How very Oia! [1440]
Our ferry from Naxos to Santorini was a SeaJet catamaranWorld Champion. About 200 people crowded the shed at the port awaiting the ferry, which was 10 minutes late. When it arrived, the sense of urgency was manifest. The ramp was down for less than 5 minutes. In that time, they unloaded and loaded about a dozen cars and hundreds of pedestrians. We were still on the car deck attempting to stash luggage when World Champion was underway. There were three flights of stairs to climb to get to our seats. Business class was decidely less crowded than economy, but assigned seat numbers meant nothing. It was about 90 minutes to Santorini via Ios. Santorini's official name is Thira, named after Spartan leader Theras, but even the Greeks call it Santorini after the Santa Irene cathedral in the nearby black-sand beach village of Perissa, why we don't know. In classical Greek, it is Thera.
Possibly the most iconic church in Santorini, the Panagia Platsani. [8677]
Across the huge Santorini caldera towards Fira and the cruise-ship port. [8628]
We recalled with some trepidation our visit here about 10 days ago, since our hotel on Santorini was in the uber-touristy town of Oia (pronounced "ee-a", a silent "o" to our ears) that was oh-so crowded last time. It turns out that, on this stay, we never saw crowding like it again. We must have been unlucky first time. The busy-ness factor in Oia seems to be determined by what cruise ships are in (up to four on any one day), and what time of day it is. By our observations this week, the "culprits" are the "... of the Seas" ships which belong to Royal Caribbean we think, maybe just specifically the "Odyssey of the Seas". Anecdotally, obviously, this ship arrives early and offloads quickly, with the first destination being Oia. Passengers fill maybe 50 tourist coaches and they ascend into Oia in numbered groups. After they have left, crowding returns to normal, the only traces left of them being the group numbered stickers that everyone was wearing. During our week in Oia, the Odyssey did appear once, the crowds did arrive, but by now we knew to stay out of their way. Besides, we were having breakfast! We hope the art and craft and souvenir shops of Oia benefit from these visits. By our observation, the most popular occupation of cruise ship passengers generally is to get a selfie in front of one of Santorini's iconic blue domes. Queues form in the best locations, quite a sight really, but everyone tries to be patient.
Just another flight of steps down the cliff to some luxury accommodation in Oia. [8560]
Luxury accommodation stretches down the steep south-facing cliff-face of Oia. [8590]
Everything whitewashed in the Greek tradition. [8561]
A cactus provides some contrast to the stark white of this building in Oia. [8568]
The iconic blue domes of Santorini, as seen in this cliff-side view of Oia. [8580]
The bell-towers on Oia (and everywhere else) are less famous but just as exquisite. [8582]
Why blue domes on Santorini? "The whitewashed walls and the blue domes represent the colors of the Greek flag. But Santorini buildings weren't always colored like that. During the Greek junta from 1967 to 1974, the right-wing military regime imposed that all buildings be painted white and blue to inspire patriotism and attract more tourists. Ever since, Santorini blue domes have become a worldwide landmark that is a treat to the eyes." And this same source explains the white buildings: "There are 2 main reasons. The first one is that white color is a perfect reflector of the heat, helping locals preserve the coolness of their homes during the hot Greek summer. The second reason that reinforced this choice seems to be an outbreak of cholera in 1938. The government ordered the citizens to paint the buildings with limestone, a robust antibacterial material, to end the spread of the disease." https://www.santoriniexperts.com/santorini-blue-domes/
Densely developed cliff-top in Oia. [8604]
A cruise boat motors past the Oia cliff-side. [8593]
Just another blue dome in Oia. [8623]
Oia stretches about a kilometer along the edge of a cliff at the top-end of the croissant shaped island that is Santorini. The touristy part of town runs down from the ridge, facing south, maybe only one third of the way down. At the western end is Ammoudi which has fabulous, and famous, views of the sunset. No cars at all in these parts of Oia, just steps and alleys. North of the ridge is where vehicles drive - this is where the hard work of running Oia happens. Nothing illustrates this layout better than the Lightroom PhotoMap below, the yellow rectangles showing where photos from this blog were taken. The two tiny ports of Oia are clear in this map, one of which has no vehicular access at all.
View down the cliff-face in Oia, cobbled paths and private plunge pools. [8550]
The main part of Oia is beautiful but shamelessly touristy. Ammoudi is seemingly older and much more interesting. Here, Oia's luxury accommodation and upmarket shops give way to more boutique fare, tiny houses many of which are clearly AirB&Bs or similar, miniscule family cafes, mini-markets probably serving self-catering digs, and even narrower and steeper pedestrian alleys. The tip of Ammoudi houses the ruins of Oia Castle, the 15th Century Venetian Castle of Agios Nikolaos. An earthquake in 1956 cast much of the castle into the sea and now only a part of its watchtower remains. The castle is the place in Oia to view the sunset, so its very crowded at that time, much less so at other times. Ammoudi hovers high above tiny + picturesque Ammoudi Port, with only 300 odd steps to negotiate to get down to. Luckily, there is a back road for vehicular access.
Oia Castle ruins, a very popular sunset viewing spot, at early morning as a Virgin cruise ship arrives. [0621]
The port of Ammoudi hosts ferries going to outlying islands. It's about 300 steps if you want to walk down.[8602]
Ammoudi is the windward side of Oia, but those windmills now make money from tourist accommodation. [8615]
Not all domes are blue, and almost no windmills have sails, this view in Ammoudi in Oia. [8595]
Artistic garden in the Ammoudi part of Oia. [8596]
Tiny ferry at Ammouni is a lifeline for the residents of caldera islands, like Thirassia. [8701]
With her back to the view, a terra-cotta statue in a private residence in Oia. [8703]
Either a windmill converted to accommodation, or designed to look like one. [8750]
Another fabulous bell-tower, this one in old Ammoudi. [2814]
From early morning, Oia shops and cafes are open but are generally not too busy. Mike loved his pre-breakfast walks here at this time. Only tourists are about and their volume depends on cruise ship traffic. There are tradesmen and delivery people too. Oia is hot and sunny though the day - there's never a cloud in the sky - so it's only in the hour before sunset that the city really starts to come alive. It reaches its peak between 21:00-22:00 when the locals take dinner. Day visitors are well and truly gone. All shops and cafes are open. There's a good reason for this timetable. After sunset is the best time of the day. It's warm, not hot, and comfortable, and maybe even the wind has dropped. What's really happening is that you wait all day for night to come. No wonder the Greeks like to sleep in and take siestas! At what time this activity tapers off, we don't know. It's way too late for us to ever witness it!
The marble paved main street of Oia town on Santorini. [9075]
Dining in Oia offers countless options. The essential choice after upwarket/cheap is what view do you want, the caldera, the sunset or just people watching? Up to sunset, there's also the sunny or shady decision. We did have a favourite bar for cocktail hour, but for dinner we traversed that entire spectrum, and enjoyed good Greek food every time, only the prices varied.
Sorry folks, but this is Mezzo cafe which became our 'local', truly fantastic for people watching. [0958]
Not everywhere in Oia is ready for visitors. [9044]
Another Oia rebuild waiting to happen. [9078]
Oia is a photographer's delight but an editor's nightmare. This town is so exquisitely beautiful that there is a snap-worthy scene or vista around every corner. Which ones make the cut? Well, too many as you can tell from this blog post, but what we have tried to do is capture a diverse mix ranging from you might call "classic Santorini" through the fabulous views of the caldera down to the relative grunginess of unrenovated Oia. We try to make everyone and everywhere look good! We can't resist being a "street photographer" and stealing images of unsuspecting tourists, often making selfies, and of course, we have no-one's permission to use these. If you discover yourself in this blog, and don't like it, let us know and your image will be removed immediately, and we apologise sincerely for any unintentional offence caused. If you do like it, we'll be pleased to send you a high resolution version of the image, free of charge. P.S. No-one has ever objected to any street photography image we have ever used.
Some Oia bell towers are less celebrated than others, this one at the Church of Hagios Nikolaos. [8687]
A wind-blown tree on the ridge in Oia. [8711]
Study in step architecture, access to the Church of Agios Georgios. [8716]
Marble tiles, must be slippery when wet, add to the heat on a sweltering day. [8670]
Souvenir shop in Oia. [9079]
Oia resident in Greek traditional dress. [9080]
Long fingered mannequin at an Oia fashion store. [9097]
Armeni Port and the island of Manolas as seen from Canaves. We were warned not to walk down those steps on the right due to falling rocks. We didn't. [4953]
One Oia professional photographer has found his niche with 'flying dresses', billowing in the never-ending breeze. [2744]
In a quiet back alley of Oia, on the north side of the main pedestrian walkway, an old mansion houses the Santorini Maritime Museum. The museum was first founded in 1951 based on a mariner's personal collection, and later enriched by donations and acquisitions. After some relocations and closures, the present mansion, another donation, was largely destroyed by the 1956 earthquake, and it took a quarter of a century to get it open again, and renovations continued until 2022.
The ground floor area of the Santorini Maritime Museum. [9086]
Without the benefit of aerial views, much less GPS, the Venetian surveyors didn't quite capture the true shape of Santorini. [8706]
A periscope at the Santorini Maritime Museum. [9088]
The Santorini Maritime Museum featured a great gallery of local sailing ship watercolors and sketches. [9089]
The outdoors courtyard of the Santorini Maritime Museum. [9094]
Just after dawn, view back to Oia from the east end of town. [8736]
The hotel recommended for us by the Greek-Mediterranean Travel Agency in Sydney was the Canaves Oia Suites. Canaves must have half a dozen properties in Santorini, and we couldn't fault this one for location, quality, comfort or service. Its roomes, pools and restaurant were spread out down the edge of the caldera's cliff high above the sea, facing south. It's location is at the very right of the PhotoMap above - we called it the "Paris end of Oia". All suites are different because they have to be moulded into the cliff face. Ours had high domed ceilings and a small living room leading to a sunny terrace with an unheated plunge pool. The air-conditioning was excellent, vital, because it's just so hot here. Our shower had an opening window with expansive views of the caldera, a wonderful feature, as good as an outdoor shower. Our bedroom was strange in that it opened directly onto the courtyard of the church next door. Our plunge pool seemed cool in the mornings before the sun got on it, and warm in the afternoons, and we made very frequent use of it. Many suites in this hotel and a myriad others in Oia have their own plunge pools, but ours was almost 100% private by being not overlooked by anyone else. The property was carved into the cliff-face and spread over many levels, about 50 steps from top (our level) to the swimming pools and restaurant. You get the feeling that the property made use of existing natural caves in the cliff. All suites are different, to comply with thes landscape. A lift excavated through the cliff was there for the feeble, so we used it a lot.
Art on the wall of our Canaves hotel room in Oia. [0347]
Our bedroom in the Canaves hotel in Oia. [8552]
A tiny living room in our suite at Canaves Oia Santorini. What a view from that balcony! [8553]
Carved through the cliff-face, a meandering passageway from a lift to the pools and restaurant, made beautiful, at the Canaves hotel. [5202]
Infinity pool at Canaves did not encourage lap-swimming. [1253]
View from the Canaves cafe. We were warned not to walk down those steps on the right due to falling rocks. We didn't. [8557]
Impossibly white and bright, the sun-drenched church as seen from our Canaves hotel suite door. [8555]
A dog seeks shade beside this incredibly white chapel in Oia. [8558]
As with most of Oia's hotels, ours was not accessible by car, and we used hotel porters to ferry our baggage from the nearest transfer spot (at the Luno Cafe). Lucky for them, our suite was quite close. Sometimes the porters have literally hundereds of steps to negotiate. There must always be work for healthy Greek men (they are all men, maybe not all Greek) lugging baggage around. One one occasion, we saw are brand new boxed LG washing machine about 100 steps below the nearest road. The single man responsible for it was taking a breather. The iconic donkey for transport is alive and well in Oia - we saw one delivering bottled water to a Mini Market in the old part of town, Ammoudi.
It still happens, transport by donkey in Ammoudi, Oia. But it's all bottled water! [9064]
A house integrated into the cliff on the walking track to Fira. [8732]
Having watched the sunset, the Virgin cruise ship sets out for somewhere else. [9039]
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