Sun Kissed Santorini

Santorini. The word alone conjures up images of utopia. We were only there for about six hours, but they were among my favourite moments this year. The island is enticing to a photographer - so very beautiful! We took so many photos that day, that I have decided to give this little island jaunt its own blog post.

A view of Oia

Standing by the water

Santorini is white upon white with many, many blues. The buildings which seem to hang precariously on the edge of the cliffs, appear uniformly whitewashed and pristine. The shock of so much whiteness is in stark contrast to the Mediterranean waters below. Private chapels are domed in another shade of blue. And once in a while, butter yellow buildings add to the warmth of the scene.

Two of the little chapels with their blue domes.

Boarding the hydrofoil

We started our day on Crete, where we were bused from our resort to the Heraklion harbour. A speedy hydrofoil transported us to Santorini in a couple of hours, so that by 10:00 a.m. or so, we were ashore again in another paradise.

These are grape vines on what looks like the surface of the moon.

We were immediately ushered onto another bus which ascended to the top of this very hilly island. On the way, we heard about the unique local wine industry where the vines are grown in spirals and the product is quite sweet. At the end of our day, our guide gave us a bottle of this wine to bring home with us. Quite tasty.

The donkeys are led down the steps for their next journey up.

I named my donkey Benny - because he had jets.

Having arrived at the top of the island, we descended again on a funicular. At the bottom, we had an appointment with 46 donkeys. Riding on my donkey was great fun. At first he appeared sluggish and then suddenly, he decided to hurry past the others ahead of him, so that in my little group, we were first to the top.

Melanie captured this picture of us. I really like it. By the way, my shirt, purchased in Athens, was inspired by Santorini.

Next, our group travelled the length of the island to the picturesque village of Oia. As it was mid-day, we sought out a table with a view for lunch. Surely, we were given the best perspective possible from a restaurant rooftop that overlooked parts of the town, as well as the shores below us.

Our lunch location - not bad.

The view from the restaurant

My moussaka was delicious, but the highlight of the meal occurred when I spotted a bride and groom sitting upon one of the rooftops in the distance. Very close by, on another rooftop, perched a photographer who kept changing angles to get the most out his shoot. Apparently, this sort of thing is very common on Santorini.

The wedding shoot

Oia is small but it is chock full of stunning vistas and charming shops and restaurants.I LOVED being there, walking the winding pathways to see its beauty from various angles. The photos I have attached don't fully capture its glory. Between us, Bob and I took hundreds of shots. As usual, his are better than mine.

Oia cathedral

Oia from another angle

So gorgeous!!

Too soon, we returned to the bus and made one last stop on our way to the harbour. From this location (Thira) high above the water, we took a group shot.

One happy group

So long Santorini

Then it was time to board the hydrofoil and return to Crete. If I return to Santorini someday, there is a chair waiting for me.

Imagine me here.

An Island Holiday

Who wouldn't be happy on Crete?  

The majority of our time in Greece was spent on its largest island, Crete. We had such a variety of experiences there, that I can see why it is a popular travel destination. With ideal weather conditions and clear Mediterranean waters, Crete was just about perfect.

Postcard worthy picture of the Palace of Knossos.

When we debarked from the ferry from Athens that first morning, we were immediately whisked off to the Palace of Knossos, a very impressive reminder of the Minoan civilization that thrived on the island thousands of years ago. Our guide enthusiastically pointed out the highlights of this archaeological site. Much of it has been lovingly preserved while other parts of it have been recreated in durable cement - not authentic but long-lasting.

The ruins of Knossos.

I was impressed by the quality of the frescoes that I saw, even though they were recreations. I was also intrigued and puzzled by the colour of the people depicted: consistently, the men were painted in reds, while the women were white. Later in the day, at the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion, we saw many other examples of this practice.

These are men since they are painted red.

This museum was very impressive, as it housed fine artifacts from other cultures as well. Even though some of the other groups lived after the Minoans, the latter appeared more advanced. It is a shame they died out.

Our guide explains the art in the Archaeological Museum

Over lunch, we were given free rein to explore Heraklion, the Cretan capital. A walk toward the harbour revealed the beautiful Mediterranean waters and the walls of a former fortress, next to colourful fishing boats. In the distance were snow covered mountains. What a lovely place!

Heraklion Harbour

Unfortunately, the students did not get as much out of their morning excursion as they might have since many of them complained of having slept poorly on the ferry, so they were thrilled to be taken to the resort where we would spend the next three nights. As soon as they saw the beach nearby, they were re-energized. From the moment we arrived, most of them spent their time in or by the water.

Oh to be 18 again - time to hit the water.

We slowed down over our three days at the resort. One day we had no scheduled activities, so, after an hour of tennis, Bob and I walked twenty minutes to the closest town, Hersonissos, for lunch and some shopping.

Hersonissos Harbour

Spring fever must have been in the air in Crete. On our final evening there, the students staged a mock wedding on the beach to which we were all invited. Most of the guests dressed up for the event – bystanders likely thought that the ceremony and the speeches were real, but it was all just harmless nonsense.

The group encircles the "bride and groom" as they dance at their wedding.

On the morning of our departure, we headed to destinations on the eastern part of the island. Our first stop, Elounda, is a small resort town with a picturesque harbour - in fact, picturesque harbours are everywhere on Crete. We spent about a half hour there, just enough time to stroll around.

Elounda's Harbour.

Nearby, we boarded a small boat which took us to Spinalonga, an abandoned island with a very interesting history. Arabs invaded it in the 8th Century, and much later, it was owned by the Venetians, who carved it out of the island of Crete and built a fort there. In the 18th century, it was part of the Ottoman Empire. Finally, most recently, it was used as as a leper colony from 1906 to 1956.

Approaching Spinalonga

There was a haunting quality to this place. After all, the lepers have not been gone very long. We walked the entire circumference of the island, and as we did so, we imagined the loneliness of those who were banished there.

Our guide explains the history of Spinalonga

Our guide pointed out that we were on the island at the best time of year, since the flowers were in bloom. In all the other seasons, it is barren and very hot.

Our group on Spinalonga,

The stark beauty of Spinalonga.

Eventually, we returned to the bus and were driven west to Agios Nikolaos, the former capital of Crete. There we had lunch beside the harbour - of course. This lovely city is notable for its manmade lake right beside the sea. I enjoyed the shops there too.

The Agios Nikolaos harbour

The lake at Agios Nikolaos

Finally, we returned to Heraklion for a Cretan dinner at an outdoor taverna. It was - in short - absolutely delicious, a fitting farewell to the island.

Dinner in Heraklion

By 20:00, we had returned to the Minoan Ferry line for our overnight passage to the mainland. In my opinion, the journey was uneventful, although we heard the next day that there had been a 6.1 earthquake off the coast of Crete. 

The Athenian Way

The second week of the Easter trip was spent in Greece, a country I had never visited. We spent a week there, with the first and last nights in Athens.

A view from the Acropolis

No doubt, Athens has a glorious past to celebrate, but it is clearly struggling in the present. Based on the number of businesses closed and the graffiti everywhere, the city has fallen on hard times. Our stay there was confined to the tourist district of Plaka and the hill of the Acropolis above it, as these were considered the safest areas.

Roasting Easter lamb

A quiet corner of Plaka

In spite of this grim introduction, I am very glad that I was able to experience Athens. Our first full day there coincided with Orthodox Easter; all the major attractions were closed, but Plaka, catering to tourists, was open for business. This area is quite lovely and on this holiday, there were spits of lamb roasting everywhere, lamb being the traditional Easter dish.  After lunch, I spent the afternoon walking and shopping in ideal weather conditions. Since I had had a light lunch, I treated myself to baklava as well, my favourite Greek dessert.

Temple of Zeus.

Nearby, we peeked at the temple of Zeus through a fence (it was closed too), and then walked through the gardens nearby.

Jen and I pose in front of a conference building

The garden had the feel of the tropics

After a traditional Greek dinner - a major feast, in fact, we headed to Piraeus where we boarded the overnight ferry to Crete.

Ready to board the ferry.

Five days later, returning on the same ferry, we were immediately bused to the Acropolis. Our local guides took us back in time to the glory days of ancient Greece. These ruins were awe-inspiring. I was very excited to see them.

The facade of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Part of the reconstructed theatre.

Our first sight was the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a relatively new ruin compared to the structures above it. The facade dates from 161 C.E. The interior has been largely rebuilt, so that even today, the space is often used for events. Having only recently taught my drama students about Greek theatre, I was thrilled to see such a place.

In front of the Parthenon

The Erechtheion

From there, we climbed further up the Acropolis where on the bald top of this hill, we wandered among the ruins everyone comes to see. In my mind's eye, I could imagine the great Athenian society where playwrights such as Sophocles and great thinkers such as Aristotle lived and honoured their gods with great monuments.

A view from the Acropolis over Athens.

From the heights of the Acropolis, we enjoyed spectacular views over the city of Athens, too. We were on a schedule, or I would have been content to linger there much longer.

Entering the Museum of the Acropolis

Impressive ruins lie beneath the Museum of the Acropolis.

These "Caryatids", the originals, have been moved to the museum to prevent their deterioration. There are replicas on  the Erechtheion

Eventually, we had to descend, but even at street level, this famous site dominated our time. The Museum of the Acropolis has been created to house artifacts that are in danger of crumbling in the open air. Also, most impressively, the building has been erected over an ongoing archaeological dig.

Where the modern Olympics began

This wonderful bronze was found under water. 

After lunch, after a brief stop at the 1896 Olympic stadium, we headed to a second museum, the Archaeological Museum of Athens. Again, this was an impressive collection of important artifacts from the cradle of civilization. I enjoyed this museum even more than the first one, but, by this time, we were all a little tired. We were relieved when the bus took us back to our hotel for a rest before dinner - our last night out of the vacation.

Exiting the Museum of Archaeology

Dancing in the street

Our local tour organizer had organized an evening at a taverna in the shadow of the Acropolis. This was an absolutely delightful experience. Not only was the food delicious but we were also entertained by a small Greek combo and dancers. Eventually, we were invited to join in, and I did just that, dancing in the street. What a great way to finish our trip!

The Acropolis at night - as seem from our restaurant.

My blogs of the Easter vacation will continue, however, as there are still five more days to account for.