The Caldera of Santorini

 

Following what is believed to be the most catastrophic eruption the world has ever seen, the damage from the Santorini volcano in 1600 BC caused a large part of the island to sink and for a caldera (or cauldron) to form. Widely considered to be the most beautiful of its kind, over two million tourists a year flock to the island to witness this phenomena for themselves. 

Yes, my friends, this is Santorini's incredible caldera - no filter required.

Knowing this part of the island was going to be busy we consulted the Fira port schedule (HERE) but even the quietest day had three cruise ships scheduled, bringing with them a mind-boggling 10,000 passengers. 

We caught the first express bus out of Perissa and, on alighting at Fira station, jumped on a bus heading to Oia with seconds to spare, reaching the iconic village shortly after 10am and, as you can see, it was already swamped.

Undeniably beautiful, Oia is postcard perfect but with the conveyor belt of weddings, proposal photoshoots and those £1000 flying dress shoots, the place felt more like a theme park than a Greek village.

The flying dress shoot in action (see HERE).

Yet another big fat Greek wedding

Away from the hoards, down the cobbled labyrinthine alleyways, we discovered Oia's soul. Here we had the fascinating Maritime Naval Museum, occupying a former 16th Century sea captain's house, all to ourselves. The curator was thrilled to see us and after we'd wandered around the exhibits,  encouraged us to join him on the terrace where he told us about the museum's recent restoration. 

Centuries ago the iconic white cave buildings perched on the cliff opposite the caldera housed the village's workers, now they are chi-chi boutique hotels with plunge pools and eye-watering room rates.  In the streets behind lie crumbling captain's mansions, once the homes the villagers aspired to, now boarded up and forgotten. 

Many of Oia's shops exist to serve the lucrative wedding industry with which village is now synonymous.

We were pleased to see that throughout Santorini, the street animals were well-cared for.

In short, Oia's beautiful and away from the hoards there are pockets of tranquility and authenticity waiting to be discovered. If we returned we'd either visit out of season or get there just after sunrise where, hopefully, we'd have the streets to ourselves.

A couple of hours later we caught a bus back to Fira, Santorini's principal town, which was also heaving with coach parties.

As luck would have it, our visit coincided with the International Day of Culture so admission to the Museum of Prehistoric Fira was free. Considering the importance of the artefacts in this compact and fascinating museum, you'd have expected it to have been bursting at the seams with tourists but, it was surprisingly quiet. We've come to the conclusion that most tourists visit Santorini just to tick it off some inane bucketlist with little interest in discovering the culture or history of the island. 

More about this museum in a future post. 

That's Oia in the distance.

After stopping for a Greek salad and a much needed ice cold beer (costing the same as it did in Perissa), we visited the Megaro Gyzi, a grand 17th century family mansion now a museum, stuffed with art, documents and photographs, many relevant to Santorini's history.

These photographs document the evacuation of the island following the devastating earthquake of 1956.

We couldn't resist a peek inside the Cathedral of St John the Baptist  - not for any religious reasons - simply to admire the kitchy plaster saints.

Unusually for us, our first visit to Fira had failed to enchant us like the towns of Greece usually do, but a few days later, having spent the morning on another part of the island, we needed to catch the bus back from Fira station so decided to give it another go.

This time, more familiar with the layout of the town, we were able to skirt the crowds & find our way down the narrow side streets, drooling at the gorgeous wares on display in the swanky boutiques.

We enjoyed a delicious Santorini salad in a laid back taverna away from the posh restaurants flanking the caldera, again paying the same prices as we had in Perissa.

I can't say I'm a fan of the genre but I'd love to hang out in this groovy jazz bar after dark.

This gorgeous Greek designer bikini ought be mine but at €128 I'll wait until it pops up on Vinted.

It's that embroidered dress again! (Pink City Prints, via eBay)

Despite the crowds, look at those spotlessly clean streets, no litter to be seen! 

After a good old wander we took a seat outside a hip little bar and indulged in some serious people watching whilst sipping on some deliciously fruity Santorini craft ale from the island's Blue Monkey Brewery (tours are available). It had taken two visits but by the time we hopped on the bus back to Perissa we'd decided that Fira was fabulous and definitely someone we'd consider staying next time we visit Santorini. (I've already earmarked some budget rooms on Booking.com)

Despite the delicious beer and the ringside seats, we finally tore ourselves away and caught the bus back to Perissa in order to continue with the challenge we'd set ourselves to swim in the Aegean every day. 

Thanks for reading, see you soon!