Athens - Bursting At the Seams

We weren't entirely sure what to expect upon arrival in Athens, after Santorini won us over with it's beauty and hominess, would we enjoy our time in Athens or regret leaving the island too soon? 

From the Acropolis - The never ending city

As a major metropolis, Athens is fast moving, loud, and large; while we explored Santorini by ATV only days before, we now pitied our Athens cab driver and the mind boggling traffic he had to endure on a daily basis. The city seems never ending, a continuation of concrete apartment buildings, honking horns, and crowded streets stretching forever. At ground level, a canopy of apartment buildings, their balconies crowded with potted plants, loom overhead, filtering the harsh sunlight but somehow failing to stop the heat from reaching the pedestrians below. Although overcrowded with people, automobiles, and large garbage bins (that permanently sit on the curb for all to use), we discovered that there are places of refuge, in a city apparently bursting at the seams.

Street view - cars and apartment buildings

The "Lake" at the National Garden

One of our favorite places to rest, refuel, and people watch, was Ambrosia Restaurant, a few blocks from our hotel. Situated on the outskirts of a small tree-lined square, we were able to cool down in the shade of a palm tree and feast on homemade Greek gyros, moussaka, and tzatziki for less than 15 Euro. The food, atmosphere, and service was so good we didn't bother finding another restaurant after our first meal the evening of our arrival - we returned twice, on our second and third days in the city, and it was delicious each visit. 

Time to dig in at Ambrosia Restaurant

A visit to the National Garden, during a self-led walking tour on our second day in Athens, also provided an injection of some much needed green space. The garden is 15.5 hectares in size and features a small lake, convention centre and fountain, bench-lined pathways, and some of the largest palm trees I've ever seen. Overall it's quite lush and a lovely refuge in the middle of the city. 

The National Garden

While we aren't sure we could last, let alone thrive, in a city as expansive as Athens, two days was the perfect amount of time to fully explore the Acropolis and ancient sites, as well as the Old Quarters of Plaka and Monastiraki. Athens may have little in common with the beauty and calm of Santorini, however the people have proven to be helpful and inviting regardless of which city they call home, and I expect nothing less in our last Greek stop, Nafplio.

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A Blemish on Santorini

Upon arriving in Santorini (by cruise ship) you have three options for scaling the cliffside infront of you; 1) Ride up in one of the modern cable cars complete with a lovely view 2) Sweat like crazy hiking all 588 steps to reach Fira or 3) Hop on the back of a poor donkey and make him carry you to the top. 

Santorini's has been using donkeys to taxi people and goods up the hillside since visitors first started arriving at the main port in Fira. Unfortunately, the owners have a poor track record of abusing and mistreating the animals, of which most tourists are unaware. 

Travis and I came across this issue when researching Santorini, unfortunately we saw long lines of tourists paying for donkey rides and the accompanying photos, unaware of any issue. If you have plans to visit Santorini please refuse to participate in this practice. More information can be found online at The Donkey Sanctuary.

In good news, Greek billionaire and founder of Easy Jet, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has pledged to build a second cable car to cut down on long lines and in the meantime has provided the donkey owners with breathable blankets that reduce chaffing. 

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A History Lesson at Akrotiri

I first heard about the ancient site of Akrotiri in my Intro to Archaeology elective that I took in my second year of university. We were discussing little mysteries like the Baghdad batteries, Atlantis, and similarities in pyramids continents apart, when our prof began telling us of an ancient Bronze-age city uncovered on the beautiful Greek island of Santorini. The city they uncovered has no official name - it has been dubbed Akrotiri because of its closeness to the modern day city of Akrotiri - and it has had a pretty amazing history.

The city was a Minoan Bronze Age settlement and was completely destroyed in Pompeii-like fashion just after the great Minoan eruption of Thera around 1600 BC. This explosion released 4 times as much Volcanic material into the atmosphere as Krakatoa and covered what remained of the island of Santorini in a 200 foot thick layer of Tephra. Eventually the island returned to normal, becoming a postcard favorite with its beautiful white and blue buildings hanging on to the edges of the caldera and its romance-inducing sunsets. It wasn't until 1967 that professor Spiros Marianatos discovered the site and began excavations.

The giant caldera left from the Theran eruption and what's left of the volcano in the centre      

What he uncovered was an almost perfectly preserved magnificent and awe-inspiring city (without bodies like Pompeii however - they figure the people realized the island was about to blow and took off before it happened). They had two- and three-storey buildings with running water - both hot and cold in a dual piping system, geothermic heating, advanced pottery, beautiful wall frescoes, and even flush toilets (I'm not joking, there's pictures!). The city has been undergoing slow excavations due to the lack of accurate imaging results (for some reason they don't get the same results as they did in Pompeii or Herculaneum) and was further hampered by the collapse of the roof over top of the excavation site in 2005. The site remained closed until just a couple of months ago.

The outside of the new building

 With this news in mind and Calli eager to take her newly-rented ATV our for a spin, we set out on the confusing and windy Santorini roads on a quest for the excavation site. Using only the small map on my phone and my finely-tuned inherited sense of direction we found the site after only a little confusion (and Calli's need to drive up to the tallest point in Santorini). After parking and paying for admission (only 5 euros), we entered the newly crafted building housing the excavation site and began to explore.

 The first thing we noticed was the beautiful building that housed the excavations.  The building, maybe a little smaller than our local Superstore, had a beautiful low wooden slat and glass roof that let lots of natural light in. The actual excavation site is currently over a hectare in size and has a beautiful raised wooden walkway that gives you all kinds of different views of the excavations. We grabbed a laminated card with a description of the site and set off around the walkways. Only 4 buildings have been fully excavated - and these buildings have been restored and reassembled (sometimes using mortar and wood) to represent the way they would have looked. Other sections are still completely the way they were uncovered with only wooden planks propping up the still intact and perfectly crafted stone walls. 

Some of the pottery still remains on the site, much of it intact as well, but the frescoes have been removed and reassembled at various museums throughout Greece. These frescoes, some over two storeys high, have had very little of their original color lost and are very intriguing pieces to archaeologist for those reasons. 

An example of the frescoes (via)

 After walking around the wooden walkways for about 30 minutes there is a short section that goes right through ground level among a couple of the restored structures. Inside you can still see the beautiful pots they used for storage and even one of their ancient toilets. 

That is a toilet and it had running water and "flush" technology

The site provided a little change of pace from wandering the cliffside villages of Santorini, and gave us some insight into the vast and storied history of the region itself.

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Santorini Quading Adventure

In the previous post I mentioned renting an ATV (or quad) in Santorini, something I did on my own, from first choosing the rental place, to signing paperwork, driving, refueling, navigating, and finally returning it at the end of the day - I was pretty proud of myself!

Rent A Bike* was a block from our hotel; I chose it primarily for convenience, and the friendly owner waved to us the night before. We'd done a bit of price research online and 30 Euro per day (plus fuel) seemed to be the going rental rate, however after being outfitted with helmets and 3rd party liability insurance, the total came to only 15 Euro - perhaps renting in Karterados, and not the main city of Fira, resulted in a better price?

I quickly nicknamed our faded yellow ATV Bumblebee and we took off to explore the island - Travis sitting in back shouting directions every now and then which I rarely followed. Amid a few dead ends and some backtracking (and one stint through a pedestrian only city square) we were able to reach some lovely viewpoints, Akrotiri Archaeological Site, and the city of Oia. The roads in Santorini can be quite steep, but only once did Travis have to hop off and walk so I could get the ATV to the top. We returned the quad that night, although the rental was good for 24 hours - total cost, 29 Euros (we topped up the gas for peace of mind at the beginning but barely used any of it).

The quad was amazing fun, I'd definitely rent one again. Overall the other drivers on the road are quite considerate and it's a fabulous way to see so much of the island we would have otherwise missed out on.

*Actual store name, which is oddly descriptive yet does little to distinguish it from everywhere else on the island advertising bike rentals

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Santorini, We Meet At Last

An evasive mistress, I've yearned to visit Santorini since my first glimpse of its legendary blue and white architecture. In the years leading up to this trip, daydreaming of blue domed churches and romantic cliffside sunsets, Santorini earned cult-like status as my number one must-see destination - the little island had a lot to live up to. 

During our three days (not nearly enough), we explored as much of Santorini as we could reach by foot or four wheels; Fira (or Thira), the "capital" city of 1500 residents, was a mere ten minute walk from our hotel, Oia, Akrotiri, and everywhere in between, were explored via ATV. After snapping hundreds of photos, wandering endless cliffside paths, and stopping every now and then to stare in wonder at the world around me, I can easily say that Santorini surpassed every one of my expectations. 

Everything in Santorini was perfection, even when it wasn't; when my feet hurt from walking or Travis shouted directions from the back seat of the ATV. Although Santorini is now a major tourist desination and cruise ship stop, the crowds of people and abundance of souvenir shops that normally make me bitter were  ineffective*. I was simply living in the moment, enchanted by Santorini and the fact that I was finally able to visit, unable and unwilling to do anything but soak in the moment with the hope of remembering it forever.

Our hotel in Santorini was also fantastic, which made the visit much more enjoyable. Our room at Kelenis Apartments in Karterados was one of about twelve owned by a lovely little Greek lady named Stathoula, it was extremely spacious with a separate kitchen area, full bathroom, private balcony, and air conditioning. There was a serene pool area as well, and we often returned "home" in the afternoons to relax, cool down in the pool, and cook a light dinner with the provisions we'd purchased at the nearby "supermarket" (it's actual name, more market than super but very convenient). 

Being so perfect, the little island quickly felt like home and it was difficult to leave after only three days. Already planning our next trip back, I know we have some amazing stops over the next few months and that this is not the last time I'll stare out over the cliffs of Santorini.

*compared to usual levels of bitterness

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