Exploring the Beautiful Whitewashed Village of Emporio, Santorini

 Last Monday, after our alfresco breakfast in the sunshine, we went for a walk.

After the lush greenery of many of the islands and of the Greek mainland, Santorini's barren landscape takes some getting used to. 

Not one but two abandoned VW T25s (the same model as Gilbert)!

Just a 30 minute walk from the tourist hotspot of Perissa, the sleepy Mediaeval village of Emporio feels like a world away, still inhabited but virtually untouched by tourism, it was one of our favourite places when we visited in 2023.

Nestled in the foothills of Mount Ilias Profitis, the name Emporio comes from the Greek word for trade and in years gone by was the island's commercial centre.

 At its heart lies Kasteli, one of five castles on the island, built by the Venetians in the 13th Century.

The village was built to protect inhabitants from marauding pirates with all the buildings purposely constructed cheek to cheek so locals could defend their houses more effectively.  

The architecture on Santorini is very distinctive. The building materials are volcanic comprising dust, black igneous rock, red rock and pumice stone and the shapes are uneven, often with domed roofs. They're painted white to deflect the sunlight and feature low ceilings and arches to withstand the frequent earthquakes.

Emporio is utterly enchanting and because it's on the opposite side of the caldera, it doesn't get swamped with tourists. Just like when we explored the village on our last trip, we could have counted the number of visitors we encounted on one hand. It really is a hidden gem. 

The Old Barber's Shop, the only taverna in the village, was closed on Mondays so we had frappes in a cafe on the main road. I don't think they were used to tourists visiting and were very excited to see us. 

After a taverna lunch back in Perissa, we spent the rest of the day on the beach. 

Looking at the photos you'd be forgiven for thinking we had the place to ourselves. Although there are only a fraction of the visitors at this time of year, most of them use the sunbeds attached to the few beachfront tavernas still open. We prefer lying on the sand away from civilisation.

In the summer we usually stay in the beach until 7pm but at this time of year, by 5pm there's a discernable drop in temperature especially when you're sitting in a damp bikini after a late afternoon swim.

A customary pose on the balcony before heading out for the night.

Another difference between holidaying at the end of the season and during the summer is that everyone eats a lot earlier. Normally we'd have dinner after 9pm but on the first two evenings we'd been the only diners in the tavernas. Whilst the staff made us very welcome and didn't make many attempt to get rid of us, often sending over free drinks or desserts, we felt a bit awkward, changing our eating time to 8pm in line with everyone else!

We almost had the beach bar, Waves,  to ourselves when we popped in for a pre-dinner drink. This chonk was waiting for the staff to feed him.

We hadn't visited Jasper's on our previous trip but had popped in for a beer a couple of nights earlier and liked the vibe and the, largely local, clientele. The food was exceptional...Jon's best lamb chops ever and the finest roast vegetable spaghetti I've eaten (including in Italy!)

They've got some lovely cats (always a bonus) and the staff sent us some free slabs of halva as they said we were such nice people.

Here's Perissa's top biscuit-maker (don't tell William)!  

Thanks for reading! Part three on the way.