Wednesday: The Santorini-land Diaries

Wednesday, October 17^th 2012: The Santorini-land Diaries

(Written by Steve) It was definitely warmer and more humid this morning as we were sailing in the Aegean Sea. We had breakfast in Blu, the dining room reserved exclusively for Aqua Class guests (which we are). The décor is understated and tasteful, with the motif of an opening rose bud used throughout (even down to the pats of butter on the table). Large floor-to-ceiling windows provided ample views of the blue waters. The service level was noticeably higher in this restaurant, although the food quality was about the same as on the rest of the ship (good). Blueberry pancakes were the order of the day for me, while Allan enjoyed an omelette (and vanilla buttermilk pancakes - afk).

After breakfast, Allan scampered about the ship taking photos and videos, while I sat on our private balcony and worked on this blog. What a nice place to write!

Amazingly, we were feeling peckish by noon, so we went up to “the trough” to enjoy some Panini sandwiches and salad. Since we had signed up for the soda and coffee card for the trip ($14/day), we tend to be ordering lots of Sprites, Coke Lights, and espresso drinks (to get our money’s worth).

It was around 13:30 when we entered into the middle of the island of Santorini, since the harbor is the former caldera of the great volcano that this island once was (and still is underneath the waters. More on that later). Geologists think that the eruption of this island 3,500 years ago was what caused the natural effects that were later reported as the “plagues of Egypt” (river runs red, frogs, etc.). In must have been some eruption, since most of the island was blown away. If you think of the letter “O” with the top eighth taken out, that’s what the island’s general geography is.

(The magma chamber underneath the island of Santorini is currently filling again and hence the island has swelled upward by fourteen cenimeters in the last year or so. Click this link to find info on the possible relationship between the great Thera Eruption of Santorini 3600 years ago and the description in Exodus of the 10 plagues of Egypt and the Exodus of the Isrealites. - afk)

Several small towns line the edge along very high cliffs (remember: this was the INSIDE of the volcano cone). From a distance they appear as snow on mountain tops, but they are the very classic white stucco buildings in this part of the world. Most photos of the Greek islands are usually from OIA (pronounced EE-ah) at the far northeast end of the island: blue domed roofs, white stucco buildings, and old women in all-black outfits.

The ship finally made anchor toward the bottom of the “O”, hundreds of feet below the main town of ΦΗRA (pronounced FEE-rah). Since there are no docks large enough to accommodate a ship of our size, we had to tender in from ship-to-shore. With nearly 2,700 passengers, this is no small accomplishment, and takes quite a fair amount of time.

Luckily, Michael is an Elite member, which means we got to sleaze our way in with them for one of the first tenders ashore. The patented “Brooks right-hand up and forward” led us past the throngs (just as it had the other day at the Pantheon). I felt guilty about it (our real tender tickets were in group #40), but after this cruise Allan and I will both be Elite members with Celebrity. Yippee – even MORE marketing!

In ten minutes we at the base of the steep cliff below Fira. There are three ways to the top: riding a donkey, climbing the 570+ stairs (sharing them with the donkeys), or taking a quick tramway up to the top for €4 per person. Each of the cars holds six people, and there are six cars in each set (running simultaneously up one side and down the other). The views are glorious as you rise above the shimmering blue water with the multi-hued cliff walls on either side. In about four minutes, you’re at the top in Fira.

Fira has some charming buildings and churches, but mostly seems to be a conglomeration of souvenir shops, jewelry shops, t-shirt shops, scooter rental places, and car rental places. We made our way to the scooter rental place, only to be told that EACH of us would need to possess a motorcycle license. Only Allan has one. So, we walked down the street a bit and talked to the people at Spiradakos Rent-a-Car. They had a great offer: €40 total for an air-conditioned, stick-shift Toyota Yaris that could easily seat four.

[Historical note: when we were here in 2006 we pre-arranged a rental car from Drossos, and it was a logistical mess. This time I felt it was better to just see what we could find on the fly. And I was right.]

When our little red car was delivered, it certainly looked like it had seen a lot of use. But the a/c worked, it was easy to drive, and we were off toward Oia, skirting the upper cliffs of the island with occasional views down below of terraced vineyards and as always, the sparkling blue Aegean. We made a few photo-op stops, but finally parked the car in town. It was about a 20-minute drive, and mostly on good roads.