Really, if you want to know the answer to that you had better check with Wiki Answers or King Minos. What I do know is that after sailing to 20 Greek Islands, Santorini captivated us. The grandiose scale of island as well as the striking colours ranging from obsidian black to red earth to creamy white tufa.
We discovered that it is a very big island, with looming volcanic cliffs. There is no real anchoring for a small yacht like ours. We only saw commercial ships, gulets and cruise liners. The four of us took a ferry, from Naxos leaving Mercier under the watchful eye of Harbourmaster Nikos.
The ferry sailed straight into the caldera. We were literally in the volcano, looking up at the cliffs. The ferry docked and we went straight onto a bus. We were driven up steep, switch back roads a kilometer straight up to Oia.
The lovely village of Oia, was our destination, at the northern tip of the island. This be the home of vampires of Santorini, not to mention the pirates.. Not surprising when you remember the tortuous road up the hill and the sheers cliffs.
Later on we were taken to Fira, the Chora or capital of Santorini. Here you see something scarier than vampires and that is gross insensitive tourism. If you are interested in coming to Santorini, come outside of the months of July or August. Don’t come for a day trip, stay a few days so that you can enjoy the views, black sand beaches and the sunsets. We escaped to a wonderful cliffside restaurant for moussaka, greek salad and a bit of tzatziki .
We loved Santorini, but after a day trip it is still on our bucket list, another time for several days.
