9/4 - Driving on Santorini

Mid-Monday morning Marika called (from work) to say we could borrow her car for the day, as she wouldn’t need it. So off I rushed down to MeGa Travel (Marika and George’s travel agency, and one I can’t recommend highly enough based on the service I have seen them provide and what I have learnt in discussions of their business) to grab the car. The car is a very small 2-door manual Fiat and of course a left-hand drive. When I say small I mean that the foot pedals (clutch, brake, and accelerator) are so close together that I have to turn my left foot slightly on the side in order to get past the brake and the clutch all the way to the floor. Further, just to increase the difficulty factor, the roads of Santorini are very narrow (I can’t count the number of times I had to pull over to let an oncoming car get past), very very twisty, unknown to me, and occupied by drivers with quite a different sense of safety and what constitutes obeying the road rules (or perhaps its just elan) to myself. All this is by way of saying it was relatively embarassing driving Stavros home from the company office and stalling the car along the way at an intersection…but I did improve throughout the day.

At first Maria and I setoff to do some grocery shopping in order to restock the house after easter. However we found all the supermarkets closed. Hence, switch to plan B -> go to the beach.

We grabbed the kids and with Maria as navigator we headed for the Red Beach in Kambia. Stopping for some lunch at a little “classic” café (that had just opened that day for the season) we then headed onto the beach. There is no direct access to the beach. Rather you park (in front of a little church – what else on Santorini?) and then walk maybe a couple of hundred metres up and over a head-land of volcanic (of course!) rock. From the top of the head land the beach is revealed as a narrow strip of pebbles/sand a couple of hundred metres in length with bluffs at either end. As on all previous occasions we found the Aegean almost perfectly flat (to such an extent that when I took a walk up onto the cliffs I could watch the chaotic dance and play of the breezes and gusts as they moved across the surface), and the Santorini definition of beach somewhat different to Australian. Still it possessed its own charm, and postcards of the place show it full of sunbakers (on recliners) in the summer. Speaking of recliners there were a bunch just lying around the beach and on the hillside behind, being used by the dozen or so people sharing the beach with us. Perhaps most surprising were the cave-doors in the wall of the cliff face, some with coke refrigerators sitting out the front on the sand. Its my understanding that in the summer these are cave shops selling drinks etc. – the amazing thing is just how close these doors (and the whole cliff) is to the water’s edge – not much more than 10 metres.

So, the kids played in the water (it chiefly looked like throwing rocks into the water to me), while I explored a bit and Maria roasted. The wind here on the island is cold, but the sun is very warm; so you can go from hot (in the sun and an area protected from the wind) to very cold (windy and in the shade) very rapidly.

After a while the charms of the red beach paled (though not for Zoe who was particularly disgruntled at leaving) and we decided to make the most of the opportunity of the car and head for Ia. Ia is on the tip of the caldera (Thira is fairly central), is the 2nd major town, and is famous for its sunsets. So its very picturesque with all the cave houses, cliffs, little churches, etc., as well as many expensive shops, cafes, restaurants, etc.

The drive was quite an experience as the island narrowed and narrowed as we got near Ia – winding narrow roads with lots of exposure, and no railing. It was exhilarating, but required a fair bit of concentration.

We spent the next couple of hours waiting for the sunset by exploring the town. Like Fira it is composed of lots of narrow cobbled streets just for pedestrians, and around each corner you seem to find a new surprise or interesting shop. Of course there are the shops with postcards, ice creams, and junky souvenirs; but more common are the jewelers (with masses of gold and silver encrusted watches etc.), the clothing stores, and perhaps most common the restaurants and cafes. Dining in Greece is an absolute pleasure – we loved Japanese cuisine – but we also love Greek, even though its so different. Ohh, and it really helps if you love your meat (though there are great vegetarian dishes also).

Speaking of interesting shops, we came upon a jeweler specializing in amber (Maria’s favourite) and she was able to pick up a rather unique piece that will forever serve as a memory of our trip and Santorini.

As sunset approached we joined the large number (the mind boggles at just what it must be like in high summer) of people lining the north-western parapets around the area of the old fort. The sunset was “nice”, but I’m glad we didn’t make the trip to Santorini on the basis of the reputation of its sunset.

While waiting for the sunset Maria hooked up with 3 Japanese women who were so pleased to find someone who spoke Japanese. However, I think Maria’s joy at speaking Japanese (she has been studying Greek each day) and being able to say exactly what she wanted and meant, out-weighed even their pleasure.Joining the mass exodus as the sun was lost below the distant clouds along the water-line we made our way to “Thomas Grill” (I have their card here in front of me – it’s a common practice here for each business to have these little cards [bit bigger than a business card] with details of the business and singing its praises) for a lovely dinner of various meats (note to self – remember to order a separate dish of salad as none comes with a normal main meal). Then the thrills of the drive back – now in the dark - and we were home in one piece, tired but with full bellies and happy hearts.