Return to Athens

This morning a fog lingers over the volcanic crater and the island of Therasia in front of us. The Aegean is like a mirror, still, calm, no wind and very quiet all around.

This is when you notice how birds and there are lots of little birds all around, sing in noisy shrill voices.

The sun slowly burns off the fog, boats glide slowly to the caldera where people go to swim in the hot sulphurous waters. The volcano still emits a fine puff of smoke almost invisible and a red pumice which covers everything and must be wiped away daily.

Today in Khatimerini the national Greek newspaper, I read about the Fava bean which is used in Greek dishes, we had some of it in a purée in Mykonos at the Kapari restaurant. It is now a protected designated food by the E.U.

Fava ‘protected’

Island puree gets EU stamp

The version of fava, a popular split pea puree, made on the southern Aegean island of Santorini, is to be included on the European Union’s official list of “protected designations of origin” (PDO) and “protected geographical indication” (PGI), it emerged yesterday. The puree joins a list of another 87 goods produced in different parts of Greece – including olives and olive oil as well as various fruits and vegetables and different types of cheese – that enjoy the special PDO and PGI status. The use of EU symbols on the labels of such products provides consumers with information regarding the products’ origin.

Our boat is at 15:35 this afternoon and in Athens the weather is rain and lots of it for the next 48 hours. Maybe we will simply go and sit at Alexander’s Bar at Hotel Grande-Bretagne on Syntagma Square. I was planning to visit Cap Sounion for the sunset but not in the rain, too soggy.

  

Oia, Santorini Island

Today Tuesday another lovely day, it rained during the night apparently, I did not notice it, today was a hot sunny day. So we went to Oia, population 1230, which is on the tip of Santorini Island. Small village built on the volcanic cliff of the Island, lots of steps up and down, lots of little boutiques, commercial art work, T-shirts and nick-nacks for the house, few jewellery shops in comparison to Fira.

The views are spectacular of the sea and the crater against the blue sky. Lots of tourists from the Cruise ships, 3 big ships came in today. The tourist crowd is mostly 65+. Oia remains one of the foremost tourist attractions of the Aegean Sea. The famous Oia sunset, considered by many as one of the most beautiful in the world, keeps tourists flocking down to the castle, waiting for the moment when the sun slips down on the calm sea of the caldera. Tourists are often told that the fishing docks at Oia are the oldest continually used docks in the world, supposedly being in service for 3000 years.

My Dad has many allergies and one is tomato and the other is citrus, in Greek cuisine you find these items in almost every dish, another one is mustard or vinegar. So it is a little complicated when ordering food. They do not do substitutions, what you order is what you get.

My Dad also speaks to every one in English but it does not always work, many people just smile but do not understand what he is saying, in restaurants, despite many foreign tourists speaking German, Spanish, Italian, French or English, the staff speaks Greek or Albanian,

with a little English just enough to get by.

So far the weather has been fine, I was worried that it might rain but being at sea on different islands we have been able to avoid due to wind currents most of the bad weather. Have been reading a lot and found a beautiful bookstore in Oia with an incredible variety of books. Bought a book by Lawrence Durrell (1912-1990) whose books are mostly all classics nowadays. The one I bought is entitled ‘’Greek Islands’’

He writes about Mykonos and other islands back in 1966, it is almost prehistoric when you think of it, the change in the islands since makes them almost unrecognizable.

Tomorrow we return by slow boat to Athens, it will take 9 hours going from one island to the other in this archipelago, a voyage of its own in the Cyclades, I am happy just to think that I will have cruised amongst them.  

Traveling in the archipelago, the Cyclades Islands

Monday 11 October, Canadian Thanksgiving, in Thira (pronounce Fira) on Santorini Island, named after Saint Irene ( Holy Peace in Greek).  We had breakfast and went to Thira which is about 3 minutes by car from our hotel.

Thira seen from a cliff

Most old towns in Greece on Islands now visited by tourists and cruise ships have been transformed from once upon a time real villages into giant shopping malls.

No one actually lives in Thira anymore, it’s all shops selling, T-shirts, cheap souvenirs, clothing all of it made in China, even when it looks like it might have been made in Greece, there are also lots of expensive Lalique, Baccarat and Choppard stores selling gold jewellery and expensive watches, would you believe in the $6000 dollar range. Mini markets 7 eleven style and of course discos, bars, and restaurants, all promising wild adventures in sensual pleasures, what is wild are the prices, $16. dllrs for a mix drink, $ 9 dllrs for a beer, the best one was a restaurant where the chicken consommé was $13 dllrs, must have been a special chicken.

 Dominican nun Roman Catholic convent in Thira

The change on Santorini came about after a devastating earthquake in 1956 when the island which was then a small fishing community was almost deserted by its inhabitants so extensive was the damage and no State help was available just 6 years after the end of the Second World War, Greece was still an unstable country.  Land was cheap and developers saw an opportunity to buy and develop the island into a tourist resort, changing forever the look and flavour. But have no fear, you can visit a traditional village today on Santorini where happy peasants delight the visiting hordes of tourists with their simple ways.

Dad looking at the architecture

I was in Santorini 10 years ago and it was still quiet and pleasant, there were shops but all in all it was still a quiet civilized place, since then it has boomed and now it is hardly recognizable. My recommendation is to go to quieter islands in the archipelago of the Cyclades islands.

There are quite a few still ignored by the cruise ships and mass tourism, where you can have a quiet holiday and enjoy the beauty of the place.