Santorini sunshine
One of our most popular Greek Islands, Santorini is famed for its beautiful blue and white houses and stunning views across the caldera. It is a super chic and incredibly popular destination with the rich, the famous and the not so famous.
Perissa and Kamari are popular beach resorts sporting their black volcanic sand. They sit beneath the dramatic mountain backdrop of Profitis Ilias. Oia is the picture postcard village at the top of the island, with the best view of all. Other upmarket villages like Megalachori, frequented by the likes of Brad and Angelina, offer pricey alternative to the beach side places.
The caldera
Santorini is a magnet for beautiful people and beautiful hotels. The chic cave hotels of Oia – the most picture postcard perfect place on Santorini – face out onto the incredible vista of the most gorgeous caldera in the world.
Carved into the soft volcanic rock, cave houses are an expensive boutique option, if one with no windows and 90% humidity. The outline of the caldera or curved cliff of Santorini was formed in 1613 BC after a huge volcanic eruption sank the central land mass and created Santorini as we know it today.
Oia is the most expensive and most picturesque of villages on Santorini. The white houses pile on top of each other with their gorgeous coloured doors and windows. The most prized are the ones overlooking the breath taking view of the volcano and the crescent of the Aegean sea. With no land available on which to build new, updating begins again adding plunge pools and jacuzzis.
The light on Santorini has an incredible clarity about it. No one takes a bad photograph here!
Santorini crafts
Santorini is also a magnet for artists. We were lucky enough to try making pots on a wheel with Andreas Makaris and Christie Kapetanaki – celebrated ceramic artists, I really enjoy handling and shaping the clay into a small bowl. It is now fired and glazed and on it’s way to the UK.
We had the opportunity to visit the gallery of Michalis Arvanitian an amazing Santorinian woodcarver. I love his beautiful organic wood sculptures. I try using the wood carving tools for myself and create a small wooden yacht/fridge magnet. These practical activities really add to an authentic Santorini experience.
Santorini 2022 out of season
In winter, Santorini is a very different island. The hordes of tourists are no where to be seen. However the island still has a stark dramatic beauty, and the sea remains a pretty warm 18 degrees. Swimming in the Aegean sea is lovely.
In winter the island returns to its native population of around 15,000 but in the summer it explodes to maybe 100,000 with all the visitors from over the world. In recent years the Asian and Russian market has grown. Tourists from these countries have a real taste for luxury which Santorini has eagerly catered for. This has made prices pretty high. I can’t help feeling that when they start to feel a little crowded, they may move onto a lesser known island and the whole cycle will begin again.
Akrotiri
The excavation of the city of Akrotiri remains a fascinating attraction unique to Santorini. It was a thriving city which expanded through developing trading routes with other parts of the Aegean. A violent volcanic eruption ended the life of Akrotiri. Historians think that the citizens had time to escape their city but they probably could not escape the effects of the huge Tsunami which followed.
The extremely well preserved city remains, show a network of paved streets, decorated houses, a sophisticated sewage system and well stocked shops. Many pot vessels and other types of furniture are in tact due to the preservative properties of volcanic ash.
Astonishing coloured frescoes were discovered on the walls of the buildings. Many of them are on display in the museum of Thira. My favourite is the young boy with his plentiful catch of fish. There aren’t many fish left in the Aegean now, but it would have been teeming with life back then.
Santorini 2022 still worth a visit?
The amount of accommodation has exploded over the last decades as Santorini has become the ‘in’ Greek island to visit. Businesses make their money from April to October when the weather is good and the tourists plentiful. The island produces little else apart from tomatoes, fava beans and some wine so it relies heavily on tourism. We did quite a bit of Greek cooking while we were there too with the help of Ifigenia our lovely host, and enjoyed some truly memorable meals!
What I was not expecting was snow! For only the second time in forty years a snow storm with high winds hit the normally mild mannered island. Just exactly when we were visiting on a sustainability course. the course is run by Grampus – who specialise in cultural and heritage learning projects. Check out their website for up coming courses in 2022. It was bright but cold for the first few days. However, on the day we were due to depart gale force winds and snow turned up! it was more Wuthering Heights than Mama Mia. Talk about climate change!
Check out courses run by the Hellinic Culture Centre here
Ifigenia our Hellenic host
More about Santorini sights
Santorini – a Greek island paradise
1 thought on “Santorini 2022”
I wasn’t expecting snow when I visited Tenerife, either, but it seems anything is possible these days. It sounds like an interesting place.
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