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Once you have seen Santorini the image remains. The views
from every angle are spectacular, the light is so brilliant that
the stark white of the walls almost throbs. Flowers and vivid
trim add splashes of color against the white. The textured
terra cotta, ochre and grays of the vertical cliffs jutting
from the dark translucent blue of the Mediterranean make this island
one to put on the "must see" list for any fortunate enough to visit
the Greek islands. While moored we awaken to this view from our
bed through the aft companionway.
Of course, like many wonderful places, you must share Santorini
with other tourists. Being a tourist Mecca also means that
all the conveniences are there.
We
wanted to see the active volcano on the nearby island of Kameni and
rather than take Sea Gem over and go through the hassle of looking
for a mooring for a few hours we decided to take a tour.We purchased
our tickets in Fira, for the morning of July 3. The tour boat
stopped right at the wharf next to where we had Sea Gem moored at
Oia. This harbor is one of those dream locations where you swim
right off your boat, there is a mooring and the local people are so
nice they make suggestions as to where you tie your mooring lines.
The cost of the tour was 7,000 drachma per person, about $20.00 US
and well worth it. We carried cameras, bathing suits and suntan
lotion. We had not been on the boat long before meeting a young
American man with his German wife and having a pleasant conversation
with him.
An attractive, blond, American woman, volunteered
that if we had not heard the instructions, we were due to change
boats when we reached the island. We exchanged pleasantries
and found that she and her husband, a mining engineer, were living
in Athens at the present time. Their daughter and little six
year old grand daughter, Hadley, were visiting them from Wyoming.
We found we had much in common and thoroughly enjoyed meeting them
and starting a friendship. We hope our paths will cross in
the future.
Meeting interesting people is a great bonus in traveling.
Having six year old Hadley near was bitter sweet as we miss our
grand daughters so much.
Our first stop on the tour was the dock where
we disembarked to hike up to the rim of the volcano. The jaunt
was long and I stopped just before the top as I became more engrossed in conversation with someone
than in looking at more steep rocky holes. There was an added
benefit in walking with our new friend, who is a geologist.
He was able to give in depth explanations to the various rock formations
and geological events. One thing for sure, you could pick
up enough lava rock that you would never have to go back to Home
Depot to replenish your gas grill.
So many beautiful places in the world were formed by volcanic upheaval.
The whole group of islands, of which Santorini is one, is merely the rim of the volcano that formed them. As I said in a previous log, the eruption on Thira or Santorini, was probably the largest ever occurring on
Planet Earth. The event ended a whole civilization yet from catastrophe, devastation, and encapsulated preservation of that culture, we have been granted a
glimpse into history and the life of a beautifully ordered society and way of life.
 We
have visited many museums and some archeological excavations
and seen the graceful art from a time when people not only engaged
in the everyday pursuits of living but enjoyed music, art
and extensive games and sports.
After our climb to the top of the still quietly
active volcano we got back on the boat and were taken to a mooring
close to a "hot spring" where you can jump into the chilly
clear sea and swim up to where vents are releasing heated
and heavily mineralized water from deep within the earth.
The sea is cold to us, who are accustomed to more tropical climes,
but true to the brochures promise, as you swam into the brown sulfur
smelling water the temperature rose. About half the people
aboard swam and we only had about half an hour in the water.
We were then called back aboard and were
taken to the island of Thirassia where we had lunch at one of the
waterside cafes. The fare was traditional, and part of the
fun was watching Hadley consume a yummy and very messy ice cream
cone.
The tour ended as we were dropped back to our dock
and Sea Gem. The next morning, with no fireworks or commemoration of the Fourth of July, we untied our lines and left our Santorini mooring.From Santorini we sailed to Milos, the island where the famous statue of
Aphrodite or the Venus was found in 1820 and taken to the Louvre in Paris. We anchored in the harbor at Adamas and dinked into town where we rented a car and
began to search for the laundry. I had directions, given by a shopkeeper, and we went up some unbelievable narrow, steep, twisting streets following his instructions, but saw no
sign of a laundry, just houses. We were referred to the ice cream shop, for the lady there is the mother of the laundry owner. Of course the ice cream shop was closed- -but it would
open again at 5:30. We rode around and then parked, stationed ourselves across the street, ordered a frappe-or iced coffee and waited. Of course 5:30 came and went and finally at
about 6:00 the doors opened and we went to communicate with the laundry owners mother. She said, in Greek of course, that her daughter would open the laundry at 6:30 and again
gave us directions and a card with the laundry name in Greek. The little card also had a map and lo and behold, my directions had been correct so we went back again to the same area.
This time I walked, peering into doors, and saw a small sign with a cartoon of a washing machine and dancing clothes. This was fastened to a window in what looked like a house.
We parked in front and waited, again 6:30 came and went and a woman walking by said, "Look, today is Wednesday, she closes at 4:00 on Wednesday." The woman walked on
and a young man showed up asking where the laundry lady was, she told him to come between 7 and 9 and now it was 7 and she was not there. He grumbled that this was Greece
and time didn't seem too important and off he walked. We had just about given up when the woman appeared. She took our laundry but said that the next day she would have her
power turned off at nine in the morning and it would be several days before she could get our laundry, unless of course we could come back in the morning in which case she would
have it ready by ten o'clock. We jumped at the chance and to finish a rather long drawn out story, she was good on her word and we got back clean sweet smelling clothes, all of them,
and at a reasonable price. Sometimes the simple things take so much time but each is an adventure. We never would have found the narrow twisting streets if we had not been
looking for the laundry, or met the delightful Greek lady who sells ice cream with a daughter who runs a very fine laundry. When you travel by boat necessity forces you to enter the
life of the area, groceries, laundries, and shops off the beaten track.
Our little car was air-conditioned which made it wonderful
just to ride around. The weather was hot and so dry. There
were many secluded beaches. We
toured the island, went to the folk museum and the archeological
museum where they have a replica of Venus de Milo and fine
examples of the other finds of Milos. The Greeks, of course,
want to get Venus back to her homeland and display her where she
belongs. From the people we have talked to the problem is
complex, as most things are when there is a dispute over ownership.
Sailing in or out of the harbor at Milos you pass impressive
rock formations. We left Milos on July 7, at 0800 for Kythnos, an
island with good protected anchorages and nice beaches.
We ended up needing the protection for on the way the Meltemi had
kicked up again bringing winds of force 7-8 ( always on the nose,
it seems), lots of water over the bow and the boat loaded with salt
from the all day pounding and spray. Our time is Kythnos was
spent at anchor, swimming in 69 F.degree water off the boat and
waiting for the wind to die. We have a lot of books aboard
and reading is a big part of the cruising experience, as is writing.
I enjoy dabbling with watercolors when time permits.
From Kythnos we sailed to Mykonos, one of the cruise ship destinations. Here we have
found all the conveniences geared to mass tourism. We have first and foremost found an Internet where we are able to communicate with home and our fellow sailors. The cost is
pretty high here, prices have escalated commensurate with the traffic. We are docked, port side to the dock, at a strong new concrete quay. It has been a long
time since we have actually been at a dock like this. Usually the boat is backed in with the bow anchor holding us away from the dock and only the stern tied to the dock. We have
added a folding gangway to our supplies to facilitate getting on and off the boat from the stern, but now we have the luxury of just stepping off. We are inside the harbor and part of
the fun is watching all the mega yachts, their crews and the passengers arrive and depart. We also took on fuel, diesel is about $4.US per gallon here. I hope people at home realize
even though fuel at home has gone up, we still have the lowest priced fuel when compared to the rest of the world. When we came into this port a helpful German couple was ready
and willing to catch our lines and helped us get secured. Charlie returned the favor when they left, releasing their lines as needed. They told us they envy our extended trip as they
are just on a two week bare boat charter. We are fortunate indeed to be able to have this experience and each day we appreciate the opportunity. Each day brings a new adventure
and today will be getting this log off on the internet. Then we will explore Mykonos, probably on the scooter Charlie has rented. I think he will go back and trade models, we
need a rear view mirror. I don't have the ability of an owl, to swivel my head far enough around to check behind us. From Mykonos, the land of gyros, heroes and cruise ships, until later. . . |
