Santorini Greece

When we wake and open the drapes we are in the caldera of the active volcano that makes up Santorini.  How awe inspiring is that.  These “islands” which really are not islands but the edges of the volcano.  Fira is at 721 feet from the sea.  What is very neat is to see the sides of the caldera and the 13 different levels that are very visible in the rock.

This volcano – that is still alive erupted in 1650 BC.  It erupted again in 1950 with an earthquake in 1956. 

Today we are off early – 745 meeting time for our tour.  We have booked the Oia Village, Wine Tasting and Cooking class.  What I will say now is if you are visiting Santorini go to your cruise personalizer and book this tour right now!  It was an amazing tour, actually I think it was probably one of the best Princess Tours we have ever taken.

The description is as follows:  Delight in the sights and flavors of the island on a six-hour tour that combines its natural beauty with its sumptuous cuisine.  Board a motor coach and ascend the dramatic, rocky caldera roads to the traditional village of Oia, perched high atop the cliffs of Santorini’s norther terminus.  Commence a guided walking tour through its cobblestone streets admiring the world-famous Cycladic architecture and the beautiful old mansions perched cliff-side.  Continue on to a local winery to learn the history of centuries-old wine production on the island and enjoy a tasting.  Proceed to the Akrotiri area, where you’ll stop at the renowned Aeolos Taverna.  Settle in for a cooking demonstration by a master chef, which highlights local ingredients.  Savor the chef’s creations in the form of a superb lunch.  Then returning of Fira to explore on your own or return to the ship.

this is where we dock

the road the buses go up

Santorini is a tender port but the ship uses the island’s tenders which are huge and can accommodate a lot of people.  Our wait in the Casino for our tour to be called is very short and in no time we are on the tender and heading to the island.  Note when you do a ship’s tour you are taken to a different spot than if you do it on your own.  

this is where the tender normally drops you off

this is where the tender normally drops you off

We are taken to the port where motor coaches await us and we are led to a very large bus.  But we are only 9 in our tour group.  So we have lots of room to spread out. 

Just climbing the steep wall of the caldera is impressive to see.  The bus winds itself along the switchbacks and even passing other coaches coming down.  Wow I don’t think I could drive here.

Our first stop is the town of Oia and even though there is only one ship in port it is crowded.  Anastasia our guide takes us on a short walking tour before giving us some free time to explore.  Everywhere you look you see beauty.  But again it is so crowded it is difficult to get shots without large crowds.

if you take the water shuttle to Oia this is where they drop you off so be prepared for the climb

We stop at a coffee shop that seems to be perched right on the cliff side and order two cappuccinos. They hit the spot as we both need that extra energy to keep us going. Note prices here are not cheap – each cappuccino was 5 E.  Not as much as coffee in Saint Mark’s Square but close.  

Everything in Santorini and even Mykonos was much pricier than most port stops.  But you do have to take into consideration how difficult it is here – most items have to be brought here.  

With Santorini the island does not have their own water source.  They use only bottled water for food/drink.  Also this means fruits and vegetables have little water to survive so they grow a little differently here or they are brought in from other areas.

Back on the coach we pass small towns and then pass Fira on our way to Athinios to the winery.  The Santos Winery is actually a cooperative where the locals bring their grapes and contribute in the wine production.  Actually the wine here is one of the most ancient wineries as they did not get the diseases on their grapes like other places got due to the islands remoteness. 

Here grape vines are kept low to the ground.  The vines are actually weaved in a way to form a basket like shape.  The grapes form on the inside of the basket and are protected by the strong winds and the intense sun.  Very indigenous. 

Actually wine is their number one industry on the island with tourism being their second.

At Santos Winery we are provided wine samples of the three main wines they produce here.  A white, a red, and a Vino Santo which is similar to a dessert or port wine.  The crowds here are huge as many tours do come here but it is very well run and the setting is stunning along with very clean washrooms.

After about a half hour here we are taken to the most southern part of the island to the town of Akrotiri to a restaurant where Anastasia informs us is one of the best around.  Mama – our cook – with her beautiful smile and gracious welcome makes us feels like we are in her home for dinner.

Anastasia works hard to translate for Mama and explains what we are making and eating.

Our first item to enjoy is sort of like a bruschetta.  Did you know that since wood is so scarce here they only bake breads every month so their bread does go stale to be preserved.  Mama takes a roll and cut in half pours water into the middle to soften it.  She then adds tomatoes, onions, sun dried tomatoes (which they dry themselves) capers (again they grown themselves), caper leaves that are boiled three times to soften.  Then olive oil and seasoning. 

Then tomato balls were made.  In fact Bernie is brought up to assist in the making.  We are happy to try these because prior to visiting we had seen a show that talked about the specialties of Santorini and these were one of the items.  I guess I would describe these to a corn fritter but made with tomatoes. We are even provided with the recipe.

Next we are served fried zucchini and eggplant which again are extra special and not greasy at all.  All these are served with a yummy tazikki.  

Also wine, boy did we have wine!  When we arrived there were three half litre carafes of wine (2 white, 1 red) and we enjoyed that thinking that would be it, but no!  They kept replenishing the wine.  In the end I think we have around 9 carafes in total.

We thought that would be it but nope, we are served a main course of tender veal and stuffed tomatoes with a rice, which we enjoyed and others said the veal was amazing.

Of course no meal would be complete with a bit of after dinner wine and we are all delivered a small glass of the dessert wine from Santos Winery.  Cheers!

Back on the coach we are taken back to Fira where we can wander around on our own or head back to the cable car (tickets down are included in tour).  

just look for the signs to the cable car - here they are in the sidewalk

Anastasia ensures we all know where to go to catch the cable car and even if you get lost it is easy to find as there are numerous signs everywhere for it including on the sidewalk.  

looks like a lot of people but it moves fast

We decide to head back to the ship right away.  We are full, a little tipsy and the crowds in town are crazy.  I would hate to see this place with more than one ship in port.  

It is around 2 pm and we join the queue for the cable car which is quite long and snakes along for quite a distance but it moves quite fast.  The cable car is actually made up a few cars and each car holds 6 people.  The ride down is only a few minutes and provides excellent views.  The price of the cable car one way is 6 E – oddly they do not sell round trip tickets and the price has gone up from 5 E the last time we were here.

Donkey price - up to 6E from 5E

Of course if you choose not to take the cable car you can walk up the path, but note it is high and you must be able to hike it.  Also the last way is to take the donkeys up the path.  This will cost you 6 E each way too and the donkeys often have a mind of their own.  Also the smells from the pee and poo can be interesting.  We hiked up it the last time we were here just to say we did it, and we were quite happy to take the cable car back.

my attempt at a selfie = with Ben and Bernie

Tonight is dinner at Sabatinis with Ben and his crew and we are looking forward to it. 

There is still a lot happening around the ship.  Hawley Magic is on board and they are preforming in the theater with two shows.  The Princess World Orchestra is also performing in the Atrium – I love this show and if you have not seen it make sure to catch it.  Who Sang What Family Ties Trivia.  Muts is showing Angels and Demons.

Tomorrow is a sea day and boy do we need it.  We are beat after three intense ports.

Santorini, Greece – November 3, 2015

that winding road is what we climbed up

I wake very early and quietly wander around the cabin picking out enough clothes to make myself presentable and the laptop and head to deck 7 outside the Bayou Café for a quiet place to write and post my blog.  Tip:  Wifi is very strong very early in the morning.

I watch the sunrise come up as I glance out the window.  

We are slowly entering the caldera of the volcano that erupted in 1650 BC.  I can just make up the tops of the peaks and see white.  For me I think it looks like snow on the tops of these mountains, but no they are buildings.  And as the sun rises the area comes to life and I see boats heading out to do some fishing.

We are tendering here.  For Santorini we tender in using the cities tender boats.

We are not in any rush to get off and enjoy a leisurely breakfast in Horizon Court and then come back to the cabin to get ready and we head down around 10 am.  At this time there are no queues or tender tickets required to go ashore we just head down to the pontoon. 

Tender operation seems to move very swiftly too and takes about 10 minutes.  The tender boat drops you off right at the base of the cliff of the town of Fira which is 721 feet up! 

this is what is there when you get dropped off

There are a few options for getting to the top.  There is a cable car that operates – but has limited cars and be aware there could be lines.  The cost of the cable car is 5E each person each way – but they got you, and there are not many other feasible options.  You can also take one of the famous donkeys up the steep walkway for 5E too – gee seems for me a ride on the cable car would win out for the same price. 

The other option is climbing the walkway up the 721 feet. 

Since this port replace Istanbul we really didn’t have any plans and all we had to go by was the Rick Steve’s guide and for today we talked about heading over to Oia which we heard was very picturesque.

Once ashore we see there is a boat tour that will take you to Oia via boat then you take a private bus back for 15E each but if you have a group of 4 you get one free.  This looked like a good option and there was another couple behind us from the US who were also interested so we though okay lets try it.  The guy said the boat was leaving soon so we paid 22.50E each couple and boarded the boat – note the time was around 10:20 and he said the boat would leave at 10:30.

this is the guy everyone was arguing with

Okay 10:30 passes we are okay with that, the sun is shining and we are enjoying the hot weather.  We hear rumblings from the passengers down below who say they have been there since 10!  Around 10:45 we are starting to wonder now too when they will leave.  We have to catch the last tender at 3 and they said the 1 pm bus is the option for us so if we don’t leave soon it will be useless to head to Oia if we have to turn around and come back.

The guys downstairs in the boat are upset and arguing with the guy who originally talked everyone into the ride.  They have been waiting almost an hour and were promised it would leave at 10:30 and now the guy is saying 11 is the leave time.  They want their money back and they do give it to them. 

We chat with the other couple and they agree that waiting till 11 (and there is no guarantee it will leave then) is getting too late so we agree to get off and get our money back.  No problem with getting the money back.

Note we have friends who did this trip but they caught an earlier boat and didn’t have to wait very long so I guess make sure it is leaving soon and the boat is full. 

We go with the flow, it won’t ruin our trip but we giggle and it makes memories. 

Now how to get to the top of the cliff – Bernie wants to climb so he can say he did it!  Okay I agree and we start climbing.  It is hot!  In fact we both got a sunburn.  The donkeys share the path and there are times they are coming down and they come right to you.  Now they are friendly but it is a bit intimidating. 

Oh and not only do you share the road with the donkeys but you share it with their waste!  Oh the smells, and watch where you step.  Again this probably is not for everyone and certainly if you have issues walking or climbing don’t even think about it.  But we love it!  It creates a great memory of the place.  It took about 20-25 minutes and we did have to stop a few times but those stops meant great photo opportunities.  Now would I do it again, maybe, maybe not – but I can say I did do it.

Once at the top we walk around a bit and buy a Greek Coffee for Bernie and I get the cold drink they call a Frappe that I see so many of the Greeks drinking.  Both are very good – things are definitely more expensive here (understandably). 

We walk along the narrow roads and glance into the shops.  It is pretty, but Mykonos’ streets were much more picturesque (but more shops are open here).  Many restaurants are either closed here for the season or don’t open till later for lunch.  I would guess about 60% of the restaurants are closed here with many of the restaurants overlooking the cliff being open. 

Walking further away from all the tourist shops we enjoy seeing the local people going about their day to day.  We chat with a few and even come across a school.  I see a grocery store and Bernie wants to buy some pistachios for which we hear Santorini is known for.  We pick up a few items, the pistachios and a peanut snack that has the peanut coated with honey and sesame seeds – very yummy. 

I also buy some other nut snack, but can not comment on it as I haven’t eaten it yet. 

Lunch time and we see a nice restaurant in town and take a seat on the outside terrace.  A glass of wine for me a beer for Bernie and we start with a lovely Greek Salad.

Our entrée is a grilled platter for two, but really it could of easily fed four!  We can’t finish it – but it was very good.  In total the bill came to 46E – note that they did have a service fee added to the price as well so we took that into consideration when tipping.

Back wandering we love strolling along the streets and chatting with the shopkeepers.

it is hard to see but this is the cable car route

For our trip down we are going to take the cable car.  Even walking to the cable car could be difficult for some so be prepared.  I am not sure how someone in a wheelchair would get around, hopefully someone can comment on how it was handled here. 

The line up is not bad for the cable car and there is a washroom here. 

While waiting a couple in front of us from the US notices our Remembrance Day Poppies and the husband says “is that a Maple Leaf?” we say no it is a poppy for Remembrance Day.  Guy “oh, what does that represent?” we inform him that it is for November 11 – Remembrance day, your Memorial Day.  It is to signify the end of the first World War on the 11^th hour, of the 11^th day on the 11^th month.  We wear a poppy to remember those who fought and also those who gave their life in all battles.  This quieted him for a bit.  But his wife then says “oh the 11^th is very significant to us too” I say “oh” thinking maybe she had a death in her family on Nov 11, and she says – September 11 was very tragic to us Americans we acknowledge the 11th. 

I just nod – and make sure to get in a different cable car than her.  I am surprised cause the US is very conscious of those who fought to defend their freedoms as we are, it always impresses me.  So I know she does not represent most Americans.  But I think she just wanted the last word and didn’t want to look stupid (too late, when you called a poppy the maple leaf it gave you away). 

We are back on the ship and I am very impressed how the security has two lines for screening bags and people, it moves very efficiently and prevents back ups on the pontoon. 

A quick stop in the coffee bar (I want to call it international café, but it is not) and Bernie gets his tea and I get a cranberry pomegranate infused tea.  I am loving these in the afternoon.  I take it back to the cabin and add Ouzo to it (we are in Greece after all) and it tastes great.

I want to head up and take pictures, Bernie reads.  The day is stunning, the light bouncing off the buildings makes for great shots.  A lot of people are out relaxing in the sun, swimming, and enjoying the day.  Needless to say that laying on those loungers will create a mystical environment causing you to close your eyes and suddenly you are in a deep sleep.  75% of the people on loungers are asleep, may be the long port days too.

Bonnie and Jim invite us to their cabin for sail away.  We enjoy some prosecco and toast to a great cruise and new friends.  What a lovely couple and we are so glad we got to meet and know them.  They will be joining us for dinner tonight.

The town of Oia - where Bonnie and Jim went and we tried to go

I need a quick nap (one hour) and then we get ready for dinner.  Tonight we are dining at our table (note we now have a standing reservation at 8 pm for four at table 80).

Tonight’s meal is the Chef’s Menu.  I start with the goat cheese soufflé and then the butter lettuce salad with a hamburger for my entrée – yes hamburger, but not just any hamburger an Oscar Burger.  The burger is topped with crab meat, asparagus and hollandaise sauce.  All was very very good. 

Caesar from the Phillipines and Katryna from the Ukraine take very good care of us.  They are quick, attentive and helpful.

The headwaiter came over and we chatted.  Sorry didn’t get his name but I will.  He is from Venice and he tells us he is heading to Mom’s home for lunch and then she is getting on for the crossing!  How nice.  He recommends a restaurant to us for Venice – Madonna it is called and it is near the Rialto Bridge.  I tease him and say “Madonna has a restaurant now too, she sings and has a restaurant” he shrugs and says different Madonna.  We will seek it out.

After a great day, stunning sail away, dinner with great friends we head back to the cabin.  Tonight we get the hour back that we lost earlier.  We need it! 

Both of us are complaining our knees are sore.  We climbed 90 flights of stairs today when you add the cliff walk!  So we drop an Advil and crawl into bed.  Tomorrow we get a sleep in and it is formal night.

Thanks for following along.