Thursday, June 15, 2017

Greece Part 2 - Santorini and Akrotiri



Santorini at Dawn

We spent 3 nights in Santorini, 3 in Naxos and 3 in Athens.  If we hadn't have come in on such long flights 2 nights probably would have been enough for Santorini but I really wanted to ensure we saw Akrotiri and that involved a day trip which I didn't want to do on our first day on Santorini.  I was up at the ass-crack of dawn the first few mornings getting adjusted to the time change and the island was equally beautiful at that time.


Fish Vendors on Side of the Road



Even though Santorini is very touristy regular life still happens as we saw at this busy roadside vegetable and fish stand.  This was right in Fira right in the most touristy part!
Vegetables for Sale on Side of the Road
Santorini is all about the views although there are some areas of the island that are Agean sea level versus up on the cliff. The area we were staying was all views.  This photo below was taken on the upper floor of a restaurant.  That window was wide open and Santorini is known for it's wind which frankly makes it bearable year round.  That is why I had suck a funky hairdo, wind assisted.  Yes, we tried out the beers of Greece as well as wine.  Our definite favorite is FIX which is one of the oldest and national beers.
Windy but amazing view!
Part of the reason I loved where we stayed was the fabulous view of the rock formation below which is known as Skaros rock.  You can actually climb up to the top if you are so inclined and have the right footwear.
View out of the restaurant - Skaros Rock

Fira
Before our tour to Akrotiri we wanted to visit the Arcaheological museum where some of the pieces of pottery found are housed.  It is two large rooms, costs 2 Euros and takes about 10 minutes to go through but worth it if you intend on visiting Akrotiri.  Akrotiri is an active archaeological site and the finds are removed as found so that they can be preserved rather than deteriorate.  Most of the frescoes found at Akrotiri are housed in the Athens Archaeological Museum.
Archeological Museum in Fira housing items from Akrotiri
After doing extensive research on getting to Akrotiri rather than taking public buses and hoping a guide would be available to show us the site we decided to do a tour of the southern part of Santorini that included a professional guide at the site.  I am glad that we did.  We ended up seeing so much more of Santorini.  Below is the ancient town of Megalochori.  Very pretty, and only motorbikes can drive through as the streets were not made for cars.  Fortunately you can park at one end and walk through the small town in about 10 minutes.
Ancient town of Megalochori
For us though the highlight of the day was Akrotiri which is the excavation of an ancient site that due to a large number of earthquakes the people of Akrotiri abandoned their city and then it was buried due in Volcanic ash which has preserved it.  In order to preserve the site a roof has been constructed over the digs.  I can't recall the exact number but less than 10% of the entire site has been uncovered.  Progress has been slowed however due to the poor Greek economy and lack of funds to further investigate.  Some say Akrotiri is the Atlantis that Plato wrote about.  The people of Akrotiri were never mentioned again in history so most historians feel they were likely wiped out by a Tsunami while waiting for ships to take them away to Crete.  More info on Akrotiri here.  I do not recommend touring the site without a proper guide.  Cost to enter the site is 12 Euros each then you hire a guide although when we went I did not see any guides available for hire.  I am glad we took the full day tour to ensure that we had the history properly explained to us.
Excavations of Akrotiri


Staircase showing damage from the earthquakes
After Akrotiri we spent 2 hours at the black volcanic sand beach of Perissa. Many beach goers here as well as sea side tavernas.  We had an incredible lunch of Greek Salad, bread, tzatziki (had to have bread with it, so yummy) and Fix beers.  We waded in the sand here but did not go swimming.  I picked up a black sand pebble for my collection.  I do have to say that the beaches in Naxos were much nicer though.

Perissa beach - black Volcanic Sand
Seriously this was the best salad we have ever eaten.  They called it a Santorini salad which only differed from the regular Greek salad in that it had grape leaves and capers.  The sweetest cherry tomatoes grow on Santorini and gave it so much flavor.  I forgot to take a picture until after I started in but you get the idea.
The best salad we have ever eaten - Santorini Salad
And lastly, one of our three Santorini sunsets.  We experienced a few clouds and this provided the most spectacular one of the three - this shot was taken again from our balcony.  In the middle of our last night we were awoken by a massive thunder/lightening storm which was spectacular over the Caldera.  Apparently it only rains 60 days a year there and we were there for one of them.  By morning though the sky was clear again.

 We paid about $250 Canadian a night for this family owned guest house(Smaro Studios-Andreas suite-booked 6 months in advance)which is cheap for Caldera view  as many run in the $400-$1000 night range.  On the other side of the island at Perissa you can easily find hotels for less than $100 a night but they don't have this view so a definite splurge for us and one I don't regret.  Up next was our ferry ride to Naxos!
Santorini Sunset

32 comments:

  1. That is just beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing all!

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  2. Looks like it would be a wonderful place to visit...Coffee is on

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    1. Yes, so nice and sunny in Greece, although the day we departed Naxos it rained but was nice when we got to Athens again.

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  4. I'd have been in my element in the archaeological museum and looking around the Akrotiri excavations.
    Your morning view is absolutely wonderful!
    I love stuffed vine leaves and tsatsiki (we had them for tea last night!) This time next week those Greek salads will be mine! xxx

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    1. I really enjoyed Akrotiri, glad we did it. I imagine you're eating fab food right now as I type this!

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  5. What a wonderful trip. I've always heard that Greece was beautiful. I will probably never visit, especially if it takes 4 planes to get there. lol. But it really does look amazing. That dig site is incredible. Thank you for sharing your adventure! Looking forward to your post on Naxos. I've heard that's where the Greeks go on vacation.

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    1. We have nothing direct from our island :) You would love Greece, so much history and beauty and the food was awesome.

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  6. Your story about Akrotiri reminds me of Knossos in Crete; also an archeological site where finds of the Minoan civilization were excavated and the originals transferred to the archeological museum in Heraklion. Both places the site and the museum are worth a visit.

    Awsome pictures from Santorini!

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    1. Thanks Duta! We didn't have time to visit the Archeological museum in Athens this trip (did Acropolis Museum instead) but if I ever get back to Athens again we will definitely be going there.

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  7. Lovely place(and so much history)plus who wouldn't want to eat a Greek salad in Greece(or Santorini)? 8-)

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    1. Exactly! Plus wine was cheap and plentiful, a great combo

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  8. The dig site is fsscinating. I agree that sometimes splashing out is worth the extra. Tours do good businesses but if done well add so much that wouldn't be possible on your own.

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    1. We scrimp all year, our holidays we spend a little more on. Not five star but generally 2 and 3 stars but their best rooms which usually involve a view of some kind. We were only there for 9 nights so had to make the best of it.

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  9. That first photo looks like a painting. And the food!! That's my kind of food! I believe in splurging on holidays and frugality the rest of the time:)

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    1. You would have loved the food! Vegetarians eat very well there.

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  10. When we were on Crete we had our dolmandes made in zucchini blosoms, they were to die for. It is a seasonal thing apparently. Also the saganaki was so delicious. Love the pics.

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    1. We had so much great food Shelagh, I love traveling to countries that the food is so fantastic

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  11. Lovely, just lovely. Good call on doing the full tour. I would say that you got full value for what you spent. That little town with no roads sounds wonderful. Did you take some photos while walking through?

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    1. We did get full value and definitely saw a lot of the island. We did take a lot more pictures which I will share later on, so many many pictures to edit!

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  12. I was in Santorini last year and it is as stunning as you can imagine isn't it (and also much smaller than you think). You're right 2 nights would have been enough but stunning nevertheless. I love archeological digs too. The best I have seen though is Efesus in Turkey. Magnificent. Your holiday looks wonderful. Anna

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    1. I loved Efesus too! I have been hoping to take hubby there one day but with the state of politics in Turkey I think that trip might be a ways off.

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  13. So many beautiful pictures. Love the sunset. Thanks for sharing the wonderful pictures.

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    1. So many great Sunset shots there, every night another one

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  14. I am loving this!! Thank you for sharing your trip with all of us!

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    1. My pleasure! It is a nice way to document it.

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  15. What a wonderful and fabulous trip! You had some really great photos, I felt like I was there. It's a dream I have to go one day. How awesome!

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    1. I know you love traveling - they have great cruises to Greece as well!

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