Santorini Update

Santorini

Our holiday destination for this year was Santorini. Our first ever visit to this Greek Island, one of the Cyclades in the Aegean sea.

Recommended by family members; we decided to leave behind what we are comfortable with (another resort on a different Greek island that we had become very familiar with). We went for the resort of Kamari, again on recommendation

A map of Santorini showing the resort of Kamari on the East coast.

A more detailed map of Kamari

Our accommodation for 14 nights was the Hotel Thalassa.

Here is our accommodation block. A block of 4 rooms; ours being an end one.

Our room from the outside

The inside of our room

The inside of our room

The room boasted a few refinements I assume intended to justify the price of the holiday i.e. £900 pp for a 14 night stay. This included: a fridge, air conditioning, hair dryer, safe and a small TV (two English speaking channels - Al Jazeera and BBC World News). We were impressed with the room service in that the towels and bedsheets were changed every day and the room was generally tidied.

We had a couple of issues in the first week; the toilet refused to flush, and the air conditioning broke down. They were fixed quickly, and we were offered an alternative room while the air conditioning was being fixed. We had no further issues with the facilities.

The hotel has a swimming pool and we counted 18 sunbeds around the.pool that were claimed quite early in the day. There were 76 numbered key hooks in reception and from this we assumed there were 76 rooms and potentially a minimum of 76 residents. There is an area on the sea front that has 60 sunbeds and a parasol made of dry palm leaves for every 2 sunbeds. We used this option but could not get used to the discomfort of walking on the volcanic black sand and pebbles every time we went for a dip in the sea so we bought beach shoes from a local supermarket at €10 per pair.

On the beach area outside the hotel was a shower that in our opinion was not pretty, and in it's vicinity was a strong smell of cat poo. This was more noticeable when there was little or no breeze.

Next to the beach shower area was the Beach Bar. This was a kind of hut fashioned from what can only be described as flotsam. Health and Safety had taken a back seat in the construction of the platform that was home to the seating area.

Three of the wooden planks was raised significantly above the others and was clearly a tripping risk; not to mention down sloping steps that provided the only access from the platform to the beach.

In our opinion if the "where there's blame there's a claim" crowd had gotten wind of this they would be lined up waiting to take a "dive". Also, if I remember rightly a tree was supporting the overhanging canopy.

The pool bar staff were excellent... prompt, polite, friendly, informative and talented. Anyone who can speak 3 languages fluently is talented in my book. On our penultimate day in Santorini and at the pool bar a  member of the staff allowed us two free drinks in reward for our daily loyalty throughout our stay. A gesture that we appreciated.

This was the breakfast area.

There is an area between the end of the pool and the beach that has outdoor tables and seating.

Breakfast was a self service buffet that offered a variety of food from cereal to bacon, sausage and mushroom, toast, jam, milk , coffee, and fruit juice.

In the buffet area were some tables and chairs used as a kind of overflow for the area outside when the outside places were full since people's first choice was to eat outside.

Our brochure mentioned that there were 2 pools at the hotel and indeed there were. The only problem was that one of the pools appeared to be defunct and not maintained.

Site entrance

The track leading to the main strip

Access to the main strip where the bars and restaurants was not a direct route. The reception staff advised a 10 minute walk around that they drew on a map for us to follow.

Having gotten more adventurous I decided to have a wander to try find a more direct route. I found that a short walk along the beach lead to a site entrance to what looked like an expanse of derelict land and to the left was a hedge of small trees and bushes. Parallel and adjacent to the hedge was a dirt track that ran for approx 150 meters. I followed the track and hey presto you were at the southern end of the main strip. My wife was pleased since our trip to the main strip was now only a 5 minute walk. All we needed now was to wear appropriate footwear and buy a small torch since our return would be after dark and there was no lighting.

Another thing, they didn't mention in the brochure that a flight path to Santorini airport runs parallel and over the beach and hotel, and believe me the aircraft are very low and noisy since the airport is only 20 mins from the hotel by coach.

An aircraft with props

A commercial jet airliner

OK, moving on. Places to eat and bars to have a drink on the strip; we walked the full length to the southern end and sampled the following:

Eating:

• Dimitris - Basic integrated with the apartments. A bit like a pool bar. Staff were a bit dour. We ate there twice only because it was convenient since it was a pick up and drop off point for some excursions and a little out of the way at the North end of the resort.
• Lolos - our welcome meeting was held there. Staff were friendly and gave you that little bit of un-solicited extra attention without over doing it. Reasonably priced food and drink tucked away up a side street but still quite busy
• Sorokos - On the same back road as Lolos. A traditional Taverna. Notable for it's large food portions. Very reasonably priced and value for money - we dined there twice.
• El Greco - On the main front strip.
• Boat House - On the main front strip
• Sea Side - On the main front strip
• Sea View - On the main front strip
• Irini - On the main front strip the last eating place at the Southern end of the resort
• The Spring Restaurant - On the main front strip

Bars:

• Splash - At the Northern end of the main strip. Nice relaxed atmosphere, pleasant staff, comfy seating area. Drinks were relatively expensive, but they did a cracking cocktail.
• Love Boat - On the main front strip. Drinks reasonably priced and the cocktails were good value for money.
• Levant - On the main front strip. Attached to a hotel. Cocktails not really value for money.
• Albatross - On the main front strip. We sought this establishment on recommendation of family members. Typical cocktail bar with occasional live music. A nice atmosphere but the cocktails varied in value for money.

Something completely different, a health tip for everyone if you like to keep your feet in good shape. If you find yourself on a dark volcanic sandy beach (especially in Santorini) where the shoreline waves lap up, try standing in the moistened sand in bare feet, and under your own weight, push your feet in and out of the sand for about 15 minutes. Work the sand between your toes and you will experience an unbelievable foot scrub and massage, the effects of which lasts for days.

A dark volcanic sandy beach

My feet in the dark sand

OK here is a funny one for you. Picture this: A "Big Boned" bikini clad lady. Short in proportion to her girth. Hell bent on taking a dip in only what can be described as a pleasantly cool but choppy sea. The seabed unstable underfoot due to the pebbles, sand, slippery and undulating strata. She slowly ventures out into the sea... arms flailing, fighting to keep her balance. Probably three meters or so into the sea and approximately up to her knees in depth, she turns to face the shore and waves to someone.

Now, the surf is breaking approximately half a meter behind her. She lets out a short screech as the tumbling breaker passes her with enough force to make her lose her balance... She is now sat on the unstable surface up to her neck in seawater and  giggling. She tries to regain her balance and stand. She is hit once again by a breaker and once again finds herself prostrate and now rolling with the retreating tide. Another screech, a name is called. Another breaker, she rolls up the shore. Another screech, she calls a name. Unable to regain her balance she tries to adjust her bikini top. Another breaker? Surely not. Yep! The girl was floundering in the surf and giddy

A guy stood up having observed this for a few minutes waded out to where the girl was holding out her hand for help. She screeched again.. no no don't pull me out! The guy ignored her plea and proceeded to pull her from the surf.

It became clear why she didn't want to leave the sea. She had been stripped almost completely naked by the waves i.e. her bikini top was missing and her bikini bottoms were half way down her thighs... she quickly pulled them up. Of course I averted my eyes... mm! She regained an upright position and covered her embarrassment with her arms and ran, occasionally screeching, to a parasol and the safety of a large beach towel.The guy scanned the waves for the missing top.

I wasn't sure if this should come under a heading of Health and Beauty or Health and Safety... I'll let you judge. Now, have you ever found yourself contemplating Teeth Whitening and thought ERM too expensive. Yes? well you might want to consider this option.

Excursions:

We decided at our welcome meeting that we would go on a couple of excursions that our Tour Operator rep would offer. We opted for The North, and The South.

First up was the North. The pick up point was at Dimitris restaurant. The coach arrived on time. We boarded looking forward to a relief from the oppressive heat of the day. We took our seats and our tour guide announced that this was Spiros' coach and we should look after it and not eat or drink or do anything else that might cause some local to do some cleaning work. And I was thinking... yes, I'll do all those things as long as Spiros fixes the blinking air con! instead of peddling the virtues of keeping a clean coach. Seriously, I could have spent most of my time taking measures to prevent my sweat from soaking into the sacred upholstery.

The route took us first to see a beautiful Byzantine Chapel. Sorry no pics. Our guide said we were not to take pics of the artwork on the inside of the chapel with a flash. I wasn't able to ensure with any confidence that my camera flash would not go off. So you will have to take my word when I say it was stunning!

We back tracked for a while then proceeded to Pyrgos. The centre of attraction here is the Venetian castle. From here you get excellent views.

A view from castle in Pyrgos

Incidentally, let me tell you this. The coach had a mixture of English and German speaking tourists, probably more German than English, and a talented guide that could speak both languages. The guide had very detailed knowledge of the history of Santorini and would swap between languages to impart her knowledge. But guess what? When she got to 1939-1945 there was a gap in her knowledge... yes, she had forgotten about the German occupation and it's disruptive effect on the Santorinian economy. 10 out of 10 for diplomacy. I'm not sure my grandfather would have agreed!

Next up on The North tour was wine tasting at Santo Wines in Pyrgos... now your talking, I thought . We were herded into a hall and were asked to take a seat around a table. We sampled two dry whites and a red. Now I'm not a connoisseur of wines but I know what I like. Suffice it to say that my wife boarded the coach for the onward trip to Oia a lot merrier than me.

We arrived in Oia late afternoon and the guide gave advice on where best to view the sunset. The town was very busy with tourists milling around either browsing shops or looking for a vantage point to view the sunset. We found a taverna ordered a couple of beers and waited. I can assure you we were not disappointed... a thoroughly spectacular event.

Sunset viewed from Oia

The South tour

OK, sorry for the delay in presenting our experience of The South tour. Once again we were picked up from Dimitris restaurant and our first stop was the picturesque Caldera stop... here are a couple of photos.

The next stop was Akrotiri the much talked about ancient town excavated and preserved. This was a wonderful insight into the architectural style in Santorini circa 1600 BC. The site is well presented and as you walk around you can almost feel the presence of its ancient inhabitants.

From Akrotiri our coach journey took us to the village of Eborio. A small Santorinian village next to mount Prophet Ilias and between Megalochori and Perisa. Beautiful buildings, narrow winding pathways, and of course the iconic blue domes of the churches.

We continued our tour and next up was the summit of Mount Prophet Ilias... and yes there is a road that winds all the way up... and yes the coach driver demonstrated his driving skills... and yes there were bits where the road appears to disappear under the coach... nice! The views from the summit are stunning.

We descended the mountain... and yes the brakes on the coach worked perfectly, and finally at the foot of the mountain I released my vice like grip on the arm rest, opened my eyes and began to breath normally.

Next up, Fira and another sunset. I was surprised this was included in The South tour since Fira looks more in the north of the island. We arrived there early evening and it was very hustle bustle, and as in Oia, people were clamouring to find a vantage point to view the sunset. Notably, lots of shops... traditional gift shops and some designer outlet type shops. If you are the shopping type then we think you would need a good half day to see most of them. The small bars and restaurants that offered a good vantage point to view the sunset were quite expensive... now there is a surprise. We found the Select Restaurant, and these pics were taken from their balcony overlooking the Caldera.

Conclusion

The sun finally set on this years holiday, and my wife and I made our way back to the UK. Our "batteries" fully charged, our wallets empty, yet we felt richer in spirit having experienced some of the delights and quirks of this beautiful island. The Santorinians should be proud of their heritage having taken advantage of natures attempts to re-shape it's landscape.  It's inevitable reliance on tourism for it's sustenance is hardly surprising.

So for us as tourists the chemistry of Santorini works well. We will return one day so, please don't change it too much.