Pyrgos, Santorini
After a quick breakfast preceded by a swim in the pool we left to explore the island. First stop was at a traditional settlement, Megalohori, a village with narrow streets with its stones having the ribs painted in white. It was extremely hot, the first day with less wind that forced us crawling close to the walls hoping to get some shelter in the central church unfortunately closed. Old ladies were peeking from behind the blue gates offering a shy kalimera. The village is small and it took probably 1 hour max to cross it back and forth.
From there we continued to Pyrgos, an old fortified village, whose streets are circular ending on top on fortifications. Everything is sparkling white with blue window shades and it looks like is repainted every year. We walked the fascinating labyrinth of streets till the top where is located the castle, a fortification from whose top the views over the islands and over the inside churches are spectacular. At the entrance in the castle was an old man with a donkey who was posing for tourists. He was selling also tomatoes, wine and grapa. After Pyrgos we planned to go to Gonia Episkopia and Vothonas but we took the road to Kamari and went directly to the old citadel of the island, Archea Thira. The mistaken road proved to be a savior because it was already 1 30pm and the archaeological site was closing at 2 30pm. It is no entry fee to the site, though but the gate closes. After you enter Kamari, a resort similar with Perissa, you start climbing on a hair spin road like you won’t believe. It takes about 15 minutes to get on top considering that you stop for incoming traffic, and you park the car and start walking up the hill, getting right away to a 6th century basilica and continuing on stairs guarded by trees bent by wind to the main complex. The site is well dug and interesting but the best are the view over both sides of the volcano. It takes about 1 hour to visit it at a relaxed pace and at 2 30pm we were escorted out and they locked the gate after us. We descended to Kamari and stopped right away, just outside of the village, at the Gonia Episkopi, an old church founded in the 11th century by Alex Comenus. The thieves attacked the church and stole all the valuables but the frescoes and the remaining icons are still beautiful.
Oia, Santorini
After that we drove to Vothonas where we tried to locate some sunken houses but nobody knew exactly what we were talking about so we gave up and we drove all the way to Oia on the coastal road. Oia is very different than Fira. Less people, relatively less stores imprint a more traditional atmosphere. Obviously this is relative, Santorini being the top tourism destination in the Cyclades. It is only one street on top of the crater with some occasional derivations going down. The main street is full of shi-shi restaurants and bars and art stores. The blue domes of the churches stick out of the white of the houses. When you reach the end of the street the view is stupendous. It is not the avalanche of houses from Fira but a smaller and I would say much nicer view welcomes you. If you have time is worth exploring all the alleys that descend and ascend and have on them traditional houses. .Windmills, churches and houses covered with flowers abound. The sunset is a major tourist event in the Greek islands and people congregate in unbelievable numbers to see it. They get their seats one hour in advance and you can watch how the all the places that have sunset view are getting literally packed. People watched a beautiful sunset and in the end the entire crowd applauded ecstatically the beauty the miracle of nature. From there we left to have dinner at “Seagullâ€, a restaurant overlooking some blue domes of a church and hanging in the caldera. After dinner I had a chat with an Polish artist who was living in Santorini and had his art exposed at one of the galleries. He told me many things about the dynamic of the island, about his buyers, still mostly Americans, and obviously about the prices in Euro that jumped even 7 times since the Drahma was replaced. After the evening ice cream, we did not forget to buy water and a cell phone card for the Romanian guy working in the hotel.
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