Fira.
When you approach Santorini from the sea, the view of the island mesmerises immediately. There is something amazing in the cliff tops adorned with the white icing of the cities. It is almost unreal and the closer you get, the more unreal it becomes…the whole island is not big at all - between the middle of it, where the capital lies, and the West End, where the most beautiful town of Oia, there are only 11 km...and if you'd walk a bit up to the mount in the middle of the island, you could see the both edges of it meeting the Aegean sea ... The capital of the island, Fira, sits about 300 meters above sea level. And I don’t know a word that can tell that this wall of the rocks is “more then just steep” …
The next thrill you get once disembarked at the port, is the bus ride to Fira – all the way to the top of the cliff following narrow road which looks like a piece of string being thrown over the rocks without bothering to stretch it. The 12 km drive from the port to the city centre takes about 20 min, most of which you spend circling around the same place, each loop at the different altitude and I must say: if you are afraid of the heights, you better keep your eyes off the windows, the ride is not for the faint- hearted.
But once you up there, you wouldn’t want to get down again. The views from the top are fantastic. Beautiful white-washed buildings are scattered along the cliff top, narrow passageways lead you through the whiteness framed in turquoise blue door frames. On our second day on Santorini we came to Fira so early, there weren’t any tourist buses there yet and we had the city to ourselves…I do not know how to describe it better, but walking these streets felt like wandering through the blue mist of a dream…the most amazing were the doors…oh, Santorini’s doors – the openings to heaven…well, at least they look like it to my poetic soul…because the houses were nested on the cliffs and they place their fences and doors from the elevated side of the house, when you open the door, it appears to lead nowhere. Because you cannot see the steps and often there is a very small patio behind the door, just enough to turn to the steps leading down to the house…the impression this makes is enigmatic! Step through the doorway and dissolve into serenity
Ok, lets get back to earth now and make a note that Fira as a capital, is also a tourist capital of the island. And that means - lively night life and streets overpacked with tourists...Towns on Santorini are mostly traffic-free - apart from a donkey no other means of transport would fit to the size of the streets. And frankly, there is no such thing as long distance on the whole island. there is, however, such thing as tourist species. and these are in plenty. sometimes too plenty to my liking. I often wonder: why people go to the stranger's places and spend all their time in the shops? I agree the souvenirs could be on a list, but surely this doesn'ty take too long? I am aften amazed just how easy we can forget what we came for when we see artistically decorated shop window...Jewellery, clothing, souvenirs, pottery shops and art galleries line the narrow winding paths. There are also many cafe bars and restaurants overlooking the Caldera . And we simply couldn’t resist having our meals in one or two of them or three, perhaps…my definition of “dining with a view” is very different now…
it is also gets very crowdy once the tourists start to arrive. those species get to the island from the sea and from the air - Santorini has international airport! and every big cruise ship has a scheduled stop in Caldera. So all their guests would be flooding otherwise peaceful streets of Fira. Add to the joy of squeezing between the human masses the merciless sun, temperature around 30 degrees (86F) and you can be sure that the Kid’s mood wasn’t entirely as romantic as was mine. (Geez, I never met such a grouchy young man in my life!) Eventually he came to terms with his mom’s irrepressible thirst for more and in the end seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. (or at least was smart enough to pretend he enjoys it)
And, of course, besides the capital, we had to see some other things as well.
More to come...
When you approach Santorini from the sea, the view of the island mesmerises immediately. There is something amazing in the cliff tops adorned with the white icing of the cities. It is almost unreal and the closer you get, the more unreal it becomes…the whole island is not big at all - between the middle of it, where the capital lies, and the West End, where the most beautiful town of Oia, there are only 11 km...and if you'd walk a bit up to the mount in the middle of the island, you could see the both edges of it meeting the Aegean sea ... The capital of the island, Fira, sits about 300 meters above sea level. And I don’t know a word that can tell that this wall of the rocks is “more then just steep” …
The next thrill you get once disembarked at the port, is the bus ride to Fira – all the way to the top of the cliff following narrow road which looks like a piece of string being thrown over the rocks without bothering to stretch it. The 12 km drive from the port to the city centre takes about 20 min, most of which you spend circling around the same place, each loop at the different altitude and I must say: if you are afraid of the heights, you better keep your eyes off the windows, the ride is not for the faint- hearted.
But once you up there, you wouldn’t want to get down again. The views from the top are fantastic. Beautiful white-washed buildings are scattered along the cliff top, narrow passageways lead you through the whiteness framed in turquoise blue door frames. On our second day on Santorini we came to Fira so early, there weren’t any tourist buses there yet and we had the city to ourselves…I do not know how to describe it better, but walking these streets felt like wandering through the blue mist of a dream…the most amazing were the doors…oh, Santorini’s doors – the openings to heaven…well, at least they look like it to my poetic soul…because the houses were nested on the cliffs and they place their fences and doors from the elevated side of the house, when you open the door, it appears to lead nowhere. Because you cannot see the steps and often there is a very small patio behind the door, just enough to turn to the steps leading down to the house…the impression this makes is enigmatic! Step through the doorway and dissolve into serenity
Ok, lets get back to earth now and make a note that Fira as a capital, is also a tourist capital of the island. And that means - lively night life and streets overpacked with tourists...Towns on Santorini are mostly traffic-free - apart from a donkey no other means of transport would fit to the size of the streets. And frankly, there is no such thing as long distance on the whole island. there is, however, such thing as tourist species. and these are in plenty. sometimes too plenty to my liking. I often wonder: why people go to the stranger's places and spend all their time in the shops? I agree the souvenirs could be on a list, but surely this doesn'ty take too long? I am aften amazed just how easy we can forget what we came for when we see artistically decorated shop window...Jewellery, clothing, souvenirs, pottery shops and art galleries line the narrow winding paths. There are also many cafe bars and restaurants overlooking the Caldera . And we simply couldn’t resist having our meals in one or two of them or three, perhaps…my definition of “dining with a view” is very different now…
it is also gets very crowdy once the tourists start to arrive. those species get to the island from the sea and from the air - Santorini has international airport! and every big cruise ship has a scheduled stop in Caldera. So all their guests would be flooding otherwise peaceful streets of Fira. Add to the joy of squeezing between the human masses the merciless sun, temperature around 30 degrees (86F) and you can be sure that the Kid’s mood wasn’t entirely as romantic as was mine. (Geez, I never met such a grouchy young man in my life!) Eventually he came to terms with his mom’s irrepressible thirst for more and in the end seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. (or at least was smart enough to pretend he enjoys it)
And, of course, besides the capital, we had to see some other things as well.
More to come...