the beach itself is black not red. Was strange reading Google reviews complaining about EUR30 sunbeds and massive crowds only to discover the sunbeds piled up unattended and the entire beach deserted. In summer, there’s supposedly water activities and food stalls but don’t expect to find any of that capitalism in winter.
Purple Amidst The Brown
Three Kids on Red Beach
Pebbly Sunset
Desertion
Bus Wait
Shivering in the (admittedly mild) winter cold with two other families at the bus stop (just a signboard), wondering if we had all independently hallucinated wrong bus timings. Not fun.
Everyone cheered in relief when the big headlines finally shone upon us- a good 30 minutes after the scheduled arrival. The driver must have thought us insane.
Day 4
Windmill
Adorning zillions of postcards and the emblem of Santorini, the Windmill of Oia might be a destination on the bucket list of many. I hate to break it to you, but in-person it just is a windmill, and not a very big one either.
Oia Harbour
Significantly smaller than Fira Harbour and completely desolate in winter, Oia Harbour lies just below the eponymous town. Accessible via road or a steep and slippery staircase, it’s a quaint location to admire the beauty of the Aegean Sea.
