We started our day at 6 am, which is early for these Adventurers. We left our lovely cliff-side resort as the sun was coming up, returned the rental car, and enjoyed a quick ride to the Port of Heraklion to catch the early ferry. When we were planning the travel day, the routes from Crete to Naxos all stopped in Santorini, one of Greece’s most popular and picturesque islands. We didn’t want to stay on Santorini (expensive! crowds!) but thought it would be nice to explore for a day since a morning/afternoon split ferry ticket didn’t cost more than a morning back-to-back. We weren’t sure what to expect, but it turns out that we had assigned seats!
Our first peek of the island came over the gangway as it lowered from the ferry. This was our first experience walking on to a big ferry and it was interesting. Like the train, they don’t stay for long, so you need to be prepared to disembark and then get moving.
We booked a driver for the day to take us around Santorini and, as importantly, store our luggage in his van while we explored. We saw the caldera view from Fira, which is a reminder of the volcano eruption that resulted in the downfall of the Minoan civilization that we saw back in Crete. It was also our first view of the famous white buildings and blue domed churches that make Santorini famous. CreeperPuppy said he couldn’t see all day because the sun shining on the white buildings was blinding him.
Next we headed to the northernmost and oft-photographed town of Oia. Famous for gorgeous sunset photos, we saw some great midday views, a historic church and lots of other people. We enjoyed a shady lunch and then headed away from the crowds.
Our guide recommended the prehistoric village of Akrotiri. Similar to Pompeii, this town was preserved in the ash of the Volcano eruption approximately 3700 years ago. It is an active archeological site but also open to the public. And thankfully, it was covered from the blazing sunshine. It was in existence at the same time as the Minoan site we’d seen on Crete, so there were some similarities in the designs and the artifacts that were recovered.
After that, we were shortly due back at the port for our onward ferry but we wanted to swing by the black sand beach. It doesn’t look that black in the photos but in person the volcanic history of the island is easy to see.
We drove the Island pretty much end to end and dotted everywhere were small white churches with bright blue domes. It’s no wonder we saw a lot of them, our guide told us there are over 600 churches on the island – for a permanent population of 20,000 people.
Our second ferry of the day was much less crowded than the first and we had our choice of seats. Two hours later we disembarked at Naxos, our home for the next few days.
We walked with the other passengers into town with the Temple of Apollo off in the distance. It sits in the harbor – our first Greek God temple sighting so far this trip. After a relatively flat 15 minute walk from the ferry to our little apartment, we dumped our gear and headed out for some food.
This island is lovely. It is a tourist destination, but more for families rather than jet setters or cruise ships so it’s mellow and more affordable. Brian and Tiffany enjoyed a tasty dinner at a beachside restaurant. A relaxing end to a busy day.
5 Adventures Together 