We booked a day cruise. They take you island hopping within the caldera, the crater of the volcano that blew in 1500 BC, the huge bowl of water we see from our terrace. You 1) visit an active volcano 2) go to another island for a brief swim in a "sulphur hot spring," and 3) visit a third island for two hours to eat, swim, or visit a much less touristy village on the top of a ridge.
So we went to the place where the bus was to pick us up and sitting outside was a couple in their early 30s, Dan and Diane. A friendly "Good morning!" and soon we warmed up to each other and this began a day of adventure with these two very nice people.
Dan is from Scotland but has been living in Australia for eight years, and works as a car salesman. Diane is 4th generation Australian and works as a flight attendent. They live in a town outside of Sydney. They're on the last leg of a month long vacation, which started in Scotland with a visit to Dan's family...and where he proposed to Diane on top of a mountain. I usually don't go for sappy stories about how people fall in love, but these folks were so genuine and down-to-earth and friendly that when I heard the story, much later in the day over supper, I actually was really happy for them and, I guess, saw some of my own love affair with B reflected in their experiences...
The bus came. It was one of those tiny busses, more like a giant van. All the seats were filled, so we marched in and crammed together like sardines for the trip down to the port. It was a good way to get to know each other, and the jokes about the Greek idea of organization began immediately.
We got the the port then stood around waiting for the boat to arrive. Dan is a friendly guy, talkative and animated, but not in an annoying way---more like a very friendly dog that everyone loves. A happy man. And because he's been living in Oz eight years, he has what sounds to me like an Australian accent, but not as strong, and with a Scottish accent thrown in. Diane has a much more obvious Australian accent.
She works as a flight attendent doing domestic hops throughout Australia. If she's working an early shift, she gets up at 2 AM (!) and drives 90 minutes to the airport, then does four flights. Then drives 90 minutes home. Five days a week. But as an airline employee, she gets great prices on flights not only with her airline but with many others as part of a partnership agreement...so Dan and Diane travel a lot. Through the years they've been to Fiji and Japan and Steamboat Springs and Paris and Scotland and are on their way to Dubai before heading back home.
The boat arrived, a wooden ship with a curved "floor" and a big "box" in the middle of the deck (the engine cover.) Everyone filed on and grabbed a seat at the stern, the bow, along the sides, or atop the box in the middle. Again, a sardine can arrangement. Maximum tourists per run, evidently.
Leaving the port at Oia
Where we've been living this week
The first island is a still-active (but not very active) volcano with a few craters on it. And here the fun began. It was a long march up a road maybe a mile long to the top of the crater and---this is Greece---you had to pay 2 Euro to make the hike.
"Wot? I thought the ticket was all-inclusive," said Dan. And all the rest of us. The bastards failed to mention there'd be another charge. But everyone paid and started the long march up.
Our guide was a local woman ("Not like the other guides, who are from Athens or sometimes not even Greek!") which I guess is supposed to impart a different flavor to the relaying of factual information. We'd march a way, then stop for a rest and a little talk, then march some more and stop for another rest and a talk.
She was kind of funny. "From time to time, the volcano erupts. Here are some pictures taken by the local people of differernt eruptions through the years. This one, in 1939, happened on the very same day that my mother was born. So there were two eruptions that day! And 27 years later, I was born. But I was the only eruption that day."
Another gem: "At the top, you can see sometimes steam coming from cracks at the bottom of the crater, and you can also smell sulphur. But though I am a Greek woman, even I cannot make the volcano erupt for you, so please do not ask me to!" Ladies and gentlemen, the comedy stylings of Ms. Shecky Constanopolis.
The walk up, and the view of the villages on the islands in the distance, was the best part. The actual crater was just a hole in the ground about 100 feet deep filled with lava rock. I saw no steam or smelled no sulphur. But that was OK. We took good pics up there, and got to know Dan and Diane more as we walked along, and we took turns taking pictures of each other for our memory books.
Village on the cliff from the top of the active volcano.
Also note the giant cruise ship, one of several anchored in the caldera.
These things spit out thousands of people who cram the villages for several hours.
Also note the giant cruise ship, one of several anchored in the caldera.
These things spit out thousands of people who cram the villages for several hours.
Next, the famed "hot springs." Mary, the lady at Senor Zorba's Mexican restaurant, had warned us that this might be a "meh!" experience. The boat goes to the next island then sits there. You can jump off the side and swim through the admittedly very beautiful blue water to a patch of rusty-looking water, which is very sulphurous because it's coming out of a crack in the sea and swim in it.
But. As our guide said: "If you are wearing a light colored swimming suit, be aware that the sulphur will permanently discolor the suit. Also, I am a tour guide, not a lifeguard, so if you have a heart condition, asthma, are not a good swimmer, do not try this."
I stayed with our stuff on the boat while the others swam. B and Diane just went into the water but didn't swim to the hot springs. Dan swam over there. When everyone was back aboard, he said: "It was only a few degrees warmer than the rest of the water...nothing special, really." But, fuck it. We kept agreeing that the beauty of the surroundings made up for these slight disappointments, and that this was a once in a lifetime trip for all of us, so let's laugh.
Then the ride to the next island. Here there's a village at the top of a steep hill ("More than 300 steps to the top," said our guide, "so be sure you can make it to the top and back in two hours.") that might have been interesting to see if we'd had yet another hour. Instead we decided to take a swim in the tiny port and have lunch at one of the several restaurants there.
A bit of color
On the boat as we approached, the guide gave her recommendation as to which of the restaurants was the best. We joked among ourselves that the restaurant she recommended was probably her cousin's restaurant, or that she gets a kickback for recommending it, or that the other restaurant owners pissed her off somehow. Indeed, after our pleasant swim we went to the nearest restaurant to our beach, but the farthest from where our boat was docked, and were the only people eating there. Everyone else had taken the guide's suggestions. But our food was fine. B had a mousaka and I had a souvlaki, which is kind of a shish kebab, with rice and potatoes.
More talk with Dan and Diane at lunch----a lot of questions about Australia, their travels, their impressions of Santorini, etc. and Dan's good natured joking around.
Back on the boat for the ride back to our island, the sea was a bit choppy and as the boat rose and crashed onto the waves, it sent up a good splash of water which we were perfectly positioned on the deck to recieve. But it was pleasant, sitting in the sun, feeling the rush of air as the boat moved along, with a spray of seawater every fifteen seconds or so to help keep you cool.
Just before we got back to port, Dan says: "Would you fancy meeting for dinner tonight, then?" I was kind of hoping they'd be interestedin continuing our visit because I really had come to enjoy their company. B and I were going to dine at a particular restaurant anyhow, so we told them: "We'll check the place out, make reservations, then meet you at the village square at 8 and walk to the restaurant."
Dan and Diane decided to ride donkeys from the port back to the top of the cliffs, but we decided to take the bus---which, once again, was filled to overflowing, so we had to stand crammed together for the ride back up the twisting mountain road to the village.
We rested and snacked a little back at our place, fed the cats when they came by, read the paper, surfed the Web. Then B and I went to the restaurant and watched the sun go down---it was a better sunset than the day before, nice, but still didn't beat our Italian sunsets of last year. Then I walked to the village square and met Dan and Diane and led them back to the restaurant...we had a table on the terrace overlooking the sea. The restaurant is off the insanely crowded main sidewalk, so it was quiet and the evening breeze felt good.
The food was excellent and the companionship of our new friends was really a delight. We stayed about 2 1/2 hours, then left. We asked a passing couple to take pictures of the four of us with our cameras, and returned the favor for them. Dan asked us: "A cup of coffee before we say goodbye?" B declined and went back to the terrace with hugs and kisses of farewell, but I went along for a cup. We stayed about thirty minutes talking about all kinds of things and wishing the day wasn't about to end...
They're going to another part of the island for a few days then flying to Dubai, so we won't see them again. The happiness of making new friends is countered by the sadness of knowing this is a one-time meeting, then we each return to our own lives. We did exchange contact info, so we can send pictures to each other, etc. but there'll be one or two extra contacts and then our wonderful day together will just be another memory.
But, a beautiful memory.
Thanks for a great day, Dan and Diane, and happy travels to you always.
