You Say Tomato - Santorini, the Grand Finale

Another glorious morning for an Autumnal walk around Santorini. 

Near to Cape Exomitis, on the southern slope of Gavrilos Hill, are the little known rock-cut tombs known as Ancient Echendra believed to date from around the 4th Century BC. They aren't easy to find as, typically for Greece, there are no markers or signage. To get there we followed the road from Perissa to Vlychada, turned onto an inconspicuous path behind a white house and picked our way through a fava field to get a better look.

After our hour-long walk (5km) we reached Vlychada. The beachside taverna, where we'd enjoyed ice-cold frappes three years previously, had closed for the season but we found a little mini market by the harbour where we bought bottled water and chatted to the proprietor while we drank them.

Vlychada is home to the Tomato Industrial Museum, which we'd absolutely loved when we visited Santorini in 2023.

Back in the 20th Century, Santorini had one of the largest tomato production lines in Greece. Before the 1980s when tourism barely existed on the island, Santorini's economy was mainly agricultural. The largest factory of its kind in Greece, the Santorini Tomato Industrial Museum is a must see to anyone interested in Greece's social history.

The museum is set up in the former factory of D. Nomikos which operated on the site from 1945 until 1981. The factory closed when most of the tomato crops were eradicated on Santorini and the factory’s activities ceased to be profitable. In 2014 the factory was transformed into a museum. The engaging audio guide talks the visitor through the whole process of the traditional production of tomato paste, from cultivation to processing and packaging (updated with even more information since our last visit). On display are antique machines, tools, old labels and documents as well as archive photographs and a documentary film presenting the history of the factory and its workers. 

Most of the factories former employees lived in Emporio (which we'd visited earlier in the week HERE) and would walk to and from work, a round trip of over 7 km per day. Workers worked a twelve hour shift, seven days a week from the beginning of May until the end of August. Most met their husbands and wives at the factory and spoke with great fondness of their time at the factory.

The Domati Santorini (Santorini tomato) consists of five segments and fruits twice a year, is the unique product of the island's climate and geology. Their flavour and texture come from a combination of the local soil, brimming with nutrients from millenia-old volcanic ash and the fact that the plants thrive with minimal water. Like many crops on the island, they pull all their moisture from the morning mist and require no irrigation. The resulting tomatoes have slightly dry flesh, an intense aroma and a distinctively sweet taste. 

The factory also produced peas canned in citric acid.

New to the museum are artefacts relating to other industries which thrived on the island before tourism took over, including hoisery production and weaving. Wine production still makes up part of Santorini's ecomony, with the island's celebrated white wine, Assyrtiko stocked in many UK supermarkets. 

The tour concludes in the superb gift shop where Jon purchased

another Industrial Tomato Museum teeshirt to add to his collection (made in Greece, obviously!) along with a fridge magnet and some Santorini tomato seeds. 

We also got the opportunity to make and label our own can before heading to the on-site bar to sample the tomato paste, tomato chutney and tomato marmalade which were all absolutely delicious. I partook in a spicy Bloody Mary which blew my mind!

The last time we visited the Tomato Industrial Museum we'd caught the land train back to Perissa but it had stopped running for the season so we walked back instead (thank goodness I'd packed my walking stick!), stopping in Perivolos for Greek salads and beer before spending the rest of the day on the beach. 

Village wine on the balcony! 

It was Acropolis's last night before they closed for the season, so we ate dinner there. I'm not a huge fan of risotto but their veggie version was gorgeous. Jon had a huge mixed grill!

Thursday, our last full day, started off overcast so we wandered along the seafront, waiting for the sunshine to break through.

On our previous visit this archaelogical site at the end of the village was covered with litter and had no signage. In the last three years its been cleaned up and clearly labelled. Dating to the 8th Century BCE, the basilica of Hagia Irene formed part of the Byzantine harbour of Ancient Eleusis (present day Perissa).

Being a geek, I was fascinated to discover that the columns were imported as ready-made pieces from Constantinople - 6th Century mail order! 

We bought a hand-painted stone from one of the shops on the front which are sold to raise money for the local cat charity. 

And when the sun came out we made our way to the beach for a final day of sunbathing and swimming (well, I did, Jon only swam once, and that was the previous day) as well as our final Greek Salad lunch.

Our last dinner was at Jasper's where we ate the same as we had previously, lamb chops and roasted vegetable pasta. 

The following morning we packed our bags and headed to the airport, stocking up on Greek wildflower and pine honey at the Duty Free (same price as the supermarket), landing - very bumpily - at Birmingham Airport in the midst of Austen, the first storm of the season! 

Santorini is fascinating and there's so much more to the island than vacuous influencers and two thousand quid a night boutique hotels. When we left in 2023 neither of expected to return but we're glad we did, it was a thousand times better out of season when the crowds have left and the locals have got time to talk to you. Whilst it lacks the soul & authenticity of many of the places we've visited elsewhere in Greece, we wouldn't rule out going back as long as it wasn't during the main tourist season. 

Thanks for reading!